You could do your banking and stock trades, anywhere and anytime. To quote devout fan Dr Loke Kwok Kheong, “PALDIRECT was the best thing on earth”. Not only were they popular with individuals, but they were soon also installed at coffee shops and mini markets.
PALWORLD COST PC
In June 1995, Phileo launched PALDIRECT - the first online platform that enabled stock trading transactions, payments and the execution of other banking services, first via a PC and then through mobile phones. And, voilà, the internet revolution was just taking off - it was the obvious answer. It was obvious that we had to employ the latest in technology - to overcome the lack of branches, to facilitate conveniences, to lower operating costs and to enable product innovation and deliveries. But we did have the advantage of no legacy systems. We were a new start-up, without the branch networks and history.
We knew we had no relative advantage over the large corporations and government-linked companies, nor did we have any advantage in housing mortgages, at least in the near term. How were we, at PhileoAllied Bank, going to succeed in such a challenging environment? The most crucial decision we made, and executed, was that we would be customer-centric with high service quality to serve the upper-middle-class segment of the urban population, catering to their need for investment products and wealth management. Besides the local giants such as Maybank and Public Bank, there were global banks such as Citi and HSBC as well as many mid-tiered successful banks each serving niche markets, such as Hock Hua Bank and Wah Tat Bank. Needless to say, it was a highly competitive environment.
There were 36 commercial banks, 39 finance companies and 12 merchant banks in operation. The banking industry in Malaysia was far more vibrant and dynamic in those days. That consolidated bank is UOB Bank Malaysia today. Through the sons of Mr Wee Cho Yaw, I met Mr Wee and convinced him to consolidate his banks in Malaysia. Besides the UOB Bank with the KK branch, it also owned Chung Khiaw Bank and Lee Wah Bank. Subsequently renamed PhileoAllied Berhad, it went on to acquire Petra Finance and Phileo Peregrine Securities, UOB Bank (Malaysia), which had only the single branch in KK, and took over the ailing Co-operative Central Bank, which had a deficit of RM600 million.īack then, the UOB Bank Group in Singapore had three banking licences and operated three different banks in Malaysia. From August 1993, Phileo began by acquiring Linatex Process Rubber Bhd from Harrisons & Crosfield Plc. This was the culmination of a process that began about a year back. Allied Bank, subsequently renamed PhileoAllied Bank, began operating as a Malaysian-owned bank after taking over the single Kota Kinabalu (KK) branch of the UOB Bank in Malaysia from UOB Bank Group of Singapore. Twenty-eight years ago, on Merdeka Day in 1994, a new Malaysian bank was born.
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