KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 20): Malayan Banking Bhd (KL:MAYBANK) has officially launched ROAR30, its new five-year strategic roadmap to 2030, with a key financial target of raising the group’s return on equity (ROE) to between 13% and 14%, from the current 11.5%.
Unveiling the strategy, Maybank president and group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Khairussaleh Ramli said ROAR30 is designed to position the bank to capture Asean’s long-term growth opportunities.
“We believe that now is the time for us to supercharge our business growth and capitalise on Asean’s growing significance,” he told a media briefing.
“Our main objective is about driving shareholder value through continued improvement, while building the foundation to future-proof Maybank for the next decade,” he said.
Under ROAR30, the group’s financial aspirations include sustaining a net interest margin above 2.05%, achieving a current account and saving account ratio of more than 41%, keeping net credit costs stable at around 20 basis points, and lifting overseas income growth to 5-6% by 2030.
The bank also targets a 9% increase in non-interest income (NOII) over the next five years, driven by core fee income growth of 6-7%, and aims to raise its NOII ratio to 39% from the current 35%.
ROAR30 is designed to deliver sustainable shareholder value by combining disciplined financial management with regional connectivity and long-term investments in people and technology, Khairussaleh said.
He said the strategy rests on three pillars. The first is reinforcing Maybank’s purpose of humanising financial services by delivering values-based solutions for customers while "impacting society positively and powering the real economy”, Khairussaleh said.
As part of this commitment, Maybank will mobilise RM300 billion in sustainable finance cumulatively by 2030, expand SME financing to RM100 billion, and channel another RM100 billion into new-economy sectors such as the net-zero transition, digital economy, technology infrastructure and advanced manufacturing.
The second pillar focuses on building businesses at scale, with Maybank seeking regional or global leadership in four core areas: global Islamic finance, regional wealth management, transaction and payments banking, and corporate and investment banking.
Khairussaleh noted that Maybank is already ranked second globally in sukuk by deal count, and value/ Islamic banking will serve as a “prime mover” for innovation, including initiatives such as Islamic Banking-as-a-Service in Indonesia.
In wealth management, Maybank plans to build a scalable regional transaction and payments platform to support cross-border flows and embed itself more deeply as the primary bank for its clients.
The group is targeting a top-five position among Asean premier wealth managers, leveraging its strong domestic franchise to deepen customer relationships across Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.
The third pillar centres on future-proofing the organisation, including workforce transformation and technology leadership. Maybank aims to significantly increase the proportion of “next-generation” talent skilled in digital, data, IT and ESG to 60% by 2030, up from about 30% currently.
On technology, the bank will commit RM10 billion over the next five years to investments in cloud, data and artificial intelligence, enhancing productivity, customer experience and resilience.
“Tech investment, we believe, will transform capabilities, but this will also be balanced with optimised cost management,” Khairussaleh said.
At the time of writing, Maybank shares were down 12 sen or 1.1% at RM11.04, valuing the banking group at RM133.38 billion. Over the past year, the stock has gained 7.4%.