KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 9): The family of Public Bank Bhd (KL:PBBANK) founder, the late Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow, has trimmed its stake in Malaysia’s third-largest bank by assets, which ended Thursday at a two-week low.

Hong Piow’s estate, via Consolidated Teh Holdings Sdn Bhd, disposed of 50 million shares, equivalent to a 0.26% stake, according to the lender’s bourse filing.

Following the disposal, the Teh family now holds 4.72 billion shares or a 22.02% stake, down from 22.28% as at end-February.

The Teh family is required to gradually reduce its stake to 10% within five years through a restricted offer for sale (ROFS) to comply with the Financial Services Act, Hong Piow’s daughter, Diona Teh Li Shian, told reporters in October last year.

Another major shareholder of the bank is the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), which holds 3.47 billion shares or a 17.86% stake.

Last December, Public Bank completed the acquisition of a 44.15% stake in LPI Capital Bhd (KL:LPI) from the estate via Consolidated Teh Holdings, at RM9.80 per share or RM1.72 billion in cash.

For the second quarter ended June 30, 2025 (2QFY2025), Public Bank’s net profit eased to RM1.76 billion from RM1.78 billion a year earlier, weighed down by lower non-taxable income. Year-on-year, net interest income rose 5.1%, while non-interest income climbed 15% during the quarter.

For the first half of FY2025, net profit increased 2.05% to RM3.51 billion from RM3.44 billion a year earlier, supported by a 4.1% rise in net interest income and a 17.5% gain in non-interest income.

Shares of Public Bank closed five sen or 1.15% lower at RM4.29 on Thursday, valuing the bank at RM83.3 billion.