Mr. Banthoon Lamsam, CEO of Kasikornbank, visited Tsinghua and delivered a speech on “Managing Risk in Asia – Case Study of Thailand’s Banking Sector” at School of Economics and Management on May 12, 2006.
During his speech, Mr. Banthoon recalled his own experience during 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. “I still remember that people queued up in front of one bank’s headquarter and asked for their own money.” said Mr. Banthoon.
Mr. Banthoon talked about the challenges facing banks in terms of risks. He said Banking operations involve dealing with various types of risks which are the by-products of markets and economic conditions, regulatory measures, policies, as well as the banks’ own internal operational procedures.
In conclusion, “Thai banks have come a long way since the 1997 economic crisis in managing risks. Since then, advanced tools and procedures of international standards have been employed to make sure that we will not go back that way again.” said Mr. Banthoon.
During the Q&A session, Mr. Banthoon shared with students his opinion that consultants are usually more of finding the problem, and the bank will still have to carry out the deployment of customized risk tools.
Mr. Banthoon received an MBA from Harvard University and a Bachelor Degree in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University. He is currently a director and chief executive officer of Kasikornbank.
(from School of Economics and Management)
