The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the lives of many around the globe, affecting businesses and individuals alike. This health crisis has brought the world population closer together, as people stand in unison to fight the virus, while in the background healthcare systems are being stretched almost to breaking point, and economies continue to struggle to find solid ground. 

During these challenging times, RHB Banking Group continues to reassess its strengths and reprioritise its objectives to ensure it can respond faster to changing circumstances brought about by the pandemic, and safeguard the interests of customers, the communities and its employees.

Globally, the pandemic shows little signs of slowing down. In Malaysia, movement restrictions have been re-imposed to curb recent surges in the spread of Covid-19.  A six-month moratorium on loan/financing facilities was introduced in April 2020 - which ended on Sept 30, 2020, followed by the Payment Assistance Programme for targeted customers which was introduced in October 2020. Special financing schemes for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) were also made available through the Special Relief Fund, or “SRF”.  Thus far, RHB has extended payment assistance to more than 64,000 of our individual and SME customers with total loan and financing facilities amounting to more than RM12 billion.

RHB has risen to the call to aid communities suffering from the impact of the pandemic by extending a total contribution of more than RM3.5 million towards humanitarian and relief efforts in Malaysia and within the region.

Out of the RM3.5 million, RM1 million was channelled to the Ministry of Health’s Covid-19 Fund and another RM1 million to Mercy Malaysia, towards supporting Mercy Malaysia’s efforts in battling Covid-19. The balance of RM1.5 million was channelled towards deserving members of the community and also to frontliners, especially those providing medical services and support during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period.

The Group had also repurposed funds put aside for festive gifts, totalling an estimated RM300,000 towards assisting B40 families and other deserving persons impacted by Covid-19. 20 orphanages and charitable organisations within Malaysia and about 400 families in Malaysia, Laos and Cambodia had benefitted from the programme.

A special Covid-19 Humanitarian Fund was also set up to assist RHB employees, pooling a total of RM500,000 through contributions from fellow employees. More than 500 eligible recipients amongst fellow RHBians benefitted from this Fund.

Alongside the fight against Covid-19, RHB remains committed to investing in the future generation by focusing on students and youth from B40 families and the underprivileged segment to give them access to quality education and the opportunity to build themselves a better future. RHB Foundation (“RHBF”) supports up to 1,000 students annually through its structured learning programme via the RHB X-Cel Academic Excellence programme.

CEO of RHBF, Norazzah Sulaiman, who is also Group Chief Communications Officer of RHB, says: “We have put aside RM4.2 million over 5 years to sponsor a total of 60 students under the RHB X-Cel Star Scholarship programme. This year, we awarded scholarships to 11 students to pursue their tertiary education at local public universities, and there are now 21 scholars under the programme. This programme provides an opportunity for students and youth within this segment of the community to not just achieve academic excellence but to eventually help their families improve their socio-economic standing within the community.”

As a financial services group, a key responsibility of RHB is to promote financial literacy among the young. The Group started its financial education programme “Money Master” in 2018. During the MCO, RHB introduced its “Money Master Instagram Series” — a video series promoting financial literacy online through the RHBF IGTV. The programmes has been delivered to more than 22,000 students nationwide, since its launch in 2018.

RHBF place great emphasis on the health and safety of its young participants during these challenging times. To ensure that learning continues and that its X-Cel participants do not miss out on their revision classes, RHBF have localised subject tutoring and revision sessions at selected schools and continue to conduct online revision programmes, as well as soft skills training for its young participants.

Covid-19 has forced businesses to adopt robust continuity plans, re-evaluate the way they operate and re-think their digitalisation strategy to respond faster to changing consumer behaviour brought about by the pandemic.

Since the start of the MCO, RHB has seen an increase of more than 20% in the volume of transactions conducted through its mobile banking and internet banking platforms. The Group’s robust SME ecosystem also allows businesses to conduct their banking transactions online, in a fast, simple and seamless way from the comfort of their office or home.

RHB is also currently running its RHB #JomSapot initiative, which provides an online platform for SMEs to promote their products and services at no extra cost to the Banks’ over 4 million customers. #JomSapot helps accelerate business transactions, especially for local small and medium enterprises’ (“SME”), while promoting overall economic recovery and growth. As at October 2020, more than 5,500 business outlets have signed up on #JomSapot.

As a financial services group, RHB Banking Group will continue to play an active part in providing assistance to the local communities and businesses, especially during these challenging times.