Former MAS CFO set to join RHB Bank

KUALA LUMPUR: RHB Bank Bhd plans to hire Omar Siddiq Amin Noer Rashid, Malaysia Airlines Bhd’s chief financial officer, to head its wholesale bank, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The board of Malaysia’s fifth-biggest lender by market value has approved Omar’s appointment, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the details are private. The appointment would need Malaysian central bank approval, the people said.

Omar, who’s been at Malaysia Airlines since January 2016, previously worked at sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd, according to his LinkedIn profile. He has also been a managing director of corporate client solutions at RHB’s cross-town rival, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, the profile shows.

RHB has seen several moves in its senior ranks since last year as it shifted strategy, combining its institutional equities and equity capital markets business and scrapping plans to merge with AMMB Holdings Bhd.

Its wholesale bank is currently led by RHB managing director Khairussaleh Ramli, who took the position on an interim basis in July 2016 when the lender started the division, according to a statement at the time.

Omar has been serving notice since January this year and is leaving the group at the end of this month, MAS said in an emailed response to Bloomberg queries yesterday.

The carrier’s parent company Malaysia Aviation Group Bhd has appointed Boo Hui Yee, a 12-year veteran of the group who is currently head of financial planning and performance management, as the new group CFO, according to the statement. Boo will start her new role June 1. — Bloomberg