Squash used to be a favorite spectator sport in Malaysia.

Datuk Nicol David was the undisputed champion of the squash world. To a layman, it is a deceptively simple game: you hit the ball, return to the center, and repeat until your opponent folds. Nicol made winning look so effortless that, for a while, we thought Malaysians would dominate the sport just like we used to dominate badminton.

Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. These days, the only squash news that pops up is about some CEO being dragged to court for corruption.

The playbook for making money in wealth management banking looks a lot like that simple squash rally.

First, you hunt for wealthy clients. You survey the property scene to spot upcoming townships catering to the upper-middle class—usually in Johor, Penang, and the Klang Valley. Next, you secure a prime spot in the area and partner with the developer to fund the mortgages for these upmarket properties. The moment a customer takes a mortgage, you hook them into your Premier Banking service.

For Affin Bank, that entry point is AFFIN INVIKTA. The relationship starts there, and once they are in the door, you cross-sell investment products: first bonds, then equities. So Affin acquired Pheim Asset Management. Over time, these clients graduate into AFFIN DIVENTIUM, an exclusive tier for portfolios of RM 2 million or more.

The playbook is crystal clear, but the killer is the execution.

“The true differentiation for bank is the culture, everything else can be bought.”, a wise bank CEO once said. So, Affin rolled out an employee separation scheme (ESS). The goal was simple: boost productivity. A bank’s cost-to-income ratio is the ultimate efficiency metric; with the right team, income scales up while costs stay flat.

Wealthy clients are the ultimate prize. They qualify for bigger loans, park higher CASA balances, and run businesses that need corporate financing. They also leverage heavily to invest. Affin’s share margin financing skyrocketed from RM 605 million in 2020 to RM 1,964 million in 2024.

If you had met Datuk Nicol David before she became the champion we knew, you would have noticed she was coached by a very wise man—her father.

She was obviously talented. To play at that elite level, every athlete must be gifted. But what separates true champions is what they do when nobody is watching. People think being a champion is all about the trophies, the limelight, and the cheering fans. It’s not. It’s the grueling training, the inner circle you surround yourself with, and the sheer grit poured into preparing for the game—long before the lights come on.

Maintaining that kind of system, success slowly becomes inevitable.

Time is a great friend—but only to companies with the right leadership.