The book

The Ultimate Banker condenses Edwin Lim’s 23 years in banking, in which he went from trainee to chief operating officer of a multinational bank in six years. It covers how to get a bank job and rank up, and the areas of a bank, from investment banking to back-office operations.

Published by Aktive Learning, it entered Kinokuniya’s weekly business bestseller list at No. 7 on 20 October 2012 and was No. 1 by 28 October, ahead of The Intelligent Investor and Rich Dad Poor Dad. It was still No. 1 on 7 November.

A Chinese translation, 顶级银行家 (Dingji Yinhangjia), was published by Hainan Publishing House in 2014 for the China market.

“Part self-help career guide, part introduction to the banking industry and part biography.”

Dr Wealth review, 24 October 2012

Kinokuniya, BusinessWeekly bestseller list

Entered atNo.720 October 2012

ReachedNo.128 October 2012up 6 places

Weekly rank, 2012: No. 7 on 20 October, No. 1 on 28 October, and still No. 1 on 7 November.

Kinokuniya, Business

Weekly bestsellers, 28 October 2012

Moves are against the list of 20 October, when the book entered at No. 7. New: not in that top ten.

Kinokuniya weekly business bestsellers, 28 October 2012, with each book’s move since the list of 20 October 2012
No.	Title	Since 20 Oct
1	The Ultimate Banker	up 6
2	The Intelligent Investor, by Benjamin Graham, Jason Zweig	New
3	Rich Dad Poor Dad, by Robert T. Kiyosaki	down 1
4	Value Investing REITs, by Attlee Hue	up 1
5	Building Wealth through REITs, by Bobby Jayaraman	down 4
6	Why I Left Goldman Sachs, by Greg Smith	New
7	Timing the Property Market	New
8	Warren Buffett and the Interpretation of Financial Statements, by Mary Buffett, David Clark	New
9	The Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing, by Robert T. Kiyosaki	down 3
10	Currency Wars, by James Rickards	down 7

Inside

Getting a bank job and ranking up
Investment banking, including M&A
Wealth management
Trading, sales and product structuring
Asset and liability management
Risk management
Back-office operations

The authors

Edwin Lim

More than 23 years of international banking across retail, corporate and investment banking, in London, France, Norway, Finland, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Went from trainee to chief operating officer in six years, and has held the COO position at OCBC Bank (China), Crédit Agricole (China) and Calyon (Taiwan). Incorporated two banks in China, managed two bank mergers, and presented at Princeton University’s Finance and Banking Seminar Series.

Kaiwen Leong

Economist and entrepreneur. Master’s and PhD in economics from Princeton University, where he twice won the Towbes Prize for outstanding teaching. Served as an economist at SPRING Singapore; at the time, assistant professor of economics at Nanyang Technological University and associate faculty member at the Singapore Institute of Management.

Edward H. Choi

Then a student in Princeton University’s economics department, studying in the Gregory C. Chow Econometric Research Program and the Princeton Statistics Laboratory.

Bios as at publication.

Praise

“Edwin has taken a great deal of effort and artistry to produce an excellent book…”

Chong Kok Kee, Chief Operating Officer, several top investment banks
“Hands down one of the best books out there on banking…”

Tina Tian, Econometrician, American Express
“This book provides a refreshing lens to understand the banking industry…”

Dr Ming Yang, Assistant Professor of Finance, Duke University
“I will recommend this book to fresh graduates or folks seeking a mid career change into banking.”

Marc Lui, Vice President, OCBC Bank
“One of the most insightful and interesting books I have ever read!”

Kary Li, Former Vice President of Operations, HSBC Data Processing
“No other banking book will ever be needed for fresh graduates and mid career banking professionals.”

Florence Yee, Former Associate Director, Crédit Agricole / Calyon
“I believe that the book will save aspiring readers years of trial and error…”

Dr Nguyen Duc Quang, Assistant Professor of Economics, Nanyang Technological University

Titles as at publication.

Press and talks

8 October 2012 Talk by Edwin Lim and Kaiwen Leong Singapore Institute of Management
18 October 2012 Feature on Edwin Lim Shin Min Daily News
21 October 2012 Talk Commonwealth Secondary School
24 October 2012 Review Dr Wealth
3 November 2012 Interview with Edwin Lim “Hard work is a prerequisite, but working smart … is a skill to be acquired.” Dr Wealth
13 December 2012 Talk at the National Leadership Development Conference AIESEC
January 2013 Talk for the Economics Division Nanyang Technological University
19 January 2013 Feature on Edwin Lim The Straits Times

A speaker in front of two screens addresses a full lecture theatre — Singapore Institute of Management, October 2012

The book's cover on the projector screen, above a speaker at the front of the room — AIESEC National Leadership Development Conference, December 2012

A speaker standing at the front of a seminar room, another seated at the table behind — Nanyang Technological University, January 2013

Get the book

In English and in Chinese.

English edition

The Ultimate Banker: Getting In and Rising to the Top of the Banking Industry. Aktive Learning, Singapore, October 2012. 278 pages. ISBN 9789810733339.

Chinese edition

顶级银行家：一位东方顶级银行家的职场经验 (Dingji Yinhangjia), translated by Chang Liang and Guo Xiu’e for the China market. Hainan Publishing House, April 2014. ISBN 9787544345286.