KUALA LUMPUR-based Maybank has strongly established its local presence as a financial and banking forerunner in the country—proof of the institution’s Asean DNA of creating commercial success across and beyond borders.
In February the BusinessMirror reported that Maybank Phils. Inc. “posted profits averaging far more than those by the country’s universal and commercial banks, totaling P830.9 million in the first six months [of 2017].” Its officials claimed the numbers “were pushed higher by sustained growth in core business, boosted in part by better cost and asset quality management.”
The carryover of this remarkable performance has been entrusted to a banking professional of the highest caliber. Currently at the helm of the local unit of Malaysia’s largest lender is President and CEO Choong Wai Hong.
Going into the interview inside the bank’s Bonifacio Global City headquarters, Choong’s presence commanded an aura of a regal disposition, as if embodying the sleek gait of a Malayan tiger, which happens to be portrayed as the emblem of the bank’s resplendent yellow logo.
Choong earned his corporate stripes through a career spanning more than two decades in financial services that covered operations, information technology, consulting, as well as profit-and-loss management. His work has brought him into the world’s top financial centers in Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, where he handled capital markets, as well as consumer and commercial banking. Prior to his present stint at Maybank where he held various executive posts, Choong once assumed leadership roles in banking, project management and consulting.
As Maybank marks another milestone by celebrating its 21st anniversary, Choong shared that these are exciting times for the local arm, with its close collaboration with the Bangko Sentral in promoting inclusive banking and sustainable finance throughout the country, as well as its environmental, social and governance initiatives.
ENVOYS & EXPATS: What would you consider as Maybank’s differential advantage over other global banks?
CHOONG: On regional banking, we have a global footprint in certain areas, but our core strength has always been within Asean. Up until today, we remain to be the only bank that has a full-ground operation in the bloc. So we always go back to the fact that we should always be able to provide our customers an Asean footprint—whether it’s for business or leisure.
Access to facilities in other countries is our main differentiation, and that has not changed. From our standpoint, we want to go digital, increase our online presence, be strong and efficient, and reach wider at the same time. Right now, we can launch something digital and make it work immediately.
At the end of the day, it’s really about giving better propositions to our customers and clientele.
Beyond information technology and going digital, we recently learned about Maybank’s thrust of humanizing its financial services and strategy for sustainability.
Yes. That happens to be our main mission. Apart from serving as a bank or financial-services provider, we want to be at the heart of the community and contribute back.
The Maybank Foundation is at the forefront of advocacies we espouse, like empowering the youth, promoting arts and culture, protecting the environment, championing healthy living, helping in disaster recovery and serving the marginalized communities.
ESG, or environmental and social governance, is the overarching idea in being sustainable, both in business, as well as the communities we are operating in. In governance, we make sure we do the right thing. Glad to say we are one of the highest-rated banks on the global level, as far as the ESG index is concerned. We support the advocacy of the Bangko Sentral in championing ESG.
ESG can translate to good business as well. Sometimes, the immediate reaction is that it equates to cost, limits businesses, and so on. But in the long term, it actually reinforces businesses by being sustainable and responsible for the environment.
We formulate policies around some business activities we will do by advocating measures to go digital and paperless. So we are mindful of our internal operations that cut across the day-to-day undertakings. We also ask ourselves how we can be more efficient with the practices and banking policies in place.
Those are indeed very interesting initiatives. What other operational aspects do you see yourself leading Maybank Phils. into?
So far, most of our strategies are working, so we keep our focus on execution, while external factors like cost go up.
Being here in the Philippines for 21 years, we hope to double or triple our market share. It’s really about bringing digital platforms into place, increasingly differentiating ourselves, and bringing our regional presence to make it a meaningful proposition. We keep leveraging on Malaysia, as we are a very capable leader there, especially in digital.
I always mention to the Maybank Group that the Philippines is a very interesting market, such as, for example, the Maybank mobile app. We have this network that’s very concentrated in Asean, where the demographics are more similar in terms of the aspirational profile, so we are able to move things faster.
So it’s about thinking global and acting local, and moving quickly as well. Knock it in, tweak it, make it work here, then learn about it. The Philippines’s big population—highly educated and well-versed in digital platforms—makes for a very good and ample market.
With so many things happening and planned for Maybank Philippines, and an agitated economic environment in the background, how do you plan to lead the local team?
I think there’s always excitement, tempered by some degree of uncertainty in any situation. I feel we need to look beyond the short term and study the full pace of the economy.
Demographics wise, we see a growing and very young population. As such, there’s a lot we’re going after. Consumption is going up, and interest in education is on the rise. From there, efforts for inclusion will increase as well.
I think a lot of positives will still happen in the next five years. So now the question is, “How are we going to create faster innovations, be more efficient, get to the market segment, and bring the proposition that will make sense to the segment of the population we want to serve?”
These remain the goals of what we want to do: to bring our offerings faster, be better and more efficient, and focus on speed and relationships. We’re learning along the way.
Your outlook on Maybank Philippines’s performance, at least for the near future?
We will do better, because of our shift in strategy. We will focus more on digital technology, push more for a wider market reach with efficiency, and strengthen brand awareness.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes