2023 CTBC IRM Program

Put into practice what has been learned, get to the heart of a matter, and bring yourself to the next level.

I joined CTBC‘s IBA Program in 2016. After three and a half years of job rotation and solid training from various business/product units, I was assigned to India as a relationship manager (RM), serving Taiwanese businesses on behalf of the only Taiwanese bank branch in India. So, in a wink, my expatriate journey has entered its fourth year. Put into practice what has been learned, get to the heart of a matter, and bring yourself to the next level.

Overseas branches possess fewer resources relative to the head office. As an expatriate, you must take on more challenges and responsibilities than a usual employee to provide one-stop service and meet customer needs. Thanks to the head office's solid training in areas such as cash management/trade financing products (the foundation of commercial banking services), credit investigation and analysis (meeting customer needs with optimal risk management), macroeconomic sensitivity (the inevitable risk of foreign exchange in foreign investment) and coordination among the front, middle, and back offices (teamwork and communication), I am capable of dealing with various situations at work in India. When encountering problems, I can pull strings accumulated from previous job rotations in multiple departments to find the right people to overcome difficulties.

Unlike the original IBA Program, in the IRM program, after 1.5 years of rotation in Taiwan, you will be sent overseas for field training for another 1.5 years, directly participating in international business and local markets. During the training period, second foreign language training is also provided to help you adapt to global markets more smoothly in the future. Furthermore, during the 3-year training, the company will spare no effort to provide you with opportunities and resources in finance/risk management/business development. If you pass the final assessment and rapidly advance to the relationship manager position, you can be the next rising star overseas!

Entering 2023, I have grown from a fresh graduate to an independent expatriate, from a new employee who had to ask about everything to a senior who shares his work experience. I am glad I decided to be an expatriate six years ago and joined CTBC. In this program, whether it is you or the company, both have pretty high expectations of you. In return, you get relatively sufficient resources. Occasionally, you will need to complete a project alone. Training and experience like this have laid a solid foundation for the ex-pat life. As long as you are always determined to get to the heart of a matter when encountering issues in your daily work, being humble and honest enough to ask, learn, seek the truth, and not be shortsighted, you can take yourself to the next level.

One of the most important things I learned during the training is constantly pushing myself to take my skills up a notch.

CTBC's IRM program aims to cultivate trainees’ business skills, allowing us to rotate between different units. Therefore, we can observe various business models of different companies, from Taiwan's micro-enterprises to listed domestic and international companies, and learn how to conduct business with relevant organizations. However, the most significant thing I learned during the journey was constantly pushing myself to take my skills up a notch.

I am Vietnamese. During the training, a prominent Vietnamese company came to Taiwan for a visit. Therefore, I was honored to be part of the team hosting these guests and was responsible for liaison with Vietnamese representatives. This task allowed me to employ my language skills and have the opportunity to participate in important meetings between our bank's senior managers and representatives of foreign enterprises. It not only broadened my horizons but was also a great experience.

The IRM program offers solid and comprehensive training. The initial training allowed newcomers to quickly get the hang of professional knowledge at work. I, who did not graduate from related majors, significantly benefited. In addition, as IRM will be dispatched overseas for global rotation, the company also organizes various foreign language programs for us to study and cultivate the second foreign language skills, preparing us for the expatriate journey.

True bravery is not the absence of fear. It is the courage to still go forward despite being afraid.

Cold calling certainly is the most impressive thing about the IRM program. For most people, cold calling is strange and a little scary. At least for someone inexperienced like me, it is.

I have always remembered my friends' birthdays, and I have this habit with me when working with customers. Once, there was a pending case in the process of verification and drawdown, and I noticed that the client's birthday was coming. Therefore, the day before his birthday, I brought a small cake to the client's shop to surprise him. Because I took the initiative to visit him, I addressed the customer's doubts and issues, and eventually, the money came through. He said, "I used to hang up when I received telemarketing calls, but how you introduced the product made me want to learn more about it." Although these were just a few words, I was encouraged greatly.

I believe most people are like me in that we learn about a company's culture via the Internet before officially joining it. During the first month of training, I had an interview with the management and thus gained a deeper understanding of CTBC's "Caring" culture. In addition, the professional training for corporate banking provided fundamentally essential knowledge for those with or without previous experience in the financial industry. And through industry research, we understood the role of banks in the industry, learned to collect and analyze data, and comprehended the logic of reporting. As for cold calling, it opened the door for us to become excellent RMs and taught us the soft and hard power an RM should possess. Lastly, I would like to encourage you all if you want to expand your international horizons and quickly become an all-around financial talent, the IRM program will undoubtedly be your best choice.

If you are unhappy with the status quo and are determined to go abroad, CTBC's IRM program is your best option

Before joining CTBC, I served as a sales representative in a wealth management company catering to Chinese Americans in the United States and later I worked in the back office of a well-known international financial institution in Taiwan. To seek better expatriate opportunities and career development, I turned down the offer of management trainee by a multinational company and another bank last year and determinedly chose CTBC's IRM program. I am glad that I made this decision. I can confidently say that the opportunities and resources provided by CTBC are far more than the previous two companies could offer in terms of practical experience. At CTBC, as long as you are not afraid to show yourself, you don't have to worry about not having the opportunity to shine on the stage.

The IRM program allows us to rapidly rotate among business development, project planning, and credit investigation units, and the results of each rotation stage are interlinked. For example, during the cold calling process on the business side, I learned to develop relationships with customers of different sizes and with revenues. I also noted the characteristics of potential customers in detail, so I could integrate my network with established customer resources in the following industry research and planning stage. Finally, I connected my colleagues who researched specific industries with companies in the relevant sector, successfully conducting field trips to the factory and interviews. The outcome of this report was recognized by the department head and successfully implemented by the business unit.

After joining IRM for nearly a year, I think the most important and valuable feature is how much the senior management value and care for the IRM during the training. In addition to regular group meetings for international professional coaching and counseling with senior managers, our H.R. also organized irregular activities for us to interact with senior management occasionally. Through these events, the senior managers can offer us their invaluable personal opinions, learn about our training status, and make timely adjustments according to our feedback. Moreover, the second foreign language courses and the sharing of foreign cultures by mentors also prepared us with sufficient language skills and mentality to face the challenges of the ex-pat journey. While acquiring and accumulating financial expertise and skills, I became more confident and looked forward to future overseas assignments.

CTBC's solid training and managers' coaching are critical for becoming an international corporate banking talent in the future.

My most significant skill growth since the training is the ability to apply industry research to business practices. For example, I wrote a report on the wholesale medical equipment industry during my job rotation. I used the list of trade associations I found when writing the report and previously-analyzed customer profiles to identify the customer's initial risk level and screened out the customer segment of the project. Then I made cold calls and successfully completed the task.

In terms of mentality, my most remarkable growth is mentality adjustment while facing setbacks. Working in the business unit, I always encounter setbacks, big or small, but I don't yield myself easily. Instead, I always keep a positive attitude, picking up the phone and moving on to look for the next customer. Other than that, I always push myself to the next level, realizing CTBC's spirit of "Go Beyond."

Having received comprehensive and solid training is the most prominent career advantage for an IRM. In addition to the personal coaching from senior management, there are mentors in business units during job rotation. If you have any questions at work, mentors are happy to help. Also, the company provides second foreign language courses to help you develop essential language skills. Before I joined the IRM program, I had already heard that CTBC had an excellent training system. After getting into the program, I can testify with personal experience that CTBC attaches great importance to talent cultivation!

Brave the wind and the billows; when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Hone your skills to grow and go beyond yourself.

Since the training, I remember most when I rotated to the micro business department, during which I grew the most. Because of this hands-on cold-calling experience, I have developed a more mature mindset, and my communication skills with customers and supervisors have also improved daily. During my job rotation, I tried to face my demons and picked up the phone bravely, stepping out of my comfort zone to talk to people in a less familiar way. Challenging myself and pushing my limits is the most invaluable experience in this training.

Other MA programs in the industry mostly aim to cultivate business talents but merely focus on performance. In comparison, CTBC's IRM program has a mentor system and provides MA job rotation across the front, middle, and back offices. Also, the program offers a comprehensive and all-rounded learning platform, enabling us to understand the operation of the organization and take the opportunity to establish a good rapport with coworkers. It also helps to cultivate the ability to identify customers and risks and foster communication, coordination, and crisis management skills so newcomers can lay a solid foundation instead of being over anxious for quick results.

As for various resources outside of work, second foreign language courses are provided as soon as you join the program and are taught by professional foreign language teachers, allowing trainees to acquire basic skills beforehand for overseas assignments. Also, meetings with career mentors are convened quarterly. In addition to sharing thoughts and ideas at work, we can also have heart-to-heart talks with senior management, discover how meticulous their business thinking is, and learn various tips for expatriates. These mentors are our role models in career development. Each is highly professional with rich expatriate experience to expand IRM's thinking.

Lastly, CTBC's IRM program offers competitive salaries, attractive employee benefits, and a rapid career path. After completing the three-year training and passing the assessment, you will be promoted to RM. With rich overseas experiences, you can enhance your competitiveness in your future career. Compared with other MA programs that guarantee overseas assignments, CTBC has invested considerable resources in talent cultivation. The program will allow you to not only improve your competitive edge but also expand international and diverse perspectives.

The IRM program is your best choice to be a global banker.

During my job rotation, what I remember most was the first time I went to meet clients. Back then, I had no idea what it was like to visit a client, and we barely knew each other. I tried to act natural when signing documents face-to-face with the customer, but deep down, I felt nervous and helpless. However, under such pressure, I learned and grew fast, and with each client visit, I gradually stepped out of my comfort zone. In addition, I was fortunate to participate in preparing for the central bank's financial examination during my job rotation in the marketing department. Sitting in a small meeting room, my seniors and I worked together to sort out and organize the case materials. My seniors taught me a lot, and we completed the task under time pressure. This experience allows me to comprehend CTBC's talent cultivation and teamwork culture fully.

The IRM program's job rotation focuses on the business side, supported by the experience of credit investigation, providing the resources needed to become an outstanding business talent. In addition, the global rotation allows you to travel internationally and frequently at the beginning of your career to broaden your horizon and quickly develop business development capabilities and adaptability in an unfamiliar environment, which is ideal for those looking for international experience. If you are enthusiastic about working on the business side and seeking overseas job opportunities, I believe you will learn a lot and thrive through a series of training programs.