In my life the world of business more so in risk management has always appealed to me. I chose a career in business based on the influence from my parents who are successful business people. I evaluated the success of my parent’s business life and this assisted me to have an understanding of what I wanted in life. I decided to pursue a career in business more so in risk management. After securing a job at the Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd (HSBC), I have been working in the risk department for over 5 years in different countries across Asia. I have risen from the position of Risk Identification Manager to Senior Vice President, Head of Treasury Credit Control and Risk in Bangkok.
My objectives are to gain knowledge and skills that will be crucial in assisting to identify and manage risks that my affect the banking sector especially in the Banking Sector. It is important to have the knowhow on how to handle any uncertainties that may affect the business environment that we are currently operating. Important is to recognize that there are risks and thus important to be prepared for their financial impact. Also important to my line of work is to minimize the effects of risks by applying necessary safety measures thus minimizing in the process the severity of the risk. Finally is to work in shifting the burden of the risk to the third party which happens to be the insurance.
During my tenure working in the bank over the last 5 years, I have encountered numerous challenges such as the recent financial crisis which helped to create a drive to pursue an Executive Master of Science in Risk Management. The financial crisis was a challenge to the banking industry globally it had a serious effect on the banking industry from 2007 to around 2010. All the banks including HSBC risk department had to develop measure that ensured the banks did not collapse. Northern Rock was a bank which in 2007 was a victim of banking crisis which was caused by a sudden demand for withdrawals by the customers who had deposited money in the bank and less deposits. As banks lends out almost all the money deposited, it becomes hard for the bank to be in a position to pay all the demanded deposits and thus the bank my rub into bankruptcy. This will cause the bank to collapse and the depositors to lose the money they had deposited with the bank. Thus banks may be hesitant to lend and thus cause a credit crunch as it happened in the recent financial crisis. Another bank that was affected by the financial in 2008 was the Bear Stearns and was forced to close. A number of banks across the world had to be bailed out during the crisis.
The current European economic crisis is also causing challenges to the financial markets as well as banks. The Euro is widely used across the world and the European Union as an important market and trade bloc. A challenge to the Euro, knowledge and skills in risk management are crucial as it will enable to assist the bank to undergo the difficult time and come out strong. It is also my strong belief that the course shall also equip me with other skills such as it will polish my ability in public speaking thus improve my negotiation skills.
With over 10 years working experience, I strongly belief it’s now time to pursue a course that will truly enable me to be the best at what I love doing, risk management. I am ready and also confident of actively participating in the course activities towards the achievement of this goal. I am sure I will develop the necessary knowledge and skills that will help I achieve my goal of being a professional and achieve al my objectives.