Our Commitment

Alliance Bank celebrates diversity and inclusion as part of our culture. Together, we strive to improve our work processes with the aim of providing opportunities for growth as well as to improve the lives of our employees and newly hired colleagues. We welcome and value the diverse voices of our employees. We embrace diversity from the very start of our hiring process, omitting request for details such as age, gender and religion from our job application form on the Alliance Bank Career Page. We will also continue to strengthen our efforts in ensuring Equal Opportunity in work processes.

We promote mutual respect for our employees and applicants alike. We hire and promote based on merit and assess all candidates fairly. Employees are evaluated based on behavioural and professional criteria for career progression. A diverse committee of senior management decides on promotions and monetary compensation. We adopt a stance of Equal Opportunity Employer, and recruitment is conducted in a fair and just manner regardless of nationality, race, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation and disability.

We are dedicated to providing employment opportunities to local talent. We remain guided by the permissible guidelines of any regulations and governing laws concerning foreign talent.

The Bank’s outlook on inclusivity is reflected in our diverse workforce. In FY2023, women comprised 61% of our workforce. Within this group, 57% held various management positions (Senior Executives and above), while female representation in our Senior Management and the Board of Directors stood at 19% and 22% respectively.

Any complaints of discrimination are investigated thoroughly via the Bank’s disciplinary processes, and consequence management is applied accordingly.

The Group abides by and is fully compliant with the standards and rights conferred by all applicable labour and industrial relations and laws. We have established employment policies and practices that regulate individual and collective employment relations as well as accord our employees growth opportunities. The Bank also strives to ensure that our employees total annual wages remain competitive and relevant to the cost of living.

Child Labour

We are against child labour and the exploitation of children and young persons in any of our endeavours. Similarly, the Bank's stand is reflected our Resourcing Guidelines where we have incorporated a bar against the employment of children and reiterated our commitment to comply with all prevailing laws and regulations on employment of children and young persons. We also strive to ensure that our supply chain remains free from incidents of child labour by requiring all our suppliers and vendors to complete the ESG Procurement Sustainable Assessment Questionnaire (“SAQ”).

Forced or Compulsory Labour

We adopt zero-tolerance on all forms of forced or compulsory labour and human trafficking. All employment with the Bank is based on our employee’s voluntary acceptance of the terms and conditions of employment. We comply with all relevant national laws pertaining to working hours and overtime compensation, and aim to eliminate excessive working hours. We also do not require our employees to surrender any government-issued identification, such as a passports or work permits, to the Bank as a condition of employment.

We remain steadfast in ensuring that all our businesses are conducted in a transparent, ethical and compliant manner. To ensure that every member of our organisation conducts themselves in a way that secures the wellbeing and reputation of each individual and the Bank, we have the following policies in place:

Alliance Bank Code of Conduct	All Directors, employees and individuals connected to the Bank are expected to abide by the proper standards of professional conduct and practices as outlined by the Bank's Code of Conduct.	Staff induction programmes Internal staff bulletins Compliance culture within the Bank
Whistleblowing Policy	The Bank's Whistleblowing Policy guides and facilitates the reporting of any unethical behavior, abuse, actual or suspected fraud, harassment, discrimination, bribery or other misconduct or illegal activities without fear of reprisals.	Assigned channels for reporting Whistleblowing reporting clause in all third-party contracts Whistleblowing Policy on inAlliance Intranet portal for employees The Bank has a Whistleblowing Statement on our corporate website to enable external stakeholders to communicate any instances of unethical conduct, harassment, discrimination and unreasonable behaviours by all parties, with recourse to reporting channels both internally and externally.

We recognise the constitutional right of our employees to freedom of association and comply with all relevant national laws on the same. Correspondingly, Alliance Bank supports the rights of its employees to form and join trade unions. In this respect, we acknowledge four trade unions as negotiating bodies in respect of the categories of employees represented by them (i.e., Clericals, Non-Clericals, Special Grade Clerks and Officers) and have thus been a party to the respective Collective Agreements with these unions.

The Bank recognises the standards and rights conferred by all applicable national labour and industrial relations laws and is fully compliant. Our employment policies and practices also promote employee empowerment and recognition whilst regulating individual and collective employment relations. Currently, all our employees, including those in the most junior job grades, are paid above the nation’s minimum wages.

The Bank continuously strives to monitor published living wages and benchmark against industry practices to ensure that our employee’s total annual wages remain competitive and relevant to cost of living. We aim to provide a conducive work environment in terms of an appropriate work life balance which includes elimination of excessive working hours and our commitment is monitored through employee satisfaction surveys.

We conduct an annual employee engagement survey, the Voice of Employee (“VOE”), to gather constructive feedback from employees at all levels of the organisation. This feedback helps us design specific employee engagement initiatives to meet their needs.

We are proud to continuously sustain favourable scores that are above the Malaysian Financial Services and the Global High Performing Average. These include among others:

• Sustainable Engagement Index which measures how engaged, enabled and energised our employees are.
• Well-being index which measures employees’ sentiments with regards to mental, emotional and physical support.
• Communication Index which measures whether employees feel they are kept in the loop on relevant matters and are able to voice their thoughts and be heard.
• Career Development which measures how employees view their personal development & career growth in the Bank.
• Net Promoter Score which measures how likely our employees will recommend others to be our customers and/or to work with us.

Performance Management

The Group’s performance is measured using the balanced scorecard approach. It encompasses metrics that are based on the Bank’s key financials, franchise-building focusing on medium to longer term strategic initiatives and our sustainability agenda, encompassing the ESG elements of climate change and human capital (including culture). Our sustainability targets have been outlined in the Sustainability Microsite and every division in the Bank is committed towards achieving these common goals.

The climate change sustainability key performance indicators (KPIs) covering sustainable banking business, helping our customers adopt sustainable lifestyles and business practices as well as reducing the Group’s greenhouse gas emission footprint have been incorporated into the scorecard of our Group CEO, all senior management and key sustainability champions. These sustainability champions are identified and trained or certified in ESG to enhance their competencies and in turn equipped to deliver our ESG initiatives and to competently advise our customers.

The Board sets the tone from the top by reviewing and approving the Group’s balanced scorecard. The Group Sustainability Board Committee provides oversight on the sustainability goals, measures, strategic plans and implementation to ensure we uphold our commitment and deliverables of the sustainability KPIs.

The Group’s balanced scorecard is cascaded to the various functional units and employees to ensure alignment with its aspirations. The Bank actively manages the performance of employees to ensure a robust link between the achievement of the Bank’s objectives, individual performance and remuneration outcomes. Formal assessments occur biannually, at the middle and end of each performance year.

Employee performance is assessed against what an employee achieves and how he/she achieves it. Individual objectives or Key Performance Indicators represent “what” the employee is expected to achieve. Overall individual performance is calculated based on a ratio of 80% from Objectives and 20% from our AGILE Values. In addition, the overall performance is subject to penalties that are based on risk, compliance and control outcomes.



To safeguard the independence and authority of employees engaged in Risk and Control functions that cover Compliance, Risk Management and Internal Audit, the performance of employees in Risk and Control functions are assessed independently of the performance of any business areas they oversee. The performance metrics of these employees are based principally on the achievement of the objectives of their job functions, rather than on the financial performance of the Bank. The remuneration of these risk and control functions’ employees is positioned at a higher fixed pay component and reviewed annually.

Remuneration

Philosophy

Fair, equitable remuneration that recognises high performance via variable pay and incentives without encouraging excessive risk taking.

Policy

The Group Remuneration Policy governs the design and management of remuneration for employees in the Bank. The policy is reviewed and endorsed by the Group Nomination & Remuneration Committee (“Group NRC”) and approved by the Board every two (2) years or earlier whenever material changes are required; and to ensure that remuneration practices and programmes are consistent with regulatory requirements and the Group’s aspirations. It covers all employees, including Senior Management of the Group.

Sustainability KPIs are carried by senior management and differentiated by their roles as leaders of business, enablers and governance. The compensation pool assigned to each division is dependent on their achievements of their respective KPIs which include the ESG elements or parameters. Hence, the success of these sustainability initiatives will have a direct impact to the short term incentive bonus funding at group, division and individual levels. The Long Term Incentive (“LTI”) plan is under review and will incorporate the Group’s key sustainability goals. Employees covered by collective agreements or subject to labour union negotiations are bound by the terms and conditions of such agreements.

In essence, our Board members, Group CEO, senior management and sustainability champions are being upskilled in ESG matters. The upskilling and medium to long term sustainability targets drive our employees towards meeting the KPIs, and they are rewarded or recognised accordingly.

Strategy/Principles:

• Supports a performance culture that is based on merit, differentiated rewards, both in the short and long term, and coherence to the Bank’s core Values.
• To attract and retain employees and to motivate them to achieve the desired results;
• Balances the mix of fixed and variable pay to appropriately reflect the value and responsibility of the role, and to influence appropriate behaviours and actions;
• Promote effective risk management practices and the Bank’s compliance and control culture; and
• Takes into account the long-term performance of the Bank, to create sustainable financial performance and value for the Bank and shareholders.

The Bank’s total remuneration is made up of the following components:

Determining Variable Remuneration

The Board approved the Short-Term Incentive Framework in 2017 to ensure the variable remuneration complies with the BNM Policy Document on Corporate Governance. The Group bonus pool is determined based on the overall Group performance and is subject to risk adjustments. The Group NRC takes into consideration collective input from Internal Audit, Risk Management and Compliance on both quantitative and qualitative risk outcomes to determine need for moderation to the Group Bonus Pool. The final bonus pool is approved by the Board.

Individual employees are also accountable to keep the Bank safe via their daily contribution to risk, compliance and control measures. A consequence management framework is in place to keep employees informed of the consequences of significant breaches or non-compliance which includes disciplinary actions and impact to remuneration.

The Bank has identified Material Risk Takers comprising the Senior Management and other officers who are not members of the Senior Management whose responsibilities have a material impact on the Group’s performance and risk profile. The variable remuneration of Material Risk Takers and other highly remunerated employees is subject to deferral policy. The deferral serves to align remuneration payment schedules with the time horizon of risks and the potential for financial risks to crystallise over a longer period of time. Under the deferral policy, the variable remuneration is subject to a progressive deferral rate of up to 40% where the deferral rate increases with the higher amount of variable remuneration. The deferred portion or award will vest equally over a period of three (3) years. The deferred awards, both unvested and vested portions, are subject to forfeiture and clawback in the event of a material restatement of the Bank or business unit’s financials or significant deterioration in the Bank or business unit’s financial health and/or if the employee has committed misconduct or resigned.

At Alliance Bank, we foster an environment that promotes ongoing learning and development. We are dedicated to empowering our employees by offering them opportunities for growth and career progression to help them achieve their professional aspirations. We are dedicated to employee empowerment through career advancement opportunities that align with their professional aspirations. We ensure that internal candidates are prioritised for openings and promotions via comprehensive training and personal development programmes. Furthermore, we continuously monitor and track the number of employees trained and the total training hours for the organisation as well as constantly gather feedback through evaluation surveys after completion of training programmes to ensure quality and consistency of delivery of the training programmes. We also have the Alliance Mentoring Programme which empowers senior leaders to guide emerging talents, fostering professional growth, knowledge sharing, and a supportive work culture.

In alignment with our dedication to employee development, promoting a culture of ongoing learning and improving overall job satisfaction, Alliance Bank's annual learning calendar serves as a vital resource for employees to acquire essential knowledge and enhance their skills. The curriculum encompasses compliance, leadership, technical skills and ESG topics, supporting both individual and organisational growth. Additionally, we are also dedicated to enhancing our employees' professional skills through the attainment of professional certifications. We have invested over RM7 million in employee development initiatives, with an average of 40 learning hours per employee throughout the year.

Additionally, we also implemented a tailored sustainability training programmes for different employee groups, ensuring relevance to their roles. Currently, we offer a variety of sustainability training programmes, covering Climate Change Strategy, ESG Risk Management and Sustainable Finance. We also provided organisation-wide training for Board and Senior Management on sustainability strategies and reporting standards. Additionally, targeted training and certifications were offered to Sustainability Champions, Key Sustainability Employees and Frontliners. All employees, including new hires, are required to complete our mandatory sustainability e-Learning modules. We continue to encourage participation in our Sustainability e-Learning modules, which focuses on driving sustainability competencies within the Bank and are made available to all employees via Connexion.

To maximise learning, we conduct training through various mediums, including physical classrooms, virtual instructor-led sessions as well as self-paced e-learning modules, supplemented with case studies and group discussions. Furthermore, we partner with leading sustainable organisations such as World Wildlife Fund (“WWF”), to provide learning visits and engagement talks, in an effort to enhance sustainability awareness. We are also focused on developing employee skills to improve our ability to monitor and assess sustainability and climate risks, to ensure that we remain a leader in sustainable banking.

The Bank also proactively enhances our digital capabilities to allow our employees to thrive in this technological driven world, we have introduced the Digital and Analytics (“D&A”) Academy, designed to upskill and cultivate our digital professionals. The Academy offers a comprehensive learning experience through self-paced modules, technical bootcamps, classroom instruction and professional certifications across a range of topics.