Winita Onglaor / HSBC Continental Europe, Ireland Branch

HSBC is one of the world's largest banking and financial services organisations and has been operating in Ireland since 1979. HSBC provides a range of corporate banking and securities services solutions for clients, helping businesses to thrive and economies to prosper and enabling people to realise their ambitions.

Winita Onglaor, Chief Risk Officer at HSBC Continental Europe, Ireland Branch highlights the central role financial services play in society, the value the sector brings and how financial services supports the transition to a more sustainable economy.

Being part of a diverse and international team who wants to make a real difference to the international communities we serve.

I was thrilled to lead projects related to Greenwashing risk for our European operations. The evolving nature of Greenwashing risk and the broadening experience outside of Ireland has given me massive adrenaline rush!

The international connectivity that HSBC offers to the Irish economy is unique and provides growth opportunities across multiple industries. ESG is also core to our strategy and we are supporting our clients to transit to the new economy. We celebrate an inclusive culture and believe that diverse perspective helps us create opportunities, innovate and grow. 

Financial services allow people to exchange wealth so everyone can live and thrive which will then create greater employment, economic welfare, wider education, skill development etc.

Definitely. We are the ‘go to partner’ for our clients who want to expand their operations into new markets with our presence and local knowledge in 62 countries. We are supporting our clients’ transition with market leading ESG products, services and intelligence.  

It feels great of course. It gives the feeling of doing the right thing and be at your best. You know that you do your part in helping the world becomes a better place.

I think financial services are an important part of any ecosystem as we provide the flow of capital and liquidity to support growth in other sectors.

We believe that feeling able to be themselves at work is key to a high and sustainable performance culture. This reflects in 87% of our employee said so in our employee survey. We also highest ranked international bank in Ireland’s 150 best employer in 2023.

Financial services provide great opportunities to professional growth and development due to broad range of activities ranging from wholesale/retail banking, fund management, insurance, digital assets, ESG finance and responsible investment. We also operate in a dynamic economic and regulatory environment. There will always be something new to learn every day.

Sustainability is embedded in the DNA of how we collaborate, operate and think and we maximise the engagement of our team so everyone is inspired to contribute and knows how to play their part. We look at this in four ways: with our clients, in our community, for our team and in our operations.