Toh Su Mei recalls a time during the early days of her career when a former colleague made a data-entry mistake in the bank record of a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME).
"That seemingly small mistake ended up affecting the SME's request and access to a credit line to fund his business operations. That was when I realised banking was more than just a job for me," Toh, CEO of ANEXT Bank, told Singapore Business Review.
Prior to that, banking just seemed the natural course of action given Toh's education background, saying that she "stumbled" into the industry after graduating with a major in Economics. But moments such as this cemented to Toh how critical their role is to small and medium enterprises.
"I've not looked back since my first experience where I witnessed first-hand how the right financing solution and quality of banking services could make or break a business. And for small and medium enterprises, this was even more apparent," she said. It became more than just banking to Toh. "It was an opportunity for me to make an actual difference - it's not about financing a business, but a person's livelihood and aspirations. Constantly and actively listening to customers is key, and I enjoy the deep relationships built with my customers in this process. If I somehow had to choose my first job again, I'd pick banking and do it all over again!" the CEO explained.
Decades later, Toh is now Chief Executive Officer of ANEXT Bank, one of the newest digital-only banks granted a license to operate by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), with over two decades of serving SMEs both in Singapore and across the region. Prior to her new role, Toh was regional head, SME loan product management & alternative lending for DBS Bank.
This story is from the Issue 102 edition of Singapore Business Review.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Issue 102 edition of Singapore Business Review.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Singapore's health data bill mandates regulated information sharing
To ensure data disclosure and sharing, the Ministry of Health can impose up to $1m in fines for non-compliance.
Venture capitalists sharpen focus on targeting startups' profit paths
Deal activity in Asia Pacific fell 26.3% YoY in 2023, reflecting VC firms' caution.
Strategic locations and value-added services drive growth in self-storage sector
In Singapore, StorHub has introduced online booking for storage spaces of various sizes.
Why Tim Hortons vies for top spot in Singapore's 'third place' Western coffee scene
Capturing this market is better than competing directly with kopitiams and grab-and-go concepts.
CEO Justin Quek steers OrangeTee to real estate centered around customers
A step toward this commitment is the launch of the consumer-centric event 'Property Festival' in 3Q24.
Retailers are urged to view returns management as loyalty drivers
15% of customers abort a transaction if the return policy is subpar.
National security is put front and center with new Significant Investments Review bill
Legal experts believe cybersecurity and AI entities are likely to be affected by the measure.
Three strategies to mitigate BEPS 2.0's tax impact for MNEs
Should the directive be implemented, selected MNES will be subject to a global minimum tax of 15%.
JustCo debuts first pay-per-minute airport hub for business nomads
The co-working space has around 50 hot desks and nap pods, allowing travellers to 'check-in' at work.
Fr8Labs secures major backing to digitalise Asia's freight sector
Investors are showing strong support for Fr8Labs, a company set on transforming the freight forwarding sector traditionally bogged down by manual processes.