Affin Hwang maintains Sell on AMMB

"Competition for deposits and declining asset yields (as AMMB shifts focus to the higher-end customer segment) will continue to put further pressure on net interest margins (NIM), which stood at 2.49% for 1HFY15 (1HFY14: 2.63%)," it said.

Affin Hwang Research added that a significant gain on disposal of RM207.6mil arising from the disposal of its insurance stakes underpinned AMMB’s 1HFY15 reported net profit, which would otherwise have been 3.9% lower on-year.

The research house said AMMB's 1HFY15 results were above Affin Hwang's expectations by 11% but 6.5% below consensus.