KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 9): The ringgit continued to be primarily influenced by external developments in the first half of 2023, while banks continued to maintain strong liquidity buffers.

BNM: Ringgit mainly influenced by external factors in 1H2023, banks had strong liquidity buffers

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) said its updated stress test continued to affirm the resilience of capital buffers of banks to withstand potential losses under severe macroeconomic and financial shocks, while sustaining support for an economic recovery.

BNM: Stress test shows banks remain well buffered against credit risks

KUALA LUMPUR (March 30): Against the backdrop of low interest rates domestically and globally, there have been limited signs of credit-fuelled speculative investments in the housing market, according to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).

In its Financial Stability Review for the second half of...

Limited signs of credit-fuelled speculative house purchases despite low interest rates, says BNM

KUALA LUMPUR (March 30): Malaysia’s household debt-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio fell to 89% as at December 2021 from 89.6% in June 2021, according to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) in its Financial Stability Review for the second half of 2021, released on Wednesday (March 30).

Malaysia’s household debt-to-GDP ratio falls to 89% as at end-2021 from a record 93.2% a year ago

KUALA LUMPUR (March 30): Post-pandemic structural trends are likely to add to pre-existing imbalances in the country's commercial real estate (CRE) market, as vacancy and rental rates of office and retail spaces have worsened since the onset of the pandemic and could take longer to improve, given the structural shifts observed.

BNM sees vulnerabilities in commercial real estate which makes up 7.8% of total banking system assets

The impact of Covid-19 claims and the December floods on the profitability of insurers and takaful operators (ITOs) in the country remained manageable, according to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), despite aggregate profitability having declined for insurance and takaful funds, which was mainly driven by a weaker investment performance.

BNM: Impact of Covid-19 and December flood claims on insurers manageable

The number of unsold houses remained elevated in the third quarter of 2021 despite some improvements in activity in the residential property market, said Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).

Elevated unsold houses reflect pre-existing affordability issues, says BNM

The decelerating number of new applications among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for rescheduling and restructuring (R&R) from its July 2021 peak signalled greater confidence among SMEs of their ability to service their debt, said Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).

BNM: SME loan restructuring requests down from July 2021 peak

Despite a higher level of coverage relative to earlier periods, the December 2021 floods highlighted the significant underinsurance of flood risks, according to Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) latest report.

BNM: December 2021 floods highlight significant underinsurance of flood risks

The quality of business borrowings has not shown significant deterioration, with the overall business loan impairment ratio remaining low at 2.4% in the second half of 2021 (2H21) thanks to support measures that remained in place, particularly for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), according to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).

BNM: No significant deterioration seen in quality of business borrowings

Low Employees Provident Fund (EPF) savings have underscored material longer-term risks to household resilience, according to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).

Low EPF savings underscore long-term risks to households' resilience, says BNM

Malaysia’s insurance and takaful funds posted a decline in aggregate profitability for the second half of 2021 (2H21) due to a weaker investment performance, according to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).

Weaker investment performance weighed on insurance and takaful funds' profitability, says BNM

Despite various extensions of rental relief, up to half of mall operators reported significant difficulties collecting rents from their tenants in the first half of 2021 (1H21), according to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).

Pressure on office and retail rents to remain as vacancy rates rise — BNM

Malaysia’s banking system total deposit annual growth slowed to 3.9% in June 2021 from 6% in March 2021, but remained supported by precautionary savings by households and businesses, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) said.

Banking system deposit growth slows; preference grows for liquid assets

(Sept 27): Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said his Barisan Nasional party will leave the ruling coalition once Parliament is dissolved at the next election, the New Straits Times reported.

BN says it will quit coalition at next election — NST

Most debates about democracy ask whether democracy is superior to the alternatives. Supporters point to freedom, representation and legitimacy. Critics point to voter ignorance, populism, short-termism and political dysfunction. Others look at countries governed by technocrats or strong states and ask whether expertise and competence might sometimes produce better outcomes than electoral politics.

Who governs the governors?

WASHINGTON/CHICAGO (Sept 27): US President Donald Trump confirmed that he plans to have a dinner meeting with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei on Sunday night, but reaffirmed his stance against slowing the pace of AI development.

Trump confirms meeting with Anthropic's Amodei, repeats dismissal of AI fears

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 27): The Negeri Sembilan government must continue to function as usual to ensure the well-being and interests of the people are not affected by the current political crisis in the state.

Negeri Sembilan government must continue to function as usual — Jalaluddin

Standing firm in Forest City

YOUR DAY AHEAD: Sept 28, 2026

Here's a heads up on what to look out for today.

YOUR DAY AHEAD: Sept 28, 2026 

The value of capital is often measured by the returns it generates. Yet, how those returns are created matters just as much. For Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd (Bank Islam), financing goes beyond providing capital. It is about enabling businesses to grow, widening participation in the economy and creating sustainable value for customers, communities and the nation.

Turning capital into sustainable value, guided by Maqasid Al-Shariah

Malaysia’s emergence as one of the region’s leading destinations for data centres is an important success story for our digital economy. Over the past several years, the country has attracted major hyperscalers, cloud providers and data centre operators, bringing substantial investment to Malaysia, strengthening our digital infrastructure and positioning us as an increasingly important location for the infrastructure underpinning Southeast Asia’s digital economy.

Malaysia’s next phase of growth: From regional data centre hub to a sustainable Regional AI Compute and Data Centre Hub

What company should you invest in if you want to leverage Singapore’s position as a world-class aviation hub? Some might recommend taking a position in Singapore Airlines (SIA), the city-state’s national carrier. But given how SIA’s stock price has doubled since the lows of the Covid-19 pandemic days, investors hungry for capital gains might be better off looking elsewhere — perhaps a company that is positioned within the same aviation value chain but primed for further growth.

SIA Engineering finds itself on firmer footing post-Covid

Oil advanced and US equity futures slipped after President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s latest proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while saying negotiations may resume this week.

Oil up, stock futures slip as Iran offer rejected

Here's a heads up on what to look out for today.

Oil rose as Iran stuck to a seven-day proposal for reopening the crucial Strait of Hormuz rejected by US President Donald Trump, threatening further delays in the reopening of the crucial waterway.&nbsp;

Oil rises as Iran says it won’t soften Strait of Hormuz demands

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 27): The Negeri Sembilan government must continue to function as usual to ensure the well-being and interests of the people are not affected by the current political crisis in the state.

WASHINGTON/CHICAGO (Sept 27): US President Donald Trump confirmed that he plans to have a dinner meeting with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei on Sunday night, but reaffirmed his stance against slowing the pace of AI development.

Most debates about democracy ask whether democracy is superior to the alternatives. Supporters point to freedom, representation and legitimacy. Critics point to voter ignorance, populism, short-termism and political dysfunction. Others look at countries governed by technocrats or strong states and ask whether expertise and competence might sometimes produce better outcomes than electoral politics.

Tong's Portfolio: Who governs the governors?

(Sept 27):&nbsp;Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said his Barisan Nasional party will leave the ruling coalition once Parliament is dissolved at the next election, the New Straits Times reported.&nbsp;

BNM Financial Stability Review

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BNM Financial Stability Review

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