KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 28 — Malayan Banking Bhd's (Maybank) net profit rose 2.1 per cent to RM2 billion in the third quarter ended September 30, 2019 (Q319) from RM1.96 billion in the same period last year.
Revenue increased to RM13.83 billion from RM12.06 billion previously.
South-east Asia’s fourth-largest bank by assets said its net operating income saw a 14.4 per cent jump, on the back of a robust 38.6 per cent rise in net fee-based income and a six per cent increase in net fund-based income.
For the first nine-month period to September 2019 (9M19), Maybank said its net operating income grew 5.3 per cent, year-on-year (y-o-y) fuelled by a 12.5 per cent rise in net fee-based income, as well as a 2.6 per cent growth in fund-based income, while net profit stood at RM5.75 billion compared with RM5.79 billion a year earlier.
In a statement today, Maybank chairman Datuk Mohaiyani Shamsudin said the operating environment continued to be unpredictable and the bank would remain cautious given the prolonged geopolitical uncertainties.
“Nevertheless, we are encouraged by our steady results and will focus on realising opportunities across the region especially in Asean and China,” she said.
Meanwhile, group president and chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Farid Alias said the group’s focus on pricing discipline, strong capital, and liquidity positions, as well as sound risk management and operational efficiency, would remain key priorities in the coming months.
“This year has proven to be relatively challenging for some of our clients due to the slower growth in global trade. We are therefore proactively working with them to restructure their facilities. In the meantime, we will continue to be vigilant in managing the quality of our assets while growing our portfolio,” he noted.
On its loans and deposits performance, Maybank said for 9M19, the group registered an overall loans growth of 3.4 per cent y-o-y driven by the Malaysian operations which grew at 5.3 per cent, ahead of the industry growth of 3.8 per cent, as well as loan expansion in markets such as China and Indo-China.
The bank said group deposits, meanwhile, increased at a faster pace of 5.5 per cent, led by strong growth of 7.5 per cent, 6.0 per cent and 4.5 per cent in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, respectively, as part of the group’s strategy to focus on lower-cost funds as well as maintain strong liquidity.
It added for 9M19, net interest margin was marginally lower at 2.27 per cent from 2.32 per cent a year earlier due mainly to the impact of the base lending rate reduction and tapering off of low-cost deposits in the Indonesian operations. — Bernama
