Module 1 - The Fundamentals of Professionalism.

What is a Profession? 什么是职业？

- Professionalism refers to competence or skills expected of a professional.
- In September 2014, the Financial Services Professional Board (FSBP) was founded
as a voluntary industry-led initiative by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the
Securities Commission Malaysia (SC).
- The aim was of supporting a strong culture of professionalism and ethics
across the Financial Services Industry through the development of
professional and ethical standards.

ANSWER:
Profession is a word that is often used incorrectly, but professions usually
have the following features:
1. Specialism
2. High level of integrity
3. Barriers to entry (e.g exam)
4. Activities are usually overseen by the professional body
5. Minimum expected standards of behaviour
6. Disciplinary consequences
7. Reputational consequences
8. Ongoing CPD requirements

Lesson 3 - Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers (AICB)亚洲特许银行家协会 (AICB)

Joint Declaration on an industry-wide commitment to professionalise the Malaysian

banking industry.
ETHICS & PROFESSIONALISM IN BANKING

The Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers (AICB)

has been championing the vision of
professionalising bankers since 1977 by upholding
the standards of excellence for the banking sector
to empower its workforce through the systematic
transfer of knowledge and qualifications.

Members of the AICB are bound by a Code of

Professional Conduct.
Lesson 4 - Professionalising The Banking Sector
- AICB
- Acceleration towards Professionalising the Banking Sector 加速银行业专业
化

Wide Commitment to Professionalise the

Malaysian Banking Industry
The Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers (AICB) and CEOs and
representatives of 21 member banks of The Association of Banks in
Malaysia signed a joint declaration to enhance efforts to
professionalise the Malaysian banking industry.

Chartered Banker
- A recent study devised by Nottingham University and the Chartered

Banker Institute found that professionally qualified bankers have an

extremely high level of professional pride in their work, compared to

their non-qualified counterparts. The results of the study further

suggest that those bankers, who have made a strong commitment to

professionalism, profoundly believe in the value of what they do.

- Nottingham University Research

What are the Principles of Professional Conduct?

1. Responsibility
2. Integrity
3. Objectivity
4. Respect
5. Competence and due care
6. Confidentiality

Lesson 5 - Code of Ethics for The Financial Services Industry

- Bank Negara Malaysia / Central Bank of Malaysia

- CODE of Conduct: For Malaysia Wholesale Financial Markets
- Each bank have their own Code of Ethics
Lesson 6 - Professional Ethical Banking Behavior

Ethical banking behaviours are what guide you as a professional in banking.

1. Integrity
a. Maintain consistently high moral standards in all professional and
business relationships.

2. Honesty
a. Honestly is telling the truth the truth. It means not misleading other by
omitting relevant facts (e.g credit officer knows the potential customer
has cash flow problem with another company he own but does not
inform the credit assessment officer)
b. Financial Probity
i. The quality of having strong moral principles; honesty and
decency ( super honest).

3. Openness and Transparency

a. Being prepared to disclose information that others are entitled to know
(e.g. Product disclosure to the customer to avoid mis-selling).

4. Fairness
a. Impartial and just treatment or behaviour without favouritism or
discrimination (e.g. Do not disclose price information to a bidder who is
also your friend).

5. Objectivity, Independence and familiarity

a. Free from individual biases in making decision interpretations. No
conflict of interest or undue influence of others to override professional
or business judgments (e.g. A Relationship manager (RM) should not
do business with family members - familiarity)

6. Accountability and Responsibility

a. Accountability is an upward concept suggesting that a person can be
called to account by someone senior.
b. Responsibility is a downward concept in that an individual may be
responsible for the outputs of subordinates.
c. The main difference between responsibility and accountability is that
responsibility can be shared while accountability cannot. Being
accountable not only means being responsible for something but also
ultimately being answerable for your actions.
 7. Judgement
a. Making appropriate assessments of facts and coming to appropriate
decisions, to the best of the individual’s knowledge, skill and
experience.

8. Scepticism
a. Being alert to conditions which may indicate possible misstatement due
to error or fraud and a critical assessment of the evidence.

9. Professional Competency
a. To maintain professional knowledge and skill at the level required to
provide competent professional service.

10. Confidentiality
a. To refrain from using confidential information acquired as a result of
professional and business relationships for personal advantage.

Professional Ethical Banking Behavior is more than just a mere guideline for
bankers. It is more beyond that.

Lesson 7 - Case Study

3 staff working in the XYZ Bank, and their HR manager showed them a newspaper
article and photographs of them dancing on a bar counter at a hotel lounge without
their shirts.

The article mentioned, that the 3 were staff from XYZ Ban and they had spent over
RM10K in liquor and food. In addition, their behaviour had caused a commotion at
the hotel lounge. The article questioned why a reputable bank like XYZ tolerated
such behaviour.

The HR manager explained the bank is considering dismissing them for tarnishing
the reputation of the bank. The 3 replied that they were only celebrating the closing
of a multimillion-dollar IPO with the client and had paid for the celebration using their
own money from the sales commission. Furthermore, the celebration was done
outside office hours and the bank profited from the deal.
What do you think the bank should do?

BANK DECISION
The bank terminated the 3 staff because of the breach in the employment
contract which specifically states any behaviour that tarnishes the image of
the bank can lead to dismissal.

The 3 took the matter to court and the court also upheld the decision of the
bank – reputational damage.

Lesson 8 - Self Assessment