ICBC's Jimmy Chan to outline the threats and opportunities of open API

Competition and cooperation will shape the interaction between incumbents and TSPs.

Jimmy Chan is Chief Operation Officer and Head of Operation Management at Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia) Limited. He has over 35 years of senior operations management experience in major international banks, including Chase Manhattan Bank, ABN-AMRO Bank, OCBC Bank, CITIC Industrial Bank (China), CITIC Bank International, DBS Bank, and ICBC (Asia).

Jimmy is currently a member of the Consultative Council of the Hong Kong Association of Banks and a member of the Financial Services Delivery Channel Committee of the Hong Kong Association of Banks.

He has a Bachelor of Social Sciences (Hons) degree from Hong Kong University and a Master of Business Administration (EMBA) from The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

In an interview with Asian Banking & Finance, Jimmy discussed his business experience and philosophy, as well as how traditional banks can evolve with the presence of third-party service providers (TSPs).

What were the previous experiences and positions you've held that contributed to who you are as an expert banker today?

My 35 years' of banking experience started out in the Chase Manhattan Bank as a management trainee in traditional corporate and retail banking operation in the 1980s. With a versatile and well-structured career development path, I was groomed into a seasoned and skilled operation management executive of the American Bank for 16 years. During the transformation of the banking landscape in the midst of the Internet boom in the new millennium, I have been attempting different business models by joining different banking institutions, including the European ABN-AMRO Bank, the Singaporean OCBC Bank, the Chinese CITIC Bank International, and the Singaporean DBS Bank. Then, with the rapid growth of the Chinese banking industry, I joined the Chinese ICBC (Asia) Bank in 2010 until the present time. In fact, my resilience in the banking industry has ever been strengthened through the wide range of experience spanning across the evolution of banking products, channels, and customer base, not to speak about the cultural diversity among all these banking institutions.

What are your key business philosophies?

My business philosophy is basically threefold:

• Focus on your core competence.
• Be close to your customers’ needs.
• Stay vigilant to competition and regulation.

Can you give us a glimpse of what you will share at the ABF Digital Payments Summit 2019?

I would like to discuss with the conference participants on the threats and opportunities to traditional banks brought about by the emergence of third-party service providers (TSPs) through open API. The role of traditional banks as financial intermediaries is at risk if their fundamental role as financial intermediary is taken up by TSPs which can provide a much powerful financial service integrator engine to the customers, leaving banks which also invest heavily in this arena to cooperate and compete with these intelligent players.

The 2019 ABF Digital Payments Summit will take place on 28 August in Hong Kong. To learn more about the event, click here. To register, click here. For inquiries, you may contact Andrea at [email protected] or at +65 3158 1386 ext 212.