Two more top Alliance Bank executives quit

PETALING JAYA: A month after Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd group CEO Datuk Bridget Lai resigned her position, two other top executives have submitted their resignations.

In its confirmation via email yesterday, Alliance Bank said the two were Sachi Ratnajoothy, executive vice-president/CEO of Alliance Investment Bank and head of financial markets at Alliance Bank, as well as Lok Eng Hong, the head of dealing, equity markets at Alliance Investment Bank.

“We confirm that Sachi and Lok have recently tendered their resignations from the bank for personal reasons to pursue their own interests,” Alliance Bank said.

“Their departure will not have any impact on the bank’s operations as we have systems and processes in place to enable the business to continue as usual,” it added.

Lai had announced her resignation on Feb 25, to be effective on April 1.

Following Lai’s resignation, Shim Kon Teck had also resigned as group chief operating officer with effect from April 1.

The bank is currently looking for a new group CEO.

A source close to the bank said Sachi and Lok’s resignations were not related to Lai’s departure.

“It is unrelated and it should not affect the bank. The positions are not critical ones,” he added.

Analysts contacted did not expect the resignations to affect the bank’s day-to-day operations.

A bank-backed analyst said: “It is unclear at this juncture whether these moves will spark more resignations from senior management.”

Another analyst with a local stockbroking firm said the news did not reflect positively on the bank.

“I do not think it’s good news especially at such a time. It may send jitters to investors. Investor sentiment may be slightly affected,” she said.

However, the analyst did not expect the resignations to have much impact on the bank’s operations as there were deputies and second-in-command to take over.

Source : PAGI.com

Datuk Bridget Lai's Profile.

Datuk Bridget Lai is a Director at Alliance Bank Malaysia Berhad, Alliance Investment Bank Berhad and Alliance Financial Group Berhad. She joined Alliance Financial Group as its Group Chief Executive Officer on 1 September 2005. Prior to her appointment at Alliance Financial Group, Datuk Bridget was attached to a leading international Bank for many years and has vast and global experience in most aspects of banking operations. During her tenure at the international bank, she was the first and only Malaysian to be appointed the position of Country Head of Consumer Banking, Malaysia. She subsequently went on to hold an international position with the same bank as the Global Head of Distribution, making her the first Asian to hold the portfolio in the organisation. Datuk Bridget is also a proponent of gender equality issues in the corporate workplace. In July 2007, she was awarded the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year 2007. She was conferred her datukship in June 2007 by His Majesty, Yang di-Pertuan Agong – The King of Malaysia. In addition to her Masters of Business Administration degree (with Distinction) from the University of Hull, United Kingdom, she is also a member of the Malaysian Association of Company Secretaries and is a Certified Financial Planner.