PETALING JAYA: Despite a slight dip in net profit, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd
says it continues to see resilient asset and loan growth, backed by a robust pipeline and steady client franchise income across its key markets.
In its latest quarterly results announcement, group chief executive officer Novan Amirudin said CIMB is encouraged by the group’s steady performance and early signs of net interest margin (NIM) stabilisation, which he attributed to disciplined balance sheet management and sustained customer activity.
“Looking ahead, CIMB remains cautiously optimistic,” Novan said.
“While our direct exposure to West Asia remains limited, we continue to assess potential second-order impacts on the broader macroeconomic and operating environment.”
For its first quarter ended March 31, 2026 (1Q26), CIMB reported a net profit of RM1.92bil, down from RM1.97bil in the same quarter a year before.
The results translated to a return on equity of 11% and an earnings per share of 17.75 sen, a decline from 18.39 sen previously.
Revenue for 1Q26 also fell to RM5.41bil, compared to RM5.5bil in 1Q25.
On a quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) basis, CIMB’s operating income remained stable at RM5.4bil.
This was boosted by its non-interest income which rose 11.9% q-o-q to RM1.7bil, underpinned by stronger trading and foreign-exchange income.
According to the bank, this helped offset its 5% q-o-q decline in net interest income to RM3.7bil, which was due to group NIM compression of two basis points (bps) during the quarter.
CIMB said NIM compression has shown early signs of bottoming out, with country- level NIM expanding q-o-q by one bps in Malaysia, 12 bps in Singapore, and five bps in Thailand.
It added that total current account savings account ratio expanded to 43.3% as at March 2026, from 42.7% in December 2025.
Moreover, asset quality remained strong, with gross impaired loan ratio maintained at 1.7%.
Capital and liquidity positions also stayed robust with its Common Equity Tier 1 ratio at 14.3%.
CIMB said the performance showed steady underlying momentum despite foreign exchange and geopolitical headwinds, anchored by the execution of its Forward30 strategy.
Under the six-year plan, the group’s efforts have included capital allocation discipline measures such as a RM2bil capital return programme and the sale of CIMB Thai’s automotive financing portfolio.
So far, its cash-led approach to optimise funding costs has resulted in a seven bps q-o-q reduction in cost of funds, the bank said.
Additionally, cross-sell initiatives contributed to a q-o-q rise in fee and commission income as well as treasury client sales of 4% and 1%, respectively.
“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,” Novan said.
“At the same time, we will continue investing in our digital and regional capabilities to strengthen our franchise, deepen customer relationships and capture longer-term growth opportunities across Asean.”
