MBSB Bank On Investment Spree To Become A Premier Islamic Bank

KUALA LUMPUR: MBSB Bank Bhd stands out as the Islamic bank with the highest investment spend in a year as it heads on with the efforts to become one of the premier banks in Malaysia.

President and chief executive officer Datuk Ahmad Zaini Othman said the bank had spent nearly a billion ringgit on a banking license, consultation fees, technology platform and talents to have the ability to compete with other banks.

“We aim to be a premier Islamic bank using technology as one of the enablers. That is why we are not worried that we only have 46 branches. Perhaps, we are scaling down in the future.

“The key here is that the ability to deliver products with just 46 branches, having the effectiveness of maybe 300 branches,” he said at the launch of PrimeWin RM1 million CASA-I campaign in conjunction with the bank’s first anniversary.

“What is needed now is a technology platform. The board has approved RM250 million worth of investments for it, which will be an upgraded version to support the banking requirements,” he added.

Zaini said the bank was set to convert five out of 46 branches into digital branches in city centers in Kuala Lumpur and Johor.

MBSB Bank, known as Malaysia Building Society Bhd then, finalized an RM644.95 million takeover deal of Asian Finance Bank in February last year.

The move enabled the bank to obtain a license to join the pool of other banks to offer day to day banking services to both corporate and regular banking clients.

Its close competitor, Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd, would be committed about RM250 million to digitalize its banking system.

MBSB was also targeting to secure a loan growth of five to six percent this year, Zaini said.

“I think it is a reasonable projection. Importantly, the way forward is no longer about pure loan growth. It is about fee income activities,” he said.

“Growing your portfolio through lending or financing is the old fashion. The way forward now is about capturing high net worth customers, trade finance, transactional banking and so on,” he added.

The PrimeWin RM1 million CASA-I campaign, a year-long campaign ending on April 30, 2020, has three stages of a prize draw that are done monthly and quarterly. Total cash prizes are worth close to RM2 million.

Originally published on www.nst.com.my