A tale of two Thai bankers

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The contrast could not have been greater. Each of the two 40-somethings heads one of Thailand's largest banks, having inherited their family mantles. Both have managed to keep their banks afloat during a tough three years that has seen other institutions collapse or be taken over by foreigners. Both also have degrees in chemical engineering from US universities.
But there the similarity ends. Banthoon Lamsam, the Harvard MBA president of Thai Farmers Bank and former chairman of the Thai Bankers' Association, captivated delegates at the Asian Development Bank annual conference in Chiang Mai with his heart-rending off-the-cuff speech on how it was tough at the top for Thai bankers these days.
Did he really have sleepless nights over the future of his staff, we wondered? While Banthoon stole the limelight and found himself mobbed on all occasions by the local media, Chartsiri Sophonpanich, president of Bangkok Bank, took an altogether more low-key approach.
The mild-mannered MIT MBA conWned himself to making the introductory remarks for an Institute of International Finance lunch.

"One moment you are drenched, then the sun comes out, and just when you are beginning to dry off, you get drenched again," he said, drawing a telling analogy between running a bank and the exuberant Thai water festival of Songkran.
We are not sure how Banthoon got back to Bangkok, but we would take a guess it was at the front of the plane, or maybe he hitched a ride on one of the executive jets parked at Chiang Mai airport.
Meanwhile, Euromoney spotted Chartsiri guiding his young children to the very back of the plane for his return trip, before being jammed into a Thai Airways International bus with the rest of humanity on arrival.

Sovereign wealth funds on euromoney.com

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A tale of two Thai bankers

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