Enquiries Email: membership Tel: +44(0)131 473 7777
Deloitte Financial Services Rising Star Awards: The brightest star
RICHARD McKAY, a young corporate banking relationship manager with Lloyds Banking Group is the 2010 Deloitte Financial Services Rising Star. He was named the winner of this coveted accolade at a sparkling event on September 22 in The National Galleries, in Edinburgh.
This was the culmination of a search which began earlier this year with the Institute’s request for nominations from across the banking and financial services industry. That identified a wide range of candidates who met the challenging criteria for this prestigious award.
Its purpose is to offer opportunity for the industry to recognise and reward those set to make an impression on their organisations. In an increasingly challenging and evolving industry, the awards also aim to inspire debate about key issues.
The Awards focus attention on those individuals who possess a strong professional ethos, who have shown outstanding performance and who have made an exceptional contribution to their company over the past 12 months.
The judges considered all entries, finally selecting a shortlist of eight individuals. At a private semi-final session, the shortlisted eight gave a presentation to the judges who selected four Finalists:
CARMEL DOWNEY, head of internal controls, Group Sourcing & Vendor Management, at Royal Bank of Scotland in Edinburgh. An “inspirational leader”, Carmel has developed and delivered a successful global, sustainable, risk-training programme.
STUART INGLEDEW a senior manager at Standard Bank in Isle of Man. He has identified a range of efficiencies, revenue enhancements and cost saving opportunities, which have resulted in six-figure cost savings for the business.
RICHARD MCKAY a relationship manger at Lloyds Banking Group in Aberdeen. His ability to “think out of the box” has built him a positive reputation in the local corporate community.
KERI-ANN WALLACE a trainee accountant at Alliance Trust in Dundee. She has established herself as the finance business partner for the company’s asset management subsidiary; establishing processes, new finance reports and relationships with outsource providers.
These finalists presented to an invited audience – including some of the industry’s most prestigious figures – at the Awards dinner. Their final hurdle in this exciting and rigorous competition, was to respond to a current and demanding question: "You are an adviser to the Government on reforms to the provision of UK banking and financial services. What are your recommendations?"
Each gave a different, engaging and knowledgeable response. The audience had no doubts they were seeing the “best and brightest” in banking and financial services today. The judges found it tough to select an outright winner and all four were saluted for the calibre and diversity of their presentations.
“All of the presentations were unique and excellent in their own way and the recommendations were lively and robust,” said Rob Topley, Financial Services Partner at Deloitte. “Once again, the calibre of entrants is extremely high. At a time when parts of the UK’s financial services industry are rebuilding reputations, it’s reassuring that the industry has such talented people. They’ve demonstrated excellent skill and talent within their organisations.”
Rob continued: “Richard really stood out. With such a highly topical theme, his content and delivery were outstanding and it was obvious he had really researched and considered fully the topic at hand. Lloyds Banking Group should be extremely proud to have Richard representing them as a colleague and an employee.”
It was a thrilling evening which showcased the industry’s emerging talent as well as offering a stimulating glimpse of how the financial services industry might look in the future. “I am absolutely delighted to be named the Deloitte 2010 Financial Services Rising Star,” said Richard. “Presenting in front of some of the industry’s most influential people, as well as my peers, was nerve wracking but it was also a privilege to deliver my ideas.
“The theme was challenging this year but one I’ve enjoyed considering. This has been a wonderful experience and I’m very proud to have achieved this sought-after accolade.”
Simon Thompson, Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland added: “Well done to all the finalists, and especially to Richard McKay, who ably demonstrated high levels of knowledge and professionalism. I’m certain we will hear more about his progress in the sector in the years to come.”
THE JUDGES ROB TOPLEY Financial Services Partner of Deloitte and their lead banking audit partner based in Edinburgh. He has over 15 years’ experience working in the financial services practice, initially in London and for the last nine years in Edinburgh.
JIM LINDSAY General Manager, Airdrie Savings Bank for 10 years and Senior Vice-President of The Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland. He previously spent 27 years with the Royal Bank of Scotland, which he joined as a graduate trainee in 1973. KEVIN PAGE Operations Director, Banking Delivery Services, National Australia Group and Vice President of The Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland. In his current role, he oversees the property, performance and supplier services, commercial development and payments, and customer service centre operations functions.
SIMON THOMPSON Chief Executive of The Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland since June 2007. Before joining the Institute, Simon was responsible for managing the International Accounting Education Standards Board, an independent standards-setting board established by the International Federation of Accountants.
THE AWARDS: “A chance for the exceptional to shine” Formerly known as the Deloitte Young Banker of the Year, the Deloitte Financial Services Rising Star Awards were launched by the Institute in 1989 and have been sponsored for the last nine years by Deloitte. The Institute is grateful to Deloitte for their continuing support of this competition.
The Awards exist to give these exceptional performers the opportunity to shine on the public stage and, at the same time, further develop their knowledge and skills.
Senior colleagues nominate star performers in their teams – people they think can demonstrate what it takes to be one of tomorrow’s leaders in financial services.
Richard’s plan to ‘cut risk and build trust’ THE CHALLENGE: “You are an adviser to the Government on reforms to the provision of UK banking and financial services. What are your recommendations?”
THE WINNING RESPONSE: RICHARD McKAY benchmarked his proposals against two imaginary institutions: • Easy Bank, whose unsustainable 2004 growth rates “were outstripped only by Enron and Woolworths,” but were perilously financed with cheap, short-term finance, and • Retro Bank, founded “on traditional Scottish banking values combined with banking innovation” and which by 2020 had become “market leader known for its financial stability”.
The first of two phases of Government reform he proposed were designed to reduce systemic risk in banking. It included: 1. A requirement on institutions to retain on their balance sheets at least 50% of the credit risk associated with every transaction undertaken. 2. A prohibition on banks from buying insurance cover for this 50% retained risk. 3. A prohibition on banks from creating off-balance sheet vehicles to hold this 50% retained risk. 4. A requirement that any debt sold on could be sold on only once.
These reforms, Richard argued, would “force all market participants to focus on transaction quality.”
The second phase aimed to increase consumer trust in the industry and included: 1. A requirement on all financial service employees to complete – within one year of starting their employment – an industry standard qualification focused on the fundamental skills they required. 2. A requirement on all deposit-taking banks to produce and prominently display a quarterly report card with industry comparisons covering such items as business lending in the last 12 months, percentage of lending backed by deposits or other liquid assets, and the number of complaints received and resolved in the last 12 months. 3. A requirement on all deposit-taking institutions to produce a risk-averse product, legally ring-fenced and capitalised by “very safe” assets like government bonds. Finally, Richard recommended the creation of a Bank of England Intensive Care Team. All financial institutions would have to submit a full documentation of their corporate structures to the regulator. If a bank became stressed or failed regulatory tests, the ICT would be empowered to step in and assume its management up to and including its orderly wind-down.
Back to Features contents Back to magazine contents
Chartered Banker - the premier qualification for professionals in financial services
Chartered Banker is the most prestigous qualification in the world for bankers and financial professionals.
Specialised Certificate Level Courses - dedicated learning for all levels of experience.
Professional advancement across selected areas of expertise in key banking and financial services sectors.
Specialised Diploma Courses - qualifications of choice for individuals and organisations.
Market-leading knowledge and skills across the banking and financial services industry.
Diploma in Financial Services - a measure of advanced professionalism.
A comprehensive qualification universally recognised as a sign of enhanced tactical expertise.
Regulatory Qualifications Framework - delivering accredited expertise
Qualifications to meet compliance requirements and advanced professional and ethical standards.
We need to make sure our people have the opportunities to learn and qualify right across the full range of disciplines.
Graeme Hartop, Managing Director, Scottish Widows Bank
The Chartered Banker programme provides broad, flexible skill sets and a wide range of ways to achieve the qualification.
Philip Grant, Managing Director, UK Private Banking at Lloyds Banking Group
“The syllabus is very good for the banking industry.It fully recognises the changes in the way financial services are put together and the skills and expertise that are required.”
“We rely on the broad range of skills that the Institute provides.”
Jim Lindsay, General Manager, Airdrie Savings Bank