KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 26): Malayan Banking Bhd (KL:MAYBANK) said the removal of chief financial officer Khalijah Ismail had to be announced immediately due to the market-sensitive nature of the information.

Without providing any new details on the move, Maybank president and group chief executive officer Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli reiterated on Wednesday that Khalijah left following an inquiry over non-compliance with internal requirements and processes.

"We believe that it was a price-sensitive moment, market-sensitive information,” he said at an earnings briefing. “And once the decision was made, we needed to announce it immediately.”

Khairussaleh was responding to a question about the timing of the announcement that came days ahead of the release of its quarterly results on Wednesday.

On February 17, Maybank announced the departure of Khalijah with immediate effect. The bank, Malaysia's largest by asset size, merely said it was following an "internal inquiry."

The company later told analysts at a briefing that there was no falsification of financial accounts while insisting that all statements remain true and fair.

The internal inquiry was not triggered by any law enforcement agency and remains an isolated incident, according to several analysts who attended the briefing. Bank Negara Malaysia, which regulates the financial services sector, was informed of the decision.

"Please understand that we are limited in what we can share as advised by our lawyers,” Khairussaleh said on Wednesday. The accounts were “obviously audited by our external auditors and further there was no financial loss suffered by the bank," he added.

Khalijah, who has worked at Maybank for more than 33 years, said she was terminated and would take legal action against “the bank’s decision and protect her reputation”.

In the meantime, the bank is currently searching for a replacement and has earlier named Malique Firdaus Ahmad Sidique from its Islamic banking arm as acting finance chief.

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