KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 19): Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd (KL:ABMB) does not see a need for any mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and intends to continue growing organically, according to its group CEO Kellee Kam. He clarified however, that he is unaware of any such talks.
His comments come amid reports that Singapore’s DBS Bank Ltd remains keen to buy a significant stake in one of the smallest lenders in the country. A local news report recently said that DBS’ efforts to acquire about 29.06% stake in Alliance Bank from its largest shareholder, Vertical Theme Sdn Bhd, are facing challenges in securing approval from Bank Negara Malaysia. It said that DBS has so far secured approval to acquire Temasek’s indirect stake in Alliance Bank, amounting to an effective ownership of about 14.24%.
Vertical Theme is backed by Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd, which holds a 49% stake in the company via Duxton Investment & Development Pte Ltd. Temasek is also DBS’ largest shareholder, with a 28.3% stake in the Singapore lender.
Kam on Monday reiterated that Alliance Bank's management is not aware of any ongoing M&A discussions, as matters relating to shareholders are beyond the bank’s visibility.
“Whenever we are asked about this, I always say that we really don’t know what’s happening. Because at the bank level, all matters relating to shareholders we would not be privy to them. So we actually are not aware of any ongoing discussions,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the launch of Menara Alliance Bank in Jalan Ampang here.
Talks about DBS exploring a purchase of Vertical Theme’s 29.06% stake in Alliance Bank first emerged in late 2024, as part of the lender’s regional expansion push. The plan subsequently stalled, as Bank Negara Malaysia had yet to grant consent for the two parties to begin formal discussions on a potential acquisition.
DBS and Vertical Theme later submitted separate applications to the central bank but had not received a response from the regulator, according to news reports.
The Edge reported in November last year, citing sources, that some local banks were lobbying the government against DBS’ potential entry into Malaysia, given the already intensely competitive banking environment.
“The last time I said this, I also mentioned that we are growing at the fastest pace we have ever grown. The last quarter was our strongest so far. So we don’t believe we require any M&A, and that we need to grow at our standard level,” said Kam.
Alliance Bank posted its best quarterly results in three years in the second quarter ended September 30, 2025 (2QFY2026), supported by higher income and lower bad debt provisions. Net profit for 2QFY2026 rose 9% year-on-year to RM206.56 million.
On the bank’s performance metrics, Kam said it is maintaining a return on equity (ROE) target of above 10% post-rights issue, alongside loan growth of about 8% to 10% for the financial year ending March 31, 2026 (FY2026).
Net interest margin (NIM) guidance has also been kept at between 2.37% and 2.43%.
“We have kept our guidance. From an overall industry perspective, we have seen asset quality for the industry as a whole remain very stable,” he said.
Shares of Alliance Bank had rallied more than 3% to touch a record high of RM5.46 on Jan 14. At Monday’s market close, the stock slipped seven sen, or 1.3%, to RM5.33, giving it a market capitalisation of RM9.22 billion.