Abdul Rahman said the bank’s strategic roadmap for 2024 underscored a heightened focus on technology investment and operational resiliency improvements.
PETALING JAYA: Malaysian banks will be focusing on improving their operational efficiency for the year ahead via various internal digital transformation initiatives.
CIMB Group
Holdings Bhd group chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad said the bank’s strategic roadmap for 2024 underscored a heightened focus on technology investment and operational resiliency improvements.
“In an increasingly digitised landscape, the bank recognises the imperative of leveraging technology, particularly in advanced digital platforms and data analytics to drive customer acquisition and elevate customer experience.
“Investments in automation tools are prioritised to streamline processes, reduce costs to serve and mitigate operational risks,” he said in the bank’s annual report.
Additionally, he said the bank has placed a strong emphasis on strengthening operational resiliency, ensuring robust infrastructure and implementing comprehensive contingency plans to mitigate potential disruptions.
“By aligning technology investment with operational resiliency enhancements, the bank aims to reinforce its competitive edge, adapt to evolving market dynamics and position itself for sustainable growth in 2024 and beyond.”
With the pandemic accelerating the shift towards digital-centric lifestyle shares, Affin Bank Bhd president and group chief executive officer Datuk Wan Razly Abdullah said the group has been making a push towards digital leadership.
“We are digitalising our processes using cloud technology, data analytics and automation, driving greater productivity and unlocking data-driven insights into our existing and potential customers,” he said in the bank’s annual report.
To support the bank’s varied digital transformation efforts, Wan Razly said Affin Bank has embarked on creating a strong digital backbone for all its systems, apps and networks.
This, he said, will allow the bank to accelerate the efficient rollout of its digitally-enabled products and back-end technologies.
“We are also investing in the digital upskilling of our people so they can make the most of the next-generation technology and tools at their fingertips.
“Avenues for learning included innovation labs, technology-specific training programmes and our interactive technology roadshow that provides employees and the public with updates on the latest advancements in leading-edge tech spaces, including blockchain, the metaverse and more.”
Meanwhile, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) president and group chief executive officer Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli noted that the business environment has been made complicated by changing behavioural patterns and consumer expectations.
“Before, only the young and tech savvy opted to carry out daily transactions online. Today almost everyone has transitioned onto the digital platform because of the convenience.
“This has stimulated the proliferation of tech startups in every sphere, leading to fintechs posing a real threat to conventional banks that are not quick on the digital uptake,” he said in Maybank’s annual report.
Khairussaleh added that competition in the industry is intensifying, not only from non-bank entities, but also from bigger and more established regional players.
“In the current volatile and unpredictable flux, Maybank has not just stayed our ground; we continue to strengthen our leadership in various key areas.
“Our steady growth is mainly the result of having always maintained a pulse on the changes around us and evolving in tandem with shifting trends as these emerge.”
Meanwhile, PwC Malaysia, in its paper titled Digital Banking: Malaysian banks at a crossroads, said successful digital banks must be able to identify a gap in the crowded banking space beyond the deposits/payments space.
“This gap needs to be of sufficient size and growth potential to build a business model that addresses customers’ needs or pain points.”
It added that digital banking goes beyond digitising legacy banking approaches.
“Successful digital banks share a common organisational DNA that lets them achieve their winning proposition.
“They are able to leverage technology to innovate and build fundamentally different approaches in delivering their services.
“They also do this with agility to remain ahead of their competitors, while keeping operations costs lean in acquiring and servicing customers.”
PwC also said digital banks have shown that they are able to differentiate their approach to banking and deliver services that are targeted, personalised and unique.
“These differentiators include focused features for each customer, propositions that integrate with how customers live, partnerships that allow access to a wider range of products and offerings, as well as technology that enhances the banking experience.”
Additionally, PwC said that dealing with legacy issues meant that incumbents experienced more challenges than opportunities in virtual banking, including slow governance, concerns around cannibalisation, and margin compression.
“However, this is an opportunity to develop business models that work around these issues. Driving digital transformation, creating a sandbox for new products and operating on a standalone basis are among the ways to gain a foothold in the market.”
