CIMB targets RM12 bln to ensure financial inclusivity for B40 segment
KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Bank Bhd (CIMB) and CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd (CIMB Islamic) have targeted at least RM12 billion for the B40’s access to facilities such as home, auto, ASB and personal financing for the period 2019 to 2020.
In a statement, it pointed out that the B40 segment has made up a significant percentage of CIMB Bank and CIMB Islamic’s retail customers since 2016 and hence, the bank is strengthening its commitment to assist the B40 segment is through their lowestin-market financing rate of 2.9 per cent per annum, under Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) Fund for Affordable Homes, a RM1 billion-fund to help the B40’s purchase their first residential property.
CIMB Group chief executive officer Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz commented, “In line with CIMB’s next mid-term growth plan, Forward23, CIMB has sharpened its focus on financial inclusivity to fulfil the Group’s vision of advancing customers and society.
“A nation’s prosperity is only meaningful when every single one of its people is enabled to prosper. Being particularly mindful of the B40 segment, CIMB has taken extra steps to ensure that our lending policies are financially inclusive.
“To that end, through CIMB Bank and CIMB Islamic, we have targeted to disburse RM12 billion to the B40 segment as home, auto, ASB or personal financing for the period 2019 to 2020, and we will not stop there. We will continue to find ways to assist the B40 segment, whether through our business operations, or corporate responsibility initiatives.”
As a responsible corporate citizen, many of CIMB’s CSR initiatives are also targeted at empowering the B40’s to help them improve economically.
For 2019, a further RM2 million has been allocated for the programme to empower more small business owners from the B40 segment.
Additionally, CIMB Foundation’s comprehensive, tertiary-level financial literacy programme called Be$MART also prioritises students from B40 families.
Since its inception in 2016, the CIMB Group has expended RM4 million on the Be$MART programme, benefitting over 10,000 students nationwide by making them more financially literate.