Teh Hong Piow – A Banking Thoroughbred traces the eventful 40-year
financial odyssey of Public Bank Bhd founder and chairman. The story
tells of how Public Bank is the cornerstone of Teh’s life: Public Bank
is him and he is Public Bank. They are synonymous. The book will hit
bookstores
nationwide soon. Proceeds from the sales of the book will go to charity.
STARTING a bank by any measure is not only rare but also exceptional.
For a young man – with only 16 years’ experience in the banking
industry and sharp business acumen – to set up his own bank and turn it
into one of the country’s finest financial institutions was a near
impossibility.
Nevertheless, Teh Hong Piow, then 36, beat all the odds and became the
founder, owner and managing director of Public Bank Bhd, which opened
its doors for business on Aug 6, 1966, in a three-storey building at No
4, Jalan Gereja in Kuala Lumpur.
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The book
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Even from the start, Public Bank was no mediocre bank
and different from the others – its niche was retail banking but with a
new twist targeting the man-on-the-street.
The strategy bore fruit and the bank achieved positive results in
record time, registering a profit after only five months of operations.
By the end of 1966, the bank’s paid-up capital was RM12.75mil. On Sept
15, 1966, a second branch was set up in Malacca, while Public Finance,
a wholly owned subsidiary, started business on Sept 24, 1966. On Jan 7,
1967, another bank branch was opened in Ipoh.
On April 6, 1967, Public Bank was listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock
Exchange with a paid-up capital of RM16mil, a record then for a
commercial bank.
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Malaysia’s first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj is warmly welcomed by Teh Hong Piow at the official opening of
Public Bank on April 4, 1967.
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The bank grew at an astounding pace, turning in profits every single year – even during the Asian financial crisis.
To Teh, it was an exhilarating adventure from the beginning. He was
never doubtful of the success of his venture. Nor did he see it as a
gamble. As with all businesses, one needs to take a calculated risk.
So how did it all start?
Where most ventures do – with ambition – in this case an unshakeable
ambition driving the eager young Teh, who began life as a small trader
in Singapore.
Teh had dabbled in tin mining, tourism, textiles and garments and
property development, none of which gave him the fortune he sought.
When he got a job as a bank teller he found his true, unswerving
vocation. He wanted to do nothing else but banking and nothing less
than owning a bank.
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Teh at the office
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Teh joined the banking industry as a clerk in Oversea
Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) in 1950, at the age of 20. Within five
years he was made an officer.
His starting salary was just S$130 a month, hardly enough to provide
for his family. Teh has four children – three daughters and a son. His
wife, a teacher, was drawing a bigger salary. However, his main
objective was not the pay but a chance to learn the banking trade.
OCBC gave him the first defined glimpse of his dream – to start his own
bank. Malayan Banking was the seminal phase, which developed him to the
point when he was ready to take the plunge and realise his dream.
In 1960, the 30-year-old Teh left OCBC to be part of a small group
which helped start Malayan Banking. He was one of the management staff
charged with building the bank from scratch.
He rose swiftly through the ranks and became general manager within four years.
In 1966 came the decision to strike out on his own.
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Teh - Boys Brigade
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One of his earliest breakthroughs – a foray into
housing development – generated some RM10mil, which was used as seed
money to set up the bank.
For his management team, Teh enlisted the support of one of Malayan
Banking’s founders, Khoo Teck Puat, to take with him 10 Malayan Banking
staff. One of them was Public Bank’s current managing director, Datuk
Seri Tay Ah Lek, who along with the rest were supposedly on secondment.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Tan Sri Teh, as he became officially known from 1983, has seen his
ambition fulfilled beyond his wildest dreams. And for one who’s not
known to rest on his laurels, he aims to take Public Bank to greater
heights – making it a world-class player.
Teh has started the ball rolling with the acquisition of Hong
Kong-based Public Finance Ltd (formerly JCG Finance Co Ltd) in 1990 and
Public Bank (Hong Kong) Ltd (formerly Asia Commercial Bank) in 2006 as
well as operations in Indochina.
The bank’s key performance indicators are comparable with those of Hong
Kong’s Hang Seng Bank, the most profitable and efficient bank in the
Asia-Pacific.
Hence the question, is Public Bank on the way to join the ranks of
global banking giants such as HSBC Holdings plc, Citi and Bank of
America Corp?
With Teh, nothing is impossible.
People.. Mr Teh can.. Why can’t you?
ONE TEAM ONE VISION I I I
p.s. source from thestar newspaper business section.
