KUALA LUMPUR: Reports on a potential merger between AMMB Holdings Bhd and RHB Bank have been laid to rest as just old news being recirculated. “It is not on. As you know, this story has been circulating for some time,” said Datuk Sulaiman Mohd Tahir, group CEO of AmBank Group. “ As far as I know, there is nothing going on. I have not received anything as far as a merger initiation goes,” he said brushing aside news of the two banking giants coming together. A business weekly reported that the country’s fourth largest banking group by assets was in the making, and a big accounting firm has been roped in to study the prospects of the potential merger. Sulaiman said at this juncture, AmBank is more focused on strategies to be amongst the top four banks by 2020 by becoming a key player in top growth segments and products. On a separate note, Sulaiman said he is optimistic on loan growth going forward in 2017, which he said will be driven by small and medium enterprises (SME’s) and mid corporate companies. His projections of 6-7% loan growth for 2017 is higher than that of the projections given in December last year, which was at 4-5%, after recording 2% in financial year 2016. Speaking to reporters at the signing ceremony of AmBank SME Banking Portfolio Guarantee with Credit Guarantee Corp (CGC),Sulaiman said he is also looking forward for net interest rate margins to be maintained at 2% this year, despite intense competition on the deposits front. Yesterday, AmBank and CGC announced that it has extended an additional RM200 million financing for SME businesses through the latest tranche of its SME Portfolio Guarantee Scheme. So far, 8% of the amount has been given the green light for disbursement. In September, it allotted a sum of RM150 million for the previous edition of this scheme. Some 300 SME’s benefited, from the loans worth RM950 million which is has given out in four stages since 2015.
Long-standing rumours about a proposed merger between Malaysian banks AMMB Holdings and RHB Bank have been scotched by Datuk Sulaiman Mohd Tahir, CEO of AmBank Group. The two companies are expected to merge in the next few months with an initial public offering (IPO) planned for this year.