AmBank group CEO Datuk Sulaiman Mohd Tahir said following the Bank Negara hike of 25 basis points in the overnight policy rate (OPR) in May 2022, the group expects the central bank to continue with the normalisation of the OPR in the second half of this year (2H22), with the expectations of two hikes of 25 basis points each time. “The first hike could happen in July 2022 while the second one, possibly in September 2022,” Sulaiman said.
PETALING JAYA: AMMB Holdings Bhd
(AmBank) expects the banking sector loan growth to increase between 4% and 5% this year, driven by the economic recovery.
AmBank group CEO Datuk Sulaiman Mohd Tahir said loan growth is anticipated in both corporate and consumer loans due to pent-up demand.
Meanwhile, Sulaiman projects the ringgit to strengthen to around the range of RM4.20 to RM4.25 against the US dollar towards the end of the year.
Following the Bank Negara hike of 25 basis points in the overnight policy rate (OPR) in May 2022, the group expects the central bank to continue with the normalisation of the OPR in the second half of this year (2H22), with the expectations of two hikes of 25 basis points each time.
“The first hike could happen in July 2022 while the second one, possibly in September 2022,” Sulaiman said.
“This is resulting from the improved dollar-ringgit exchange rate as we projected for the 2H22,” he added.
The bank projects Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) to expand by between 5.6% and 6% after taking into account the economic recovery, firm commodity prices as well as the last year’s low base.
Malaysia registered GDP growth of 5% in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period last year.
However, the group remains cautious of the developments surrounding the war between Russia and Ukraine, the emergence of more severe Covid-19 variants, and the zero-Covid policy in some countries which may cause supply chain disruptions and weaken global demand, said Sulaiman.
On the performance of the AmBank group, its profit swung to the black for its financial year ended March 31, 2022 (FY22) with it registering a net profit of RM1.5bil as compared with a net loss of RM3.83bil in the previous yea
“Inflation is expected to be around 2.8% to 3%, while export growth is expected to be around 8% to 10% with strong external demand driving our export-related manufacturing activities,” Sulaiman added.
On the performance of the AmBank group, its profit swung to the black for its financial year ended March 31, 2022 (FY22) with it registering a net profit of RM1.5bil as compared with a net loss of RM3.83bil in the previous year.
The group posted a net core profit of RM962mil last year if exceptional items were excluded.
Revenue improved by 2.57% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM4.67bil in FY22.
In the fourth quarter, AmBank posted a net profit of RM391.75mil and revenue of RM1.12bil.
According to Sulaiman, the group’s net interest income in FY22 rose 11.6% y-o-y on the back of a loan growth of 6.5% while net interest margin was higher at 2.05%.
Non-interest income narrowed 14.1% y-o-y owing to the volatile market conditions which led to lower trading and investment income from group treasury and markets as well as investment income from the insurance business.
This was partly offset by higher fee income from corporate banking and investment banking.
In the light of the group’s performance, the board of directors proposed a final dividend of five sen per share for FY22.
