PUBLIC BANK AIMS TO APPROVE RM90B LOANS
3-year plan shows group’s support of home ownership and SMEs, says Teh
PUBLIC Bank Bhd is targeting to approve RM50 billion in housing loans and RM40 billion in small and medium enterprise (SME) loans in the next three years.
Founder and chairman Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow said the target reflected the group’s continued support of government efforts to promote home ownership and SME businesses.
“One of the group’s key focus areas in sustainability is responsible lending, particularly in providing financing for first-time homebuyers and the SME segment,” he said at Public Bank’s annual general meeting, here, yesterday.
The group’s loan portfolio for residential properties and SMEs amounted to RM110.5 billion and
RM69.5 billion, respectively, at the end of last year.
It approved more than 42,000 housing loan applications amounting to RM16.18 billion last year. Of these, 62.3 per cent were for affordable properties.
For the SME segment, Public Bank approved about RM11.05 billion in loans.
Teh said the financial services operating environment was expected to be more challenging, citing that innovation and technology would change the banking landscape.
He said Public Bank had allocated about RM400 million to improve its information technology infrastructure over the next three years.
Public Bank’s net profit in the year ended December 31, 2018 increased 2.2 per cent to RM5.59 billion from RM5.47 billion a year ago. Revenue rose six per cent to RM22.04 billion from RM20.86 billion.