KFH Bahrain
KFH Germany
KFH Kuwait
KFH Turkey
Contact Us
Branch & ATMS Locator
Jakarta, 25 March 2007 ¿ The Asian Banker Leadership Awards were announced today in a sparkling ceremony at the Shangri-La Jakarta, Indonesia.
This is the highest award available for individual achievement in the banking industry in the Asia Pacific region today. The award plays an important role in cultivating a culture of excellence amongst leaders and senior management in the banking industry in Asia.
An exclusive audience of top industry leaders from around the world witnessed the award ceremony for 29 of the top professionals in the banking industry in the Asia Pacific region.
There were 14 awards for leadership at a country level, effectively citing the winners as the top commercial bankers in the region. Nine awards were focused on achievements in specific business lines in the financial services industry. There were two recipients of the lifetime achievement award.
The award ceremony was held in conjunction with The Asian Banker Summit, undisputedly the largest gathering of financial services industry professionals in the Asia Pacific region. The Summit is held annually in different Asian cities, and this year was held in Jakarta with the full support of Perbanas (the Indonesian Commercial Banking Association) and the Government of the Republic of Indonesia.
¿ Mr. K. Salman Younis, Managing Director, Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Berhad, named winner of The Asian Banker Award for Islamic Finance
His citation read
As one of the main catalysts in driving Islamic finance on an operational level in Malaysia, K. Salman Younis, the managing director of Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Berhad, is a man of success, vision, and innovative spirit. Through his leadership of the first foreign Islamic bank in Malaysia, Younis is one of the progressive visionaries rapidly pushing Islamic finance in a country already noted as a healthy market for Islamic finance.
But his vision goes beyond Asia's Islamic finance hotbed there to look toward growth in Indonesia, where the business has not developed as quickly, and even to seek a mandate to issue sukuk bonds in China, not yet established as a market for the product. He has also been innovative in his approach, not afraid to push the boundaries of convention in this rapidly developing business by introducing new products to the Malaysian market, products such as a risk management tool suitable for customers who have ijarah financing arrangements.
While his bank has been in operation in Malaysia for less than a year, it is already causing ripples in the local industry through its courageous stance on introducing a broad range of new products to the market, and Younis' inspirational leadership abilities. It is for all of these reasons that the judges of the Asian Banker Achievement Awards advisory council have chosen for the achievement award for Islamic finance to K. Salman Younis, Managing Director of Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Berhad.
Rigorous selection process chaired by the legendary William Seidman, former chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in the United States
The independent panel of judges comprised of three notable international personalities
Mr. William Seidman, former chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., & former chairman, Resolution Trust Corp., in the United States. Mr Seidman steered the industry through the infamous savings and loans crisis in the 1980s. He was the chairman of the judging panel.
Mr David Eldon, Chairman, Board of Directors, Dubai International Financial Centre Authority and formerly Chairman of HSBC Asia Pacific
Sir Brian Pitman, Director, Morgan Stanley and formerly Chairman and CEO, Lloyds TSB
Subject matter specialists
Mr Venky Krishnakumar, Senior Advisor, Barclays Bank
Dr Michael Ong, Professor of Finance, Stuart Graduate School of Business, Illinois Institute of Technology
Mr John Dahlberg, Former Executive Vice President, OCBC Bank, Singapore Secretariat
Mr Emmanuel Daniel, President and Editor-in-Chief, The Asian Banker
Mr Christian Kapfer, Senior Researcher, The Asian Banker
The Selection Criteria
The assessment for the awards are made on four inter-related criteria
The financial performance of the leader's business under consideration. Here we look at annual results, or the financial performance of the business under review. Strong bottomline performance is the first determinant of a leader's suitability for consideration for this award.
Specific achievement in the year under review. We then look for either a specific achievement or a series of achievements in the year under consideration. These can be in the form of an IPO, an M&A, strong organic growth, the introduction of a new strategy that works for the institution, a bold investment that turns in dividends and so on. The size and complexity of the achievement(s) are taken into account.
Based on a well-communicated vision. We require all leaders to have made speeches, given interviews or written reports that provides all his or her constituents a clear view of his or her own strategy and direction. These must co-relate with the achievements under consideration. We study all newspaper articles, speeches and interviews provided in the year under review to determine the consistency and commitment to the vision enunciated.
Augmented by a good team around the candidate. In order to distinguish between sustainable leadership and individual leadership, we study the composition and tenancy of the board of directors and/or senior management team around the candidate. We believe that a good candidate for an award in leadership would demonstrate the ability to work with others, inspire them and draw from them to grow the business. This is easier said than done, but we do know those who cut it and those who do not.
The Selection Process
The selection process begins in November and ends in February of the following year, involving a team of about six researchers working in tandem. Candidates do not apply for the award, although third parties can nominate them. The initial selection is through a survey and desk research done by the research team at The Asian Banker. The identified candidates are then subject to further scrutiny through interviews with third parties, including local banking journalists and analysts who have had contact with the candidates, peers and third party reviews. The shortlisted candidates are then submitted for a review by the board of advisors, based on a comparative evaluation done by the research team.
This is the highest award available for individual achievement in the banking industry in the Asia Pacific region today. The award plays an important role in cultivating a culture of excellence amongst leaders and senior management in the banking industry in Asia.
An exclusive audience of top industry leaders from around the world witnessed the award ceremony for 29 of the top professionals in the banking industry in the Asia Pacific region.
There were 14 awards for leadership at a country level, effectively citing the winners as the top commercial bankers in the region. Nine awards were focused on achievements in specific business lines in the financial services industry. There were two recipients of the lifetime achievement award.
The award ceremony was held in conjunction with The Asian Banker Summit, undisputedly the largest gathering of financial services industry professionals in the Asia Pacific region. The Summit is held annually in different Asian cities, and this year was held in Jakarta with the full support of Perbanas (the Indonesian Commercial Banking Association) and the Government of the Republic of Indonesia.
¿ Mr. K. Salman Younis, Managing Director, Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Berhad, named winner of The Asian Banker Award for Islamic Finance
His citation read
As one of the main catalysts in driving Islamic finance on an operational level in Malaysia, K. Salman Younis, the managing director of Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Berhad, is a man of success, vision, and innovative spirit. Through his leadership of the first foreign Islamic bank in Malaysia, Younis is one of the progressive visionaries rapidly pushing Islamic finance in a country already noted as a healthy market for Islamic finance.
But his vision goes beyond Asia's Islamic finance hotbed there to look toward growth in Indonesia, where the business has not developed as quickly, and even to seek a mandate to issue sukuk bonds in China, not yet established as a market for the product. He has also been innovative in his approach, not afraid to push the boundaries of convention in this rapidly developing business by introducing new products to the Malaysian market, products such as a risk management tool suitable for customers who have ijarah financing arrangements.
While his bank has been in operation in Malaysia for less than a year, it is already causing ripples in the local industry through its courageous stance on introducing a broad range of new products to the market, and Younis' inspirational leadership abilities. It is for all of these reasons that the judges of the Asian Banker Achievement Awards advisory council have chosen for the achievement award for Islamic finance to K. Salman Younis, Managing Director of Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Berhad.
Rigorous selection process chaired by the legendary William Seidman, former chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in the United States
The independent panel of judges comprised of three notable international personalities
Mr. William Seidman, former chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., & former chairman, Resolution Trust Corp., in the United States. Mr Seidman steered the industry through the infamous savings and loans crisis in the 1980s. He was the chairman of the judging panel.
Mr David Eldon, Chairman, Board of Directors, Dubai International Financial Centre Authority and formerly Chairman of HSBC Asia Pacific
Sir Brian Pitman, Director, Morgan Stanley and formerly Chairman and CEO, Lloyds TSB
Subject matter specialists
Mr Venky Krishnakumar, Senior Advisor, Barclays Bank
Dr Michael Ong, Professor of Finance, Stuart Graduate School of Business, Illinois Institute of Technology
Mr John Dahlberg, Former Executive Vice President, OCBC Bank, Singapore Secretariat
Mr Emmanuel Daniel, President and Editor-in-Chief, The Asian Banker
Mr Christian Kapfer, Senior Researcher, The Asian Banker
The Selection Criteria
The assessment for the awards are made on four inter-related criteria
The financial performance of the leader's business under consideration. Here we look at annual results, or the financial performance of the business under review. Strong bottomline performance is the first determinant of a leader's suitability for consideration for this award.
Specific achievement in the year under review. We then look for either a specific achievement or a series of achievements in the year under consideration. These can be in the form of an IPO, an M&A, strong organic growth, the introduction of a new strategy that works for the institution, a bold investment that turns in dividends and so on. The size and complexity of the achievement(s) are taken into account.
Based on a well-communicated vision. We require all leaders to have made speeches, given interviews or written reports that provides all his or her constituents a clear view of his or her own strategy and direction. These must co-relate with the achievements under consideration. We study all newspaper articles, speeches and interviews provided in the year under review to determine the consistency and commitment to the vision enunciated.
Augmented by a good team around the candidate. In order to distinguish between sustainable leadership and individual leadership, we study the composition and tenancy of the board of directors and/or senior management team around the candidate. We believe that a good candidate for an award in leadership would demonstrate the ability to work with others, inspire them and draw from them to grow the business. This is easier said than done, but we do know those who cut it and those who do not.
The Selection Process
The selection process begins in November and ends in February of the following year, involving a team of about six researchers working in tandem. Candidates do not apply for the award, although third parties can nominate them. The initial selection is through a survey and desk research done by the research team at The Asian Banker. The identified candidates are then subject to further scrutiny through interviews with third parties, including local banking journalists and analysts who have had contact with the candidates, peers and third party reviews. The shortlisted candidates are then submitted for a review by the board of advisors, based on a comparative evaluation done by the research team.
