Maybank IB: Banks to raise capital in 2015

KUALA LUMPUR: Capital raising is one of the themes for 2015 for the banking sector, with RHB Capital, Hong Leong Bank and Hong Leong Financial Group (HLFG) coming to the market for equity injections, said Maybank IB Research.

Assuming a common equity tier 1 (CET1) target of 11% versus 9.8% currently for RHB Capital, its analyst Desmond Ch’ng estimated that it would need to raise RM1.5bil, which would be a 1-for-9 rights issue, assuming a 30% discount to its current share price.