CIMB, RHB staff relieved mega-merger did not happen

WHEN news came in that the mega-banking merger had been called off, there was a round of applause among some relieved staff at RHB Capital Bhd. Over at the country’s biggest bank, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank), its senior officials were, ironically, left grimacing at a missed chance in what would have been a golden opportunity to strengthen its position if the merger had proceeded because its rivals would have been distracted by integration issues.

The three-way merger involving CIMB, RHB Cap and Malaysia Building Society Bhd (MBSB) was a complicated one that would have entailed a lengthy and energy-sapping process to extract synergies.