In the course of a near 30-year career in banking, Margaret Leung Ko May-yee has seen what it takes to create a major financial powerhouse and an internationally recognised brand. As general manager and global co-head of commercial banking for the HSBC Group, she is responsible for relationships with all middle-market corporate clients and SMEs in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions. This makes her a key figure in initiatives to extend the bank's international footprint, introduce new products and services, and help it to steadily climb the league table of the world's best-known brands. 'It is the sort of role that, not many years ago, simply didn't exist. When I first joined HSBC, it was all about local business,' said Ms Leung, who joined the bank in 1978 with a business degree from the University of Hong Kong after a stint as a management trainee with the Bank of America. 'But I thought, 'It is a big bank here in Hong Kong, and they are offering a high salary. If I don't like the job, I can switch to another in two years'.' As it turned out, her first assignment was to get an international corporate account division up and running. And while doing that, she discovered that the vision of former chairman William Purves was not merely to be a major regional bank, but to become a major global player. In line with this, Ms Leung was transferred to Australia in 1985 to set up a new entity there, and on returning to Hong Kong was responsible for reorganising the local branch structure. This brought her into contact with corporate customers and made her realise the long-term importance of supporting their business in China. 'Although it was not a profit-making business at the time, we were able to build up a very good relationship with our clients,' she said. This is a basic lesson she and her colleagues have applied many times since. Now, with roughly 125 million clients worldwide, the group makes a point of understanding different cultures and traditions, and finding ways to accommodate them. For example, there are products specially tailored to the needs of Islamic clients and, in Saudi Arabia, a bank dedicated to serving women. Ms Leung said the key to sustained growth was achieving the right balance between international standards and the requirements of each national or local market. For this, the starting point was to hire staff from a wide variety of different backgrounds, and to train them in interpersonal and communication skills, as well as banking operations. She said it was one thing to have a standardised name, logo and letterheads to build up a globally recognisable corporate identity, but the success of a brand came down to the actions of employees. 'A brand represents the promises a business makes to its customers,' Ms Leung said. 'If a business fulfils those promises, it will prosper. If not, customers will simply go elsewhere. It is not enough to promote a brand through advertising. You should also communicate very well through your staff.' In view of the growing number of 'migrant workers' around the world with a wide scale of incomes, one of the bank's current projects affecting both commercial and personal customers was to simplify the process of managing international transactions and cross-border accounts. 'Our goal is to build a global direct bank,' Ms Leung said. 'We are also creating a suite of core automated products that will be available 24/7. We will continue to develop e-banking services, and online security will still be our first priority. But we understand that clients still want to talk to staff, so we will make our telephone services more flexible.' Despite numerous approaches over the years from rival banks, Ms Leung is happy to stick with HSBC. 'I found that people here are really nice. That is the reason I wanted to stay,' she said. This article was adapted from a speech delivered by Margaret Leung at a recent CUHK EMBA Forum. The EMBA Forum is conducted regularly to provide a valuable opportunity for EMBA participants and alumni to interact with key leaders Personal file After achieving a goal, I always set new targets and try to aim for new heights I believe that sharing my experience and values with the younger generation is one way of contributing to the community. By different perspectives, I may be able to shape their path in life To make sure that I spend quality time with my family, I don't work or attend social functions at weekends I took up golf about seven years ago and I find it is a great way to relax and get some exercise
