KUALA LUMPUR (June 26): MBSB Bhd (KL:MBSB) group chief executive officer Rafe Haneef said the financial institution aims to grow its loan book to RM50 billion by the financial year ending Dec 31, 2026 (FY2026), up from around RM43 billion in FY2024.
“We have chosen a few sectors where we think there are more growth opportunities in Malaysia. We are looking at aerospace and automotive, renewable energy, semiconductors, healthcare, and food security,” he said at the post-annual general meeting (AGM) press conference on Thursday (June 26).
“These are areas with strong potential [sectors], where we believe we can leverage demand and drive financing growth. This, in turn, would contribute to higher revenue and help expand our market share,” Rafe added.
Notably MBSB focuses on consumer, commercial and corporate financing.
In FY2024, the group’s gross loans, financing and advances stood at RM43 billion, up from RM42.04 billion a year earlier. Of this, RM30 billion was contributed by consumer banking, RM8 billion by commercial banking and RM5 billion by corporate banking.
Meanwhile, when asked about news reports suggesting that the Selangor state government may be exploring a stake in local financial institutions, including MBSB, the group’s chairman Datuk Wan Kamaruzaman Wan Ahmad said he was unaware of any discussion or proposal on the matter.
The Edge had in April this year reported Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari as saying the state was looking to diversify into the financial sector, given that much of its revenue is derived from land.
While Amirudin did not name any bank, The Edge quoted sources as saying that Selangor was exploring potential investments in three institutions — MBSB, Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd (KL:ABMB) and AMMB Holdings Bhd (KL:AMBANK) — and that discussions had already begun.
MBSB is majority-owned by the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), which holds a 56.48% stake in the company, followed by Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) with a 12.78% stake.