Kuala Lumpur, Monday, 15 January 2018 – We refer to the recent articles in the media pertaining to voluntary separation schemes by banks in Malaysia. These initiatives were part of the banks’ efforts to re-align their internal strategies in relation to manpower requirements for better efficiency to suit their respective business objectives in light of advancement of technology which is more system-driven.

With the emergence of financial technology and digitalisation in the banking sector, banks may take on approaches to trim its workforce in certain areas of its operations while increasing its workforce in other key focus areas. As at end November 2017, there were over 4,000 vacancies in the banking industry. In addition, there were more than 4,500 new jobs created from January to November 2017 arising from digitalisation. Collectively, the vacancies and new roles created provide significant number of employment opportunities in the banking sector.

Many of the new roles created are more focussed in the areas of automation and Information Technology (IT) which is crucial to meet the demands of the evolving dynamics of the digital banking eco-system. To remain competitive in the digital banking sphere, banks have also initiated efforts with staff retraining, upskilling and/or redeploying opportunities in order to meet current demands of the banking industry.

Our member banks place great emphasis and investment in providing continuous training for the development of their workforce. They also remain committed to delivering quality banking services.