Maybank’s overarching M25+ strategic thrusts to become the sustainability leader in South East Asia, coupled with an understanding of its customers’ financing needs as they embark on their green transition journeys, have contributed to the rollout of several holistic green financing solutions for both individuals and businesses.

As at June 2023, the Group Community Financial Services division mobilised RM6.1 billion in sustainable financing across various segments, including small and medium enterprise (SME), mortgage and automotive.

“We take immense pride in closing on our targeted commitment of mobilising RM80 billion in sustainable financing by 2025, a crucial part of our sustainability mission,” says Dato’ John Chong, Group CEO, Community Financial Services.

The group is constantly seeking opportunities to enhance and craft innovative products that cater to the evolving needs of its customers.

The Maybank myimpact credit card — which has a built-in carbon calculator — is one such product. Said to be the first of its kind in Malaysia, myimpact enables cardmembers to track their carbon footprint based on their spending using the card.

“Cardmembers can take action to offset their carbon footprint by contributing to reforestation initiatives in Malaysia, Indonesia and Cambodia,” says Dato’ John.

In its quest to advance customers’ green mobility aspirations, the group has partnered with electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Tesla to offer buyers preferential and competitive financing rates, with up to 90% financing through the bank’s EV financing.

“For our business customers, we also play a crucial role in supporting SMEs in their green transition journey to have the competitive edge in a rapidly changing business landscape,” he adds.

The Low Carbon Transition Facility (LCTF-i) offers financing options for businesses aspiring to venture into green initiatives such as solar installation, energy efficiency, green building, climate change adaptation, pollution and water or wastewater management. SMEs can use the LC TF/-i facility for consultation fees and licensing fees from regulatory authorities.

In addition, Maybank’s High Tech and Green Facility-i is specifically tailored to support SMEs in the key sectors of digital tech, green tech and biotech, providing them access to financing for a diverse range of green initiatives including agriculture technology ventures such as vertical farming and precision automation or repurposing of underutilised assets.

As it engages with SMEs and business customers, Dato’ John says there are misconceptions about green financing. He concedes SMEs may find it daunting to navigate through information and resources on green financing. To address these challenges, Maybank officers are on hand to assist customers in their green financing application process.

Beyond green financing, the group remains committed to addressing customer pain points, such as SMEs’ need for easy and quick access to cash. To meet their cash flow needs, the group introduced SME Digital Financing, which has a quantum limit of RM500,000.

The entirely digital solution — with a 10-minute approval — reduces paperwork and resource consumption. To date, more than 26,000 SMEs have benefited from this facility, totalling RM9 billion worth of financing.

Inclusivity is another important pillar for the group. The group’s ESG priorities also mean ensuring the bankability of its customers, including the security of customers’ financial well-being through financial literacy programmes for the different customer segments.

“Financial inclusivity is crucial because it ensures equal access to financial services for all,” says Dato’ John, adding that the group’s commitment to sustainable financing extends to empowering women entrepreneurs. Its SME Women Entrepreneur Financing provides collateral-free financing, which enables female entrepreneurs to scale up their businesses and promotes economic independence.

Maybank’s “Sama-Sama Lokal” programme delivers inclusive initiatives for micro and small enterprises by providing a low-entry-level digital platform. With no registration, set-up or transaction or commission fees, merchants can have an online presence in an existing ready market for their products through Maybank’s large customer base. To date, he says, the Sama-Sama Lokal programme has processed 850,000 orders for some 40,000 businesses.

In equipping a brighter financial future for the next generation, Maybank conducts FUNancial Day events for youths, to inculcate greater financial knowledge through engaging and digestible education on savings and investments.

As the world grapples with the urgent need to combat climate change, the concept of “just transition” has gained prominence in highlighting the significance of moving to a more sustainable economy that is not only clean, but also socially inclusive.

In line with our mission of “Humanising Financial Services”, we at Maybank firmly believe we have the responsibility to facilitate a just transition towards sustainability and a more balanced planetary health for ourselves as well as the customers and communities we serve.

We understand that transitioning to a low-carbon economy can be a complex and challenging process. As such, we will support our customers on their decarbonisation journey and provide sustainable and transition financing solutions while actively financing nature-based solutions and innovative technologies that can drive down emissions.

From providing expert advice on sustainable investment opportunities to offering tailored financing options for eligible green and social projects, we are dedicated to helping our customers navigate the sustainability landscape in achieving their decarbonisation goals.

Part of this long-term journey is Maybank’s commitment to mobilise RM80 billion to sustainable finance by 2025. One of the key drivers to achieve this target is the publicly available Maybank Group Sustainable Product Framework (SPF), which details the criteria for products or solutions offered that can be recognised as green, social, sustainable and sustainability-linked.

Additionally, the group has also rolled out an environmental, social and governance (ESG) screening document, an internal client-level screening document that is aligned to Bank Negara Malaysia’s Climate Change and Principle-based Taxonomy requirements, aimed at embedding ESG considerations into the process of evaluating corporate clients.

On top of that, the Client Engagement Guidebook has also been developed to upskill our relationship managers in initiating conversations with their respective clients to identify ESG-related gaps and opportunities.

Meaningful engagements with clients require a fair-to-proficient level of understanding of how sustainability impacts those clients, and therefore upskilling of employees is critical in ensuring preliminary sustainability assessments can be done, which will hopefully lead to the ability to curate bespoke financing offerings.

Furthermore, Maybank launched an internally developed financed emissions calculator, guiding financed emissions management by enabling users to gauge emissions upfront from new financing and its impact on the existing portfolio.

Maybank Foundation, the social impact arm of the Maybank Group, addresses regional community needs by generating meaningful, measurable and long-term positive impacts to the communities it serves across ASEAN. To-date, Maybank Foundation has touched 454,160 lives.

In 2021, Maybank Foundation received accreditation status as an entity associated with ASEAN in recognition of its community efforts across the region — the first financial institution to be accorded this honour.

Through its regional flagship initiatives, the foundation aims to uplift ASEAN communities to create a more equitable society by empowering communities with lifelong financial skills and knowledge, addressing their immediate needs and building financial resilience towards sustainable livelihoods.

Under the leadership of CEO Izlyn Ramli, the foundation currently focuses on three main pillars: community empowerment, education and environmental diversity, with six flagship programmes operating alongside other core programmes that come under its community investment activities.

In becoming a signatory to the UN Principles for Sustainable Insurance, Etiqa Insurance and Takaful (the first insurer in Malaysia to do so) reaffirms the importance of sustainability in its long-term business strategy, solidifying its position as a leading sustainable insurer in the region. Group CEO of Insurance and Takaful Kamaludin Ahmad says the decision earlier this year to become a signatory to the global framework, which is under the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), was driven by Etiqa’s core purpose: to be an insurance and takaful company that makes the world a better place.

The UNEP FI is a partnership between the UNEP and the global financial sector to mobilise private-sector finance to help create a financial sector that serves people and the planet while delivering a positive impact. The UNEP FI works with more than 400 members comprising banks, insurers and investors, and over 100 supporting institutions.

The insurance and takaful arm of Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) has solidified its sustainability targets into three key ambitions:

For the first half of 2023, Etiqa has achieved a commendable 83% low-to-medium ESG risk rating for its equity investments, significantly impacted more than 500,000 households (which is half of its target), and made promising strides in reducing fuel consumption for Scope 1 and achieving carbon-neutral status for Scope 2 emissions.

“We integrated ESG principles into our business strategy and aspects of our business operations. At the same time, we are aware of the need to be socially responsible, which drove us to increase awareness of the importance of the ‘social’ element in ESG,” says Kamaludin.

He adds that being at the forefront of sustainability means taking a 360º approach to sustainability and by viewing sustainability as more than corporate social responsibility and waste reduction, Etiqa has come up with several innovative offerings.

“Our Drive Less Save More motor add-on encourages motorists to drive less to claim a rebate. In addition, we have also offered the first-in-Malaysia EV (electric vehicle) home charger coverage, first-in-Malaysia mental health coverage and first-in-Malaysia online OKU (persons with disabilities) takaful coverage,” he says.

“We are also the pilot partner for the Employees Provident Fund’s iLindung programme, providing coverage for Malaysians using their EPF account balances, and with the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Costs of Living in providing Rahmah insurance and takaful,” says Kamaludin. Through these products and services, Etiqa hopes to encourage its partners and customers to join the insurer on the sustainability journey.

Along the way, Etiqa has overcome three key challenges, namely the lack of awareness of sustainability, the need to shift mindsets and obtaining a baseline understanding of its sustainability position.

“We advocated patience and gradually instilled the significance of sustainability within the organisation. In 2019, inspired by Maybank’s sustainability commitments and framework, and with the support of our shareholders Maybank and Ageas, we embarked upon this transformative journey,” he says.

Additionally, Etiqa plans to expand its “E” and “S” products and solidify targets for its green portfolio and equity investments.

“We are committed to further reducing our carbon footprint through initiatives such as LED light refurbishment, solar energy usage and electric vehicles. We will continue our collaborations with entities such as ROSE Foundation, National Cancer Society Malaysia and Alam Flora Environmental Solutions (AFES) as part of our commitment to healthcare and recycling initiatives,” says Kamaludin.

“As a regional player, we plan to export our sustainability practices to other ASEAN countries, including Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia and Cambodia, thus extending our sustainability footprint and driving positive change across borders.”