“We are very careful not to acquire a bank just to grow”
Saad Azhari, chairman of BLOM Bank, shares how the bank has become a leader in commercial and retail banking and his views on the current situation of Lebanon’s banking sector.
“We have to do a better job of seeing that the increased wealth is distributed less unfairly”
Congressman Barney Frank, former chairman of the powerful United States House Financial Services Committee at the height of the 2007–2011 global financial crisis, discusses the new order that is emerging in the banking and financial services world.
“I want to leverage our capital and make the best out of it”
Aravinda Perera, Sampath Bank's managing director, shares how he is leading the bank in executing sustainable strategies and leveraging on capital growth, people, and technology to respond to challenges in Sri Lanka’s banking industry.
“All companies have to think strategy now”
Banthoon Lamsam, chairman and chief executive of Kasikornbank, shares how employee-centred strategies and digitisation is keeping one of Thailand’s largest banks upbeat as it regionalise its operation in an ASEAN economy.
“We cannot remain domestic and compete with each other with very limited resources”
Chao Chin Tung, chairman, CTBC Bank, discusses CTBC expanding beyond Taiwan and going global, and his outlook on Taiwan’s future and its relationship with China.
“The worst you can do in challenging times is divert from a simple agenda”
Ala’a Eraiqat, group CEO and executive director, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) discusses steering ADCB beyond the global financial crisis, maintaining high morale in the workplace, and emphasising customer experience and digitisation.
“My role as CEO is to lead by engagement, to create a conducive environment for people not the CEO, to perform”
OCBC Bank’s CEO Samuel Tsien is steering the bank to remain true to its nature: of being a commercial bank, an intermediary for people. It will not be distracted by technological adoption and investment for the sake of earning a little return for the bank, but whether the technology will do something for the customer.
“We do things old school, with speed and confidentiality you can’t expect from a large investment bank”
SC Lowy, independent fixed income specialist, goes head-to-head with the bulge bracket sans the multiple layers and strict regulation as experienced by large investment banks. Michel Löwy, cofounder and CEO, describes how they went into markets such as the Middle East, trading billions of dollars while their counterparts had no Middle East presence and looked the other way.
