Yu Feng · Aug 31, 2024
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In a sharing session with new students at Fudan International School of Finance (FISF), Mr. Yunfeng Wang, President and Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Bank (China) Company Limited, combined his over 30 years of professional experience to impart wisdom on career persistence and adaptability. Yunfeng Wang's career story spans from the 1980s to the present, traversing the entire process of the Chinese capital market from its infancy to maturity. His speech not only covered HSBC's steady development strategy but also delved deeply into how individuals and businesses can cope with challenges and find new opportunities in the current global economic shifts.
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Mr. Yunfeng Wang delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of Fudan University's Fudan International School of Finance on August 31, 2024. Pic: Fudan University
Yunfeng Wang emphasized that HSBC's ability to stand firm for 160 years rests on four key pillars: liquidity management, long-term customer relationships, flow business, and an inclusive culture. First, he shared how HSBC uses "patient capital" to maintain ample liquidity. With 1.6 trillion in deposits, HSBC invests most of its funds in short-term and highly liquid financial instruments. This prudent approach to capital management ensures the bank's stable operation in a complex global economic environment. He also pointed out that despite the intense competition in net interest margins (NIM) in China, HSBC maintains a solid performance in global financial markets, thanks to its global vision and strategy.
Second, HSBC only partners with clients who have long-term potential, avoiding choices driven by short-term gains that could harm long-term development. Yunfeng Wang explained that HSBC's relationships with clients are not merely transactional but are based on long-term partnerships and mutual success. The competition in the domestic banking industry is increasingly "involutional", while overseas, the competition in net interest margins is relatively less intense, and banks are more focused on the sustainability of long-term cooperation when selecting clients.
HSBC also relies on flow business, gradually building a massive business volume through daily transactions and small accumulations. The "many a little makes a mickle" concept is not only applied to the bank's operational strategy but can also serve as a guide for personal career development. Consistent accumulation, eventually forming scale and advantage, is an important rule for career success.
In discussing his career path, Yunfeng Wang showcased his wisdom in adapting to change. After graduating from Fudan University in 1988, he joined the Bank of China's Nanjing branch. In 1989, he was sent to London as a trader, participating in futures trading in the global market. At that time, the monthly income in London could reach tens of thousands of RMB, while the domestic monthly salary was only a few hundred RMB. However, in 1994, he decided to return to China because he saw the opportunities in China's booming economy. Despite having an overseas opportunity with a salary of several hundred thousand RMB, he chose the path of domestic development, pursuing long-term career growth.
In 1998, at the age of 29, Yunfeng Wang returned to Beijing as a deputy division chief, but he chose another direction, deciding to enter a foreign bank in Hong Kong. He first worked at Deutsche Bank and then settled at HSBC for 20 years. This spirit of daring to take risks and embrace change enabled him to continuously advance in an uncertain career environment and ultimately achieve the heights of his profession.
He summarized, "Have the courage to change, especially when everything is going smoothly. The best warrior wins without seeming to; true success often comes from continuous adjustment and change." Especially in the current global economic situation, which is undergoing unprecedented changes in a century, he emphasized that in the face of future ups and downs, one must know how to adapt decisively at critical moments to grasp the initiative in change.