Zalman Zainal, Hong Leng Bank’s chief marketing and communication officer (2nd from right), receiving the award from Datuk Noraini Ahmad, Deputy Minister of Women, Family, and Community Development (2nd from left) at the Sustainability & CSR Malaysia Awards 2024
KUALA LUMPUR: Hong Leong Bank has been recognised as Bank of the Year for Community Empowerment at the Sustainability & CSR Malaysia Awards 2024.
In a statement, the bank said this was attributed mainly to initiatives to empower over 9,000 students and members of the community to date with financial literacy and scam awareness workshops through financial literacy platform HLB DuitSmart, as well as various employee-led community empowerment initiatives.
Group managing director and CEO Kevin Lam said the bank believes financial literacy and community empowerment are not just initiatives, but pathways to building stronger connections and creating lasting positive change.
"We believe financial literacy isn't just about numbers; it's about empowering individuals to make the best life decisions. Through our education initiatives and resources, we strive to equip our customers with the knowledge and skills to navigate their financial journeys confidently," he said.
Chief marketing and communication officer Zalman Zainal, who also leads the bank’s CSR team, said: “We see ourselves as a partner to our customers and the communities we serve, and our employee-led CSR initiatives are a natural extension of that customer-centric mindset."
Since its inception in 2019, the HLB DuitSmart program has brought financial literacy workshops to more than 100 primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions, equipping students with the knowledge needed to navigate personal budgeting, financial planning, and protecting themselves from financial fraud.
Hong Leong Bank also conducts scam awareness workshops for SMEs and underprivileged members of the community, ensuring that the wider society can better protect themselves from the latest scams and better plan for their financial futures.
The programme has also officially entered the Malaysia Book of Records for the “Most Students Graduated from a Financial Literacy Program”, as it witnessed 1,789 students graduating from its flagship DuitSmart Kids program, achieved in collaboration with Smart Reader Worldwide.
