Sarawak to provide access of huge customers, deposits to accelerate Affin Bank’s growth

Wan Razly (seated at the end of table) photographed during a casual meet-up with the media at Hilton Hotel, Kuching on Aug 25, 2024.

By Shikin Louis

KUCHING, Aug 25: Affin Bank Berhad believes that Sarawak will provide access to huge customers and deposit/liquidity base to accelerate the commercial bank’s growth.

Its president and group chief executive officer, Datuk Wan Razly Abdullah, stated that under the bank’s latest blueprint—Affin Axelerate 2028 Plan (AX28), the bank’s mission is to double its total assets size from RM110 billion to RM200 billion by 2028.

Following this, he said the Sarawak government’s entry as a shareholder in the bank would cover at least one side of the equation in terms of securing sources of deposits and liquidity.

“Because for us (Affin Bank) to grow, we have to find the loan side and we have to find the deposit side.

“So the State will give us the deposits and some of the loan side,” he told reporters during a casual media meet-up held at the Hilton Hotel here today.

During a presentation to the media earlier, Wan Razly reported that the Affin Group recorded a profit before tax (PBT) after zakat of RM293.1 million for the first half of 2024 (1H2024), reflecting a 15.2 per cent decline from RM345.7 million in the corresponding period last year.

However, the Bank’s total assets have increased 7.2 per cent to RM108.2 billion as of June 2024, up from RM100.9 billion in the corresponding period last year.

To further accelerate its growth, Affin Bank will soon launch its Affin Private Banking in September, followed by the launch of a new mobile banking platform in December 2024.

In addition, the Bank’s Digital Core (website) is now ready, pending regulatory approval for Go-Live.

In the meantime, they are proceeding with Phase 2 of their Digital Core developments, which include enhancements to current account savings account (CASA), deposits and e-Wallet capabilities. — DayakDaily