KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 28): CIMB Group Holdings Bhd (KL:CIMB) on Friday announced a plan to return capital of up to RM2 billion to shareholders over the next two years, starting with a special dividend.

The second-largest Malaysian bank by assets will dish out seven sen per share on Dec 24, CIMB Group said in a statement. Further distribution will be through special dividends or share buybacks or a combination of both subject to market conditions and regulatory approvals, the bank said.  

“This will be on top of the regular dividends paid by the group,” the company said.

The plan comes as CIMB Group racked up excess capital in a year that is shaping up to be the best financially for the company. Shares of CIMB Group rallied on Friday after the announcements. 

Post-dividend, common equity tier 1 capital ratio — a measure of a bank’s capital strength based on the highest quality of regulatory capital — would still be near 15%, a level generally considered high by analysts and above its own target of at least 14%.

“This capital return forms part of our Forward30 strategy to always be disciplined with capital and reflects the group’s confidence in the long-term performance trajectory,” said Novan Amirudin, chief executive officer of CIMB Group.

In the latest three months ended Sept 30, 2025 (3QFY2025), net profit was RM2.08 billion, a 2.3% increase when compared to the same quarter last year, thanks to robust trading and non-interest income that offset decline in net interest income.

Net interest margin, a measure of profitability from interest charged on loans after deducing returns paid on deposits, shrank 15 basis points year-on-year to 2.08% amid policy rate cuts across the markets it operate in.

On a constant currency basis, gross loans expanded about 3.3%, outpaced by a 9.1% growth in deposits.

“As we head into the final quarter of 2025, we remain optimistic in closing the year on a strong footing and meeting all our targets,” Novan said. “While it may take some time for the dust to settle with the new world order,” net interest margin is expected to stabilise, he added.

CIMB Group is maintaining its guidance across all indicators for the year, including for return-on-equity of 11-11.5% as well as asset and loan growth of 5-7%.