Tan Sri Azman Hashim, FCB

Chairman
Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers

Good morning, it gives me immense pleasure to extend a warm welcome to each one of you at the 7th Chartered Banker Conferment Ceremony 2024 of the Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers (AICB).

Today, we gather to celebrate the remarkable achievements of individuals who have demonstrated exceptional dedication and excellence in attaining the prestigious Chartered Banker status. This moment marks not just the attainment of a professional banking certification but a significant milestone in your professional career and journey. I would like to extend my heartiest congratulations to all our esteemed conferees today.

I am sure the path to achieving this professional certification has been filled with challenges, sacrifices and late nights. I would also like to express thanks to all those who have supported our conferees throughout this journey. To your family members and friends, mentors, colleagues, and employers who have offered guidance, encouragement and support — thank you.

The banking sector stands as the cornerstone of a Nation’s economy, facilitating growth, development and financial stability. It is not merely about transactions and numbers, but about fostering trust, enabling opportunities, and empowering individuals and businesses to fulfil their aspirations and make a positive impact on society. I very much hope that this journey has not only equipped you with the competence and skills needed to excel in your respective roles, but also instilled within you a deeper sense of purpose, professionalism and passion as a banker to make meaningful contributions to your respective organisations, the communities and the broader economy.

At AICB, we are encouraged by the 3,618 new members we welcomed in 2023, charting a commendable overall growth of 2.9% and bringing the total membership to 35,703 with over 340 international members hailing from 26 countries across Asia. And with the conferment of 4 new Fellow Chartered Bankers and 103 Chartered Bankers today, we now have 32 Fellow Chartered Bankers and 776 Chartered Bankers to date, amounting to a total of 808 members who hold the Chartered Banker status, which is jointly awarded by AICB and the Chartered Banker Institute (CBI) in the United Kingdom. Additionally, we also maintained a robust membership retention rate of 96% for certified members, a testament to the Institute's unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional value through continued support and services to its members.

As the financial sector continuously evolves, presenting new complexities and uncertainties, banking and finance professionals must strengthen their resilience, adaptability and capabilities to prepare for the future of banking, AI and beyond. Recognising the importance of having a broad understanding of core banking knowledge, as well as the ability to consider and respond to new developments, by completing the Chartered Banker programme, you have invested in and equipped yourself with extensive, detailed and critical knowledge of the banking sector and its ever-changing landscape, elevating your career and placing yourself on a trajectory to success. This is what makes it an exclusive professional banking qualification and a prestigious professional designation.

Having said that, the crux of being a successful banker lies not only in the knowledge you possess, but also in the values you hold. I cannot stress enough the importance of honesty, integrity and trustworthiness in the discharge of your duties, as bankers are the gatekeepers to highly confidential information entrusted to us by our clients. Albert Einstein once said, “Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters”.

And so, as you take the oath of commitment to AICB’s Code of Professional Conduct today and attain the prestigious Chartered Banker designation, I urge you to take pride, not just in your abilities and achievements, but also in the principles that guide you in the personal and professional decisions you make daily. On behalf of AICB, I would like to say that we are immensely proud of everything our members have achieved, and we applaud their dedication to continuing professional development. In an industry that is facing rapid change, lifelong learning is imperative to remain relevant.

As you progress in your career, do not view this certification as the end of your learning journey, but rather as the beginning of a new phase of exploration and discovery. Continue to remain curious, open-minded, and eager to embrace new knowledge and experiences, and leverage your certification as a springboard to further pursue excellence and innovation in your respective areas of work.

As the professional body for bankers in Malaysia, AICB is committed to delivering the best opportunities in professional learning to our members to accelerate their professional journeys. I am pleased to share that in July 2024, we will be launching the Future Skills Framework (FSF), a pivotal resource in this journey. Conceived as a key component of the Financial Sector Blueprint 2022–2026 introduced by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) in January 2022, the FSF will be integral to promoting skills mastery and ongoing learning.

Our longstanding synergies with the CBI, UK, and our exclusive training partner, the Asian Banking School (ABS), have also allowed us to deliver added value to our members. As the largest specialised provider of quality banking training programmes in the ASEAN region, ABS has trained over 150,000 professionals in various banking areas, including professional qualifications developed and awarded by AICB.

In closing, I would like to express my deepest thanks to BNM for their unceasing support, my fellow Council Members, our partners — CBI, UK, and ABS — and as always, to the AICB management and staff for their dedication to the Institute’s noble mission to professionalise the banking industry.