Mohd Muazzam says Bank Islam will remain largely retail banking-focused.
KUALA LUMPUR: There are numerous opportunities in the Islamic finance sector not only in Malaysia but in the Western nations, says Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd group chief executive officer Mohd Muazzam Mohamed.
“I’ve come to this conclusion from various interactions I’ve had with people outside of Malaysia who have knocked on our doors, wanting to learn about Islamic finance,” he told reporters after the bank’s financial results briefing yesterday.
The group reported a net profit of RM254.2mil for the six months ended June 30, 2023 (1H23), an increase of 14% from the same period last year.
Its revenue for the period grew 39.4% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM2.24bil on the back of improvements in its net income from higher non-fund based income.
Net fund-based income went up 3% on the back of y-o-y gross financing growth and improved net income margin to 2.11% from 2.06% in the first quarter of 2023 (1Q23).
These results translated into an earnings per share of 11.37 sen for 1H23 and an annualised net return equity of 7.1%.
For its 2Q23 ended June 30, Bank Islam’s net profit rose to RM136.14mil from RM117.16mil in 2Q22 while revenue improved to RM1.12bil from RM822.51mil in 2Q22.
Basic earnings per share stood at 6.04 sen versus 5.44 sen previously.
Mohd Muazzam said moving forward this year, Bank Islam will remain largely retail banking-focused.
The bank will also look at enhancing its service platforms to meet the unique needs of its customers, particularly by corporate institutions.
