UOB Malaysia’s 2021 net profit up 12.2 per cent to RM1.14 billion
KUCHING: UOB Malaysia has recorded a 12.2 per cent increase in net profit to RM1.14 billion in 2021 on higher operating income and lower total allowance for expected credit losses.
UOB Malaysia’s total operating income grew 4.3 per cent to RM3.35 billion, on the back of stronger net interest income and higher net income from the Islamic Banking business.
Total allowances for expected credit losses was 17.7 per cent or RM103.2 million lower compared with the previous year.
The decrease was largely due to lower expected credit losses on loans, advances, financing and other financial assets for nonimpaired assets.
While prudently managing its discretionary expenses, UOB Malaysia continued to invest in technology infrastructure in 2021 to support its business growth, which resulted in a 5.7 per cent increase in total operating expenses to RM1.36 billion.
Gross loans, advances and financing base rose 2.9 per cent to RM90 billion and non-bank deposits increased 3.7 per cent to RM97.1 billion in 2021.
Amid a challenging environment, wholesale banking loans and financing grew steadily, riding on the bank’s Islamic banking capabilities as well as its regional networks. The bank was the second largest loan bookrunner in Malaysia in 2021.
In addition, the total foreign direct investment (FDI) transactions facilitated by the bank increased by close to 20 per cent, compared with the year before. These flows included new investments from Greater China, Asean, South Korea and the US.
Meanwhile, a rebound in consumer spending and savings coupled with the bank’s efforts to make banking simpler and smarter for its customers boosted UOB Malaysia’s retail banking business.
This includes the introduction of the digital account opening capability on the bank’s all-in-one mobile banking app, UOB Mighty that enables customers to open a personal bank account anytime, anywhere without having to visit a branch.
On the sustainability front, UOB Malaysia achieved another milestone with the launch of the U-Energy programme.
As the first integrated financing platform in Asia, the programme is designed to support businesses and home owners to retrofit their buildings with energy efficient features to cut energy usage.
U-Energy complements the bank’s U-Solar programme, launched in 2019, to provide Malaysians with flexible financing solutions to switch to
renewable sources and do their part to fight climate change.
The bank continued to maintain a strong capital base with its common equity tier 1 ratio at 17.7 per cent and total capital ratio at 20.5 per cent.
Its liquidity and funding positions also remained robust with its liquidity coverage ratio and net stable funding ratio well above the minimum regulatory requirements.
Throughout the pandemic, UOB Malaysia continued to support its customers, especially individuals, micro-enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) through its Covid-19 Relief Assistance Programme.
From March 2020 to December 2021, the programme has benefitted more than 34,000 individual, micro-enterprise and SME customers.
The relief assistance extended involved more than RM23 billion
loans and financing, and has helped customers overcome the financial impact caused by the prolonged movement restrictions.
“Amid the volatile operating environment in 2021, we delivered a commendable performance, growing our operating income and net profit,” UOB Malaysia chief executive officer (CEO) Ng Wei Wei said.
“Through prudent risk management and disciplined business approach, we kept our balance sheet robust while continuing to capture opportunities and grow market share.
“Going forward, we remain focused on enhancing our technology infrastructure to drive innovation and performance.
“We will also continue to support our customers to capitalise on Asean’s structural growth trends, as well as to transition to sustainability through our suites of financing solutions.
“In 2021, our U-Solar helped facilitate the generation of almost 90.1 gigawatt hours of solar power in Malaysia, which translates to greenhouse gas reduction of 58.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide, equivalent to almost 972,507 tree seedlings grown for 10 years and about 12,791 cars taken off the road for a year.”