This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on May 15, 2023 - May 21, 2023
JP Morgan Malaysia’s Nurjesmi Mohd Nashir is expected to be appointed the new CEO of Affin Bank Bhd’s investment banking arm, Affin Hwang Investment Bank Bhd (AHIB), industry sources say. It is understood that Bank Negara Malaysia has given the nod for his upcoming appointment.
Sources familiar with the matter tell The Edge that Nurjesmi, JP Morgan Chase Bank Bhd’s head of corporate banking and an executive director, recently tendered his resignation to “pursue other opportunities”. The bank declined comment.
The Edge understands that Zilhazmir Hamzah, who has been with JP Morgan Chase Bank for almost six years, working for the corporate banking franchise, will take over from Nurjesmi.
AHIB has been without a CEO for over seven months. The previous CEO Mona Suraya Kamaruddin — formerly Nomura Holdings Inc’s head of Malaysia — retired in late September last year after just two years on the job.
Not much is known about Nurjesmi, but those who know him describe him as having been a “loyal and hardworking” JP Morgan executive. He has been with the bank for over nine years.
He is also a board member of Perbadanan Usahawan Nasional Bhd (PUNB), a role he took on in September 2018.
According to the PUNB website, Nurjesmi had worked at Citibank Bhd prior to JP Morgan Chase Bank, and has over 20 years of experience in the banking industry and capital markets.
He began his career as an equity analyst at Maybank Securities in 1995 and shortly after, moved to Arab Malaysian Securities. He then joined Citibank’s SME (small and medium enterprise) division and went on to hold a succession of roles in corporate banking before being appointed the bank’s head of public sector overseeing the government-linked-company portfolio right up to 2013.
Nurjesmi could not be immediately reached for comment.
His move to AHIB comes at a time when Affin Bank is looking to grow its non-interest income more strongly. Last July, the bank sold its entire 63% stake in Affin Hwang Asset Management Bhd — held through AHIB — to private equity firm CVC Capital Partners for RM1.42 billion cash, which helped boost its capital but also left it with a gaping earnings hole that it needs to fill.
In an interview with The Edge last October, Affin Bank president and CEO Datuk Wan Razly Abdullah Wan Ali said he expects AHIB to do a lot better than it is. “There is a lot more we can do in terms of the investment banking franchise. We have our plans, and I don’t want to give away too much, but I do feel they can do a lot better — at least twice better from where they are today.”
AHIB’s profit before tax (excluding gains from the divestment of the asset management business) came in at RM60.6 million for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2022 (FY2022), down 40.1% from a year earlier.
Affin Bank reported a net profit of RM1.3 billion in FY2022, which was more than double the RM526.93 million it made in the previous year, helped by gains from the divestment of Affin Hwang Asset Management. Revenue expanded 47.1% to RM3.3 billion.
Last month, the bank’s controlling shareholder Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT) sold a 4.95% stake to a Sarawak government entity for RM221.74 million, or RM1.97 a share, via a direct business transaction. This leaves LTAT with a 28.26% stake in Affin Bank, while its subsidiary Boustead Holdings Bhd has 20.91% equity interest.
Affin Bank’s share price has shed about 2% this year to close at RM1.99 on May 12, giving the company a market capitalisation of about RM4.5 billion. Bloomberg data shows that of the seven analysts who track the stock, four have a “buy” call while three have a “hold”, with the average target price at RM2.23.
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