RHB targets RM100mil in SME loans over one year

Online platform: (from left) RHB Banking Group acting head of group retail banking Nazri Othman, Ng, and group chief communications officer Norazzah Sulaiman at the launch of ‘RHB SME Financing’ yesterday.

KUALA LUMPUR: RHB Banking Group is targeting to approve RM100mil in SME loans over the next one year through its new online financing platform for small businesses.

This will help drive the growth of its SME business segment, said head of group business and transaction banking Jeffrey Ng.

“SMEs are a key growth area for the banking group. Our aim is to drive the growth of RHB’s SME business to contribute 20% of the bank’s domestic financing by 2022 from 16% currently.

“We want to continue to innovate our products and services to make sure we remain at the forefront.

“With that, we have our SME financing portal,” he said at the launch of its online platform, RHB SME Financing, here yesterday.

Ng noted that Malaysia had some 900,000 SMEs, out of which close to 20% are customers of RHB, giving the bank an SME market share of 9% in 2017.

“We intend to put in a growth of 10% per annum. If we hit 10%, we will be outpacing the market, so our market share should increase in line,” he added.

The online platform offers SME loans with a minimum tenure of six months, up to 24 months, for disbursements of between RM50,000 and RM300,000.

SMEs with an annual turnover of less than RM35mil are eligible to apply for the loan online with minimal documents required.

Financing can be obtained within five working days.

RHB SME Financing presents a simple, fast and seamless loan application experience with a user-friendly interface. An online loan simulator is also available to assist customers to calculate their loan affordability. Meanwhile, SME Corp chief executive officer Datuk Hafsah Hashim said the online financing platform would be a big boon for small businesses.

“The big thing we’re going to get from this is the fast delivery and it’s simpler. That’s what the SMEs are looking for. They don’t want to go through tonnes of paperwork only to be told they can’t get the loan.

“For this, you only need to provide the paperwork after the loan is approved. And for the funds to be disbursed in five working days, that is a big war won because it usually takes months. So, I think the SME business community will be looking forward to this,” she said.

The platform is currently available in the Klang Valley and will subsequently be rolled out nationwide by the third quarter of this year.