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Banking on excitement

SINGAPORE — Spend a few minutes in the company of Mr Samuel Tsien and his enthusiasm for banking and finance soon starts to become infectious.

SINGAPORE — Spend a few minutes in the company of Mr Samuel Tsien and his enthusiasm for banking and finance soon starts to become infectious.

The youthful-looking 59-year-old Group CEO of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) has spent his entire working life in the industry and, when asked why, he mentions two key factors: Excitement and variety.

“I think the banking industry is one which gives me exposure to multiple aspects of society and the economy. I enjoy talking to people, to my clients and to my industry contacts,” he says with a passionate gleam in his eye.

“Everyone is able to share something with me that I may not know about. From that perspective, it is very rewarding — not in a material sense, but in (the) knowledge sense. And I just want to know more.”

Mr Tsien says banking offers more opportunities to fulfil that need to acquire knowledge than many other sectors. “We touch every aspect of the community, whether it’s people, different industries, companies, the government (or) beyond.”

His love affair with the industry started about 35 years ago when he joined the Bank of America in Hong Kong. Since then, his career has taken him to San Francisco and Singapore in the course of stints with a number of different banks.

Along the way, Mr Tsien has thought about exploring opportunities outside the sector, but has never found a compelling reason to move.

“As you grow older, you are looking for a sense of accomplishment. And that comes with what you have done for others and for yourself. What you have done for yourself is beyond monetary rewards — it is also about knowledge accumulation,” he says, adding that he expects to see out the rest of his career in the banking industry.

Part of the reason Mr Tsien has got so much out of banking is that he is always on the lookout for fresh challenges and experiences. As a result, he has constantly put himself forward when new opportunities present themselves, and this is something he encourages young people to do.

“You cannot wait for opportunities to happen and hope that, all of a sudden, you will receive a phone call. You have to make your desire known. Should there be another assignment that you feel would be good, you have to raise your hand.”

One such opportunity presented itself to Mr Tsien when the chance came to move to Bank of America’s headquarters in San Francisco. He was attracted to the idea of living in such an exciting city and advancing his career in a new direction.

However, moving from the familiar worlds of trade and ship finance in Hong Kong to high-tech finance in California was somewhat intimidating.

“It took a lot of courage on my part and the organisation placed a lot of trust in me,” he says.

But the sense of trepidation arising from moving to a new city to work in a new field was mitigated to some extent by the warm welcome he received from the people of San Francisco, who quickly made Mr Tsien, his wife and baby daughter feel at home.

 

SAN FRANCISCO STINT

 

He speaks nostalgically about this as he recalls the day in 1989, only two months after arriving in California, when disaster almost struck him and his family, as one of the worst earthquakes ever to hit the area resulted in widespread death and destruction.

“At that time, my daughter was only four months old. She was with my wife at our home in the Marina District when the quake struck. And Marina was one of the worst-affected areas because it’s built on a landfill, which is less stable.”

With communications down and transport systems at a near standstill, Mr Tsien had no choice but to walk for one-and-a-half hours from his office to his home to find out what had happened to his family.

“As I got closer and closer, I could see the smoke from a burning petrol station that was very near our apartment. Then, I could get no closer as the whole area was cordoned off by military personnel, and I could not find my wife!

“I was very fortunate that, shortly after, somebody yelled for me. It was my neighbour, who was with my wife, coming out just to look for me. But what happened to my daughter?”

Thankfully, she was also safe and sound in a nearby house, being taken care of by another neighbour.

“I’m pretty sure that, if there was a major disaster like this, people in other countries would do likewise. But it (the neighbourly act) still gave me a very warm feeling,” says Mr Tsien.

But it wasn’t just friendship and support that the people of San Francisco provided: They also gave Mr Tsien some valuable insights which he has subsequently found useful in his professional life.

“Here in Asia, we’re blessed by the fact that there is a (high level of) convenience, particularly in small cities like Singapore and Hong Kong.”

This usually means your family is nearby to offer a helping hand and most people work quite close to where they live.

“That sort of convenience generally doesn’t exist in the US,” Mr Tsien points out.

That means those who always leave the office at 6pm are not necessarily shirking their duties as they may have domestic issues to contend with.

“This person might do this because a train leaves at 6.30pm, so he has to get to the station.

“Why does he need to get onto that train? Because there’s a bus that will connect him back home.

“And he needs to get home because the babysitter has to leave at 7.30pm so she can cook for her mother.”

 

LIFE OUTSIDE WORK

 

This chain of events might not be obvious to an outside observer, but Mr Tsien says becoming more aware of such issues led him to develop a deeper understanding of the importance of one’s life away from the office, and OCBC has tried to reflect that under his leadership.

“We introduced sabbatical leave last year because we understand some employees may feel burnt out over a period of time.

“We also introduced a system last year whereby our employees can take their (leave) right before the PSLE (Primary School Leaving Examination) as we understand that … if a parent can be at home (when) the PSLE is taking place, it will create some support for the child.

“We encourage flexi hours, particularly on a Friday: Provided you can make up the time somewhere else, you can leave an hour earlier to spend time shopping or with friends.”

Mr Tsien points out that this is a mutually beneficial arrangement as OCBC also encourages a staff culture of showing appreciation for what the company is doing for its employees.

“Therefore, in the event that the organisation needs you to work overtime on a particular task, you should also be accommodating. It’s a two-way street.”

Utilising the knowledge and experience of others is clearly something Mr Tsien embraces.

But when asked if there is a person above all others who has helped guide him, Mr Tsien does not hesitate in his reply. “I would point to my father. He moved us from Shanghai to Hong Kong when I was four years old. At that time, Hong Kong offered more opportunities than China, but he had to work extremely hard as an accountant seven days a week. There was no vacation.

“He taught me the importance of being hardworking and diligent. Whether you’re smart or not, being diligent is very important. Don’t take shortcuts, make sure you do the right thing and work very hard.”

Mr Tsien picked this lesson up not because it was drummed into him, but because he had observed how hard his father worked and recognised why it was important and the level of self-sacrifice involved.

“We would not have survived in Hong Kong had he not worked so hard.”

Employing that diligence throughout his career has helped Mr Tsien get to where he is today as the head of one of the region’s biggest and most successful banks.

Although he has reached a pinnacle in his career, Mr Tsien thinks he has unfinished business.

“I think I can do more (to build) on the foundations that my predecessors have laid.

“OCBC still has a lot of growth opportunities. And if we can make use of these opportunities, we can become even more appealing (and) even stronger.”

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