This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on October 6, 2025 - October 12, 2025

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd (KL:CIMB) has navigated a series of challenges well in recent years, eking out stronger earnings each year and hitting a peak last year.

The country’s second largest banking group by assets rose from a slump in the financial year ended Dec 31, 2020 (FY2020) — the first year of the pandemic — during which time its net profit took a 73.8% dive to RM1.19 billion as expected credit losses shot up to RM5.34 billion.

In FY2021, however, net profit improved strongly to RM4.3 billion on the back of significantly lower provisions and strong cost controls. Its net profit then rose further to RM5.44 billion in FY2022 and RM6.98 billion in FY2023, before going on to hit an all-time high of RM7.73 billion in FY2024.

The upward trajectory in earnings translated into a risk-weighted compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.6% over the last three years — the highest among its peers.

This makes CIMB Group this year’s winner of The Edge Billion Ringgit Club (BRC) award for highest growth in profit after tax over three years among financial services companies with a market capitalisation of at least RM10 billion. It also won in the BRC Super Big Cap category for companies with a market cap of above RM40 billion. CIMB had won in both categories last year as well.

CIMB’s record annual earnings in FY2024 were a sweet achievement, coinciding with its 100th anniversary and the completion of its four-year (2020 to 2024) strategic plan, Forward 23+. In that four-year period, it recorded total shareholder returns of 34.6%, according to group CEO Novan Amirudin. Its return on equity (ROE) also improved, from just 2.1% in 2020 to 11.2% in FY2024.

“Our strong result is demonstrated by [an] improving ROE to 11.2%, from a pre-Covid ROE of 8.5% — achieved through capital reallocation, improved efficiency and asset quality. This achievement brings us back into the top 10 banks across Asean,” Novan said in the group’s 2024 annual report.

Last year, the Asean-focused group derived 57% of its total profit before tax of RM10.4 billion from Malaysia, 25% from Indonesia, 13% from Singapore and 4% from Thailand. The remaining 1% was from other markets.

Given CIMB Group’s strong performance in recent years, its dividends have also been attractive. It paid shareholders a total dividend per share (DPS) of 26 sen in FY2022, 43 sen in FY2023 and 47.75 sen in FY2024. Its payouts in FY2023 and FY2024 each included a special DPS of seven sen.

This year, given macroeconomic headwinds, including uncertainties over tariffs, CIMB Group’s 1HFY2025 financial performance was not as robust as that of the corresponding period last year. Net profit for the period fell a marginal 0.9% year on year to RM3.86 billion.

Despite the challenging environment, it delivered an annualised ROE of 11.1%, in line with its target of 11% to 11.5% for the year. It announced an all-cash first interim dividend of 19.75 sen a share, based on a consistent payout ratio of 55.5%, which translated into a total dividend payout of RM2.1 billion.

Notably, its gross impaired loan ratio — a measure of asset quality soundness — improved to 2.1% as at end-June from 2.5% a year earlier.

All eyes are on the ongoing restructuring of its Thai operations and how it navigates the challenges of net interest margin pressure at home and in Indonesia.

Novan was appointed group CEO in July last year, taking over from Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad, who had led the group for four years. Abdul Rahman left to reprise his role as president and group CEO of Permodalan Nasional Bhd.

“We like the possibility of special dividends on top of CIMB [Group’s] already strong dividend yields. As long as it keeps its asset quality under control, we think CIMB should be able to achieve its ROE target while maintaining a respectable level of loan growth,” MBSB Research says in a Sept 2 report, following the release of the 2HFY2025 results.

CIMB Group — whose biggest shareholder is Khazanah Nasional Bhd, with a 21.54% stake as at end-February — is now on its Forward30 strategic plan, a six-year road map (2025 to 2030) designed to accelerate its growth. It ultimately aims to achieve a top-quartile ROE among regional peers by FY2030. While it did not attach a specific number to its goal, the short-term target is to achieve a ROE of 12% to 13% by FY2027.

Save by subscribing to us for your print and/or digital copy.

P/S: The Edge is also available on Apple's App Store and Android's Google Play.