KUALA LUMPUR (July 27): Affin Bank Bhd is not ruling out the possibility of listing its asset management unit, Affin Hwang Asset Management, saying it is keen to "unlock the value" of the unit.
Noting that Affin Hwang Asset Management is the second largest asset management firm in the country in terms of assets under management, Affin Bank chief executive officer Wan Razly Abdullah Wan Ali, however, said the bank is not "committing to anything" as yet.
"We obviously want to get the best value for Affin Hwang Asset Management," he told a press conference after Affin Bank's annual general meeting today.
"If Affin Bank grows bigger, Affin Hwang Asset Management will grow bigger at the same time. If [this happens], then we will support them in terms of their growth and unlocking value for the bank going forward," he added.
In terms of return on equity (ROE), the group is planning to elevate the levels beyond the current 5%-8% by end of 2022, as part of its Affinity in Motion (AIM22) initiatives, said Wan Razly.
Under this AIM22, apart from focusing on the ROE, the bank is also looking to lower the overall cost of fund by re-engineering the balance sheet, leveraging on digital transformation to reduce the bank's gap with its peers, focusing on people and productivity, improving risk management through enhanced asset quality management, liquidity risk and capital management initiatives.
"This is part of our Advance 30 initiatives. AIM22 takes into consideration key levers such as improving net interest margin, increasing fee-based income, reducing cost of funds, managing cost and expanding our digital capabilities," said Wan Razly.
Amid the unabating Covid-19 pandemic, Wan Razly said the bank has adopted a more conservative view on its loan growth for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2020. It is expecting a flat growth or a slight positive growth of 1% to 2%, assuming there is no second wave of the pandemic and that the country's economy is on the way to recovery.
Affin Bank's shares closed down one sen or 0.63% at RM1.57 today, valuing the bank at RM3.12 billion.
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