10 things I learned from the 2025 Maybank AGM

Set up in 1960 and listed on Bursa Malaysia in 1974, Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) is Malaysia’s largest financial services group, with a presence across key ASEAN markets. The bank had a strong 2024, delivering solid fundamentals and attractive shareholder returns. However, some shareholders expressed concern about the potential impact of U.S. tariffs on Maybank.

Here are 10 things I learned from the 2025 Maybank AGM.

1. Net operating income increased 8.1% year-on-year to a record high of RM29.6 billion in 2024, primarily driven by the 22.6% increase in non-interest (fee) income. Maybank’s underlying profitability reached a new high, surpassing RM10 billion in net profit in 2024. This achievement absorbed a 5.5% impact from adverse foreign exchange rate fluctuations, in addition to typical operational expenses like overhead costs. Its return on equity (ROE) has returned to its pre-pandemic levels of around 11.1%.

To date, Maybank received more than RM2.4 billion worth of dividends from MCB Bank and RM303.7 million from An Binh Bank.

2. In 2024, loans and deposits recorded year-on-year growth of 5.3% and 6.5% respectively as the management focused on broad-based quality growth across key home markets that are Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. Loans growth is expected to hover between 5% and 6% in 2025. The CEO considered the mid-market segment as the bank’s sweet spot in global banking. The segmental customer base is huge while the growth can be maintained by growing both loans and deal size.

3. A shareholder added that Maybank’s domestic market share in customers’ savings accounts dropped to a five-year low at 25.3% in 2024. CEO Dato’ Khairussaleh Ramli attributed the decline to competition for deposits from both digital and incumbent banks. Maybank’s CASA (current account and savings account) level remains stable and compressed slightly from 2.2% in 2023 to 2.1% in 2024. Maybank does not rely on aggressively pricing its CASA to attract deposits, unlike the approach taken by digital banks during their early stages. In 2024, Maybank invested in Funding Societies to expand its financing reach to SMEs and MSMEs—segments where it previously had limited presence. That same year, Maybank held a dominant 52.3% share of Malaysia’s mobile and internet banking market.

4. The cost-to-income ratio remained flat at 48.9% in 2024. This was due to increased personnel costs following the 2023 collective agreement in Malaysia, and higher international credit card scheme fees driven by the stronger US dollar. The company will strike a balance between maintaining an optimal cost-to-income ratio and continuously investing in technology to meet customer needs and demands. On a positive note, the year-on-year growth in overhead expenses slowed from 11.2% in 2022 and 11.8% in 2023 to 8.0% in 2024. As a result, the jaws ratio (income-expense growth difference) turned positive for the first time since 2022 in 2024 as income grew faster than cost.

5. Maybank’s asset quality has improved as it posted its lowest net credit charge off rate of 26 basis points since 2015. Its gross impaired loans ratio dropped from 1.3% in 2023 to 1.2% in 2024 on the back of higher bad debt recoveries. Loan loss coverage including regulatory reserve increased from 143.4% in 2023 to 147.4% in 2024, which means for every RM1 of gross impaired loans, Maybank has set aside more than RM1.47 as allowance. Its capital levels also remained strong. The bank aims to maintain a Common Equity Tier 1 ratio of at least 13%.

6. Dividend per share stood at a five-year high in 2024 at 61.0 sen. Permodalan Nasional Berhad and Employees Provident Fund highlighted the generally decreasing dividend payout ratio in the past five years. Maybank management likely adopted a higher dividend payout rate between 2020 and 2022 (a period of lower profitability and economic uncertainty), knowing that the dividend reinvestment plan would channel a significant portion of that cash back into the company to conserve capital.

Maybank continues to adopt a dividend policy payout of rate of at least 40% of net profit. A full cash dividend payout will also be adopted to reduce the dilutive effect on earnings per share as profitability improves and the need for capital conservation through dividend reinvestment plan is less pressing.

7. Maybank is on track to meet its M25+ financial and non-financial targets except for a compound annual growth rate of loans growth at 7% between 2021 and 2025 as well as a cost-to-income ratio of 45%. The management does not want to overly grow loans at the expense of margins. Further, the ratio of the President and Group CEO’s salary to the median employee salary is 24:1, which is lower than to the Malaysian banking sector’s median of 26.2:1.

8. Maybank anticipates a limited direct impact from US tariffs on its loan portfolio, expecting stable asset quality and maintaining its credit charge-off guidance of below 30 basis points in 2025. Its direct exposure to sectors particularly vulnerable to global trade tensions, such as semiconductor, EV manufacturing, and Chinese tech firms, remains minimal.

However, the bank acknowledges potential indirect effects from slower global and ASEAN economic growth, which could dampen loan demand, increase market volatility and delay planned investments or capital raising. Net interest margin may compress on the back of potential rate cuts as banks in general cannot adjust deposit or funding rates as fast as loans. To mitigate these headwinds, Maybank is strategically focusing on its core ASEAN markets that are supported by domestic consumption and investment, while capitalising on opportunities arising from supply chain shifts and providing support to clients navigating trade uncertainties.

9. Bank Negara Malaysia issued two Administrative Monetary Penalties to Maybank. The penalties imposed on Maybank were related to inaccurate or late statistical submissions and unexpected system disruptions during the migration from the M2U app to the MAE app. According to the CEO, similar penalties have been issued to other financial institutions as well. Maybank’s penalty became public after the bank filed an appeal with the central bank. Despite this, Maybank maintained a strong RMiT uptime of 99.999% for its critical systems in 2024—an encouraging sign of its system reliability.

10. Maybank will be relocating its headquarters from Menara Maybank to Menara Merdeka 118, which will be renamed. The bank will occupy a smaller office space at the new location, with the relocation expected to be completed by Q2 2026. A long-term master lease agreement for Menara Maybank has been established with PNB. In the meantime, office spaces at Dataran Maybank and Mercu Maybank are being optimised to meet growing headcount needs. There are currently no immediate plans to sell Menara Maybank.

Further Maybank did not provide specific details about its previous CFO’s departure. Two months after the incident, a new CFO was appointed.

The fifth perspective

Amid tariff uncertainty, the economic outlook for Maybank’s key home markets points towards slightly slower GDP growth in 2025, although anticipated lower interest rates are expected to provide some support.

In Malaysia, domestic investment activities are further underpinned by strategic government initiatives such as energy transition projects, the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ), and the New Industrial Master Plan. Supporting this environment, the Malaysian financial ecosystem has demonstrated significant resilience, effectively absorbing notable foreign outflows from both equity and bond markets in late 2024 and early 2025, driven by strong domestic institutional investor participation. Given this resilient environment and Maybank’s strategic focus, the bank is expected to remain resilient in the coming years.

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