The improved performance is driven by strong growth in operating income with solid loan and current account savings account expansion across core markets.
CIMB Group Holdings is expecting its total loan growth for FY2024 to be in the range of 5% to 7%, in line with market performance.
Operating income rose 5.9% year-on-year to RM21.01 billion from RM19.84 billion previously, driven by non-interest income which grew strongly by 36.5% to RM6.39 billion from investment and market-related income. In addition, the group is also proposing a special dividend payout of RM747 million or seven sen per share, which translates to a record total dividend payout of RM4.59 billion for FY2023, he said.
“I think in terms of our loan growth target, we are not constrained by demand as demand continues to be positive in terms of economic recovery and growth, and demand for loans continues to be strong. He noted that the cost-to-income ratio was marginally higher y-o-y at 46.9%, with FY2023 operating expenses rising by 6.9% y-o-y from cost inflation and technology investments.“Total provisions declined significantly by 26.4% y-o-y, attributed to the moderated credit environment and sustained improvement in asset quality from portfolio reshaping,” he said.
For FY2024, CIMB Group said it is expecting the NIM margin to be stable and expand around five basis points, mainly driven by Malaysia’s market.