Elizabeth Sam, one of Singapore’s most renowned female bankers, passed away on Monday (Sep 11) at the age of 84.

Sam, who had over four decades of experience in the financial sector, is remembered not only as a force to be reckoned with but also for her feminine flair in the masculine world of banking in the 1980s.

She was among the first women to join the Administrative Service in the 1960s when she started her career at the Ministry of Finance.

She later joined the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in 1971, when it was established, and was later promoted to chief manager in 1976.

During her time in the public sector, Sam played a key role in developing Singapore’s financial markets, particularly the development of the Asian dollar market and foreign exchange market.

After leaving MAS in 1981, she joined the main board of Mercantile House Holdings, a company listed on the London Stock Exchange, and stayed till 1987.

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She was also the two-term chairman of the Singapore International Monetary Exchange (Simex) from 1987 to 1990 and then from 1990 to 1993. She oversaw Simex’s expansion into the financial options and commodities markets and led the futures exchange during the 1987 Black Monday and 1995 Barings crises.

Sam was part of the team that launched the Mutual Offset System in the 1980s, which continues to give investors access to trade and clearing on leading derivatives marketplaces in Asia and the US today.

During her time in OCBC from 1988 to 1998, Sam held roles such as executive vice-president and deputy president. In 1996, she became the first woman appointed to the main board of a Big Four bank and was awarded the Public Service Star (BBM) for her contributions to the Republic’s financial sector in the same year.

From 2008 to 2016, she was a non-executive and independent director of mainboard-listed investment company Straits Trading. Sam also held board appointments at Banyan Tree, SC Global Development, AV Jennings Development, and Thailand’s Kasikornbank, to name a few.

Following her retirement, Sam served on international boards and took up ballroom dancing, even participating in competitions and winning.

She is survived by her son, Sherman Sam, an artist and critic based in Singapore and London.

“You have to have a lot of will to be successful at the time to do what she did (in the banking sector),” Sherman Sam said in an interview with The Business Times.

He recounted a conversation with his mother, where he asked if she felt that life was more exciting in the private sector than in the public sector.

Sam disagreed, as the MAS, which she helped to build, held special memories.

Jennie Chua, who is a personal friend of Sam, remembers the banker as someone who had lived life to the fullest, the way she wanted. Sam coloured her hair in “whatever hues she liked, dressed well and was always so elegant, so diva”.

“She was a wonder woman and a wonderful woman,” Chua said, adding that Sam was wise, had views but was never judgmental.

Sam was also the character referee for presidential candidate Ng Kok Song during the recent presidential election, and his first boss.

“I will always treasure the memory of this marvellous lady. She gave me the big break in my investment career,” Ng said in a Facebook post.