Maybank expects higher loan growth
KUALA LUMPUR: Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) expects its loan growth in Malaysia to remain higher than the industry average in the second half of the year.
This is after it posted a 6.1 per cent loan growth in the first six months, higher than the industry average of five per cent.
Overall, across its home markets of Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, Maybank’s loan segment grew 4.6 per cent.
The group’s Singapore operations saw loans expanding a robust 8.9 per cent, followed by Indonesia at 6.6 per cent.
“We do see strong momentum in our consumer business growth for Malaysia. However, the momentum is slowing on the corporate side. Nevertheless, we expect this momentum to continue in the second half, and the corporate side will continue to be affected by macroeconomic factors,” said group chief financial officer Datuk Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir at Maybank’s first-half financial briefing, here, yesterday.
On the implementation of the Sales and Services Tax, Amirul said the impact on the bank would be neutral.
Maybank’s net profit rose 13.9 per cent to RM3.83 billion in the half-year ended June 30, from RM3.36 billion previously.
This was buoyed by higher operating income, lower impairments as well as reduced overheads as a result of better cost management.
For the second quarter, net profit surged 18.1 per cent to RM1.96 billion from RM1.66 billion a year ago, it said in a statement.
Maybank declared a higher single-tier interim dividend of 25 sen per share, compared with 23 sen per share in the previous year.
Chairman Datuk Mohaiyani Shamsudin said the results reflected its strength and resilience in facing the evolving environment and shift in the banking landscape.
“The group is confident that its strong market position and solid fundamentals will enable it to steer through the challenges as it seeks to continue delivering value to stakeholders,” she said.