KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 27): RHB Bank Bhd (KL:RHBBANK) is targeting loan growth of between 5% and 6% for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2026 (FY2026), driven primarily by its commercial, small and medium enterprise (SME), and retail portfolios.
In a press conference on Friday, group managing director and group chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Rashid Mohamad said the projection broadly tracks the group’s economic outlook for the year, with stronger traction anticipated from higher-yielding customer segments.
While the bank remains active in the corporate segment, he said retail, SME and commercial banking “continue to be our main driver”.
RHB reported a 7.8% year-on-year net profit increase to RM3.36 billion for FY2025, supported by lower provisions for bad debts and other losses.
Net interest income rose 3.9% to RM6 billion, supported by loan growth and lower funding cost, while non-interest income declined 2.1% to RM2.8 billion on lower net gain on foreign exchange and derivatives, and reduced brokerage income.
RHB’s gross loans at end-2025 stood at RM251 billion, up 5.4% year-on-year, driven by growth in group community banking (6.9%), group corporate and business banking (4.8%), and its Singapore operations (4.3%).
The bank’s net interest margin (NIM), including liability management, stood at 1.88%, down from 1.96% in FY2024.
NIM outlook: No further compression budgeted
Mohd Rashid said the bank is not budgeting for further NIM compression in FY2026 and expects margins to improve on the back of stronger current and savings account (Casa) growth.
He attributed the anticipated improvement to ongoing initiatives under the group’s PROGRESS27 three-year corporate strategy, particularly efforts to build low-cost deposits.
“We foresee that our NIM is going to be improving for 2026…our Casa ratio has increased to more than 30%,” he said, citing momentum from its multi-currency accounts and the MySISWA project, which has expanded from public universities to private and government-linked institutions," he said, referring to the debit card and student identification card introduced by the group.
“If we can maintain or improve our Casa composition, it will help us in terms of maintaining or improving our NIM for 2026,” he added.
Wealth management seen lifting non-interest income
RHB expects non-interest income (NOII) — which fell in FY2025 — to recover this year, supported by stronger wealth management fees and enhancements in transaction banking.
Mohd Rashid noted that wealth management delivered “good results” in the second half of FY2025 and the bank anticipates the momentum to continue. RHB is also set to roll out enhanced payment solutions and non-retail banking features before the end of the first half of 2026, he said.
Meanwhile, he said the bank intends to deepen its presence in Singapore this year. Singapore, together with Cambodia were major contributors to RHB’s overseas performance in FY2025.
“Singapore is always our main growth engine,” Mohd Rashid said, noting that the group will seek to expand both lending and non-interest income in the market, particularly in wealth management and cross-border advisory services.