KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Group Holdings Bhd
said it remains cautiously optimistic as it continues to see resilient asset and loan growth, supported by a healthy pipeline, alongside steady client franchise income across its key markets.
"While our direct exposure to West Asia remains limited, we continue to assess potential second-order impacts on the broader macroeconomic and operating environment," it said in a results announcement.
In the first quarter ended March 31, 2026, CIMB recorded a net profit of RM1.92bil, a decline from RM1.97bil in the same quarter in 2025. Earnings per share slipped to 17.75 sen from 18.39 sen previously.
Quarterly revenue dipped to RM5.41bil from RM5.5bil in the previous comparative quarter.
According to group CEO Novan Amirudin, the bank is encouraged by a resilient performance and the early signs of net interest margin (NIM) stabilisation, supported by disciplined balance sheet management and sustained customer activity across core markets.
"As Forward30 gains traction, we remain focused on being disciplined with capital, strengthening our funding franchise and making the organisation simpler, better and faster to deliver sustainable long-term returns," he added.
CIMB reported strong non-interest income (NOII), which rose 11.9% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) to RM1.7bil on stronger trading and FX income.
It said this helped to offset a 5% q-o-q decline in net interest income (NII) to RM3.7bil due to group net interest margin compression of two basis points (bp) during the quarter, although the impact on NII was partially cushioned by asset growth.
However, it said it seeing early signs of NIM compression
bottoming out, with country-level NIM expanding q-o-q by 1bp in Malaysia, 12bps in Singapore and 5bps in Thailand.
