KUALA LUMPUR (April 29): Affin Bank Bhd sees its net interest margin (NIM) coming under pressure this year but said it will be focusing on higher yielding assets and growing its current account and savings account (Casa) to buffer any impact.

Affin Bank group chief executive officer Kamarul Ariffin Mohd Jamil told a press conference after the group's annual general meeting here today that it sees a minor NIM compression of five to 10 basis points (bps), but hopes that a 5% to 10% growth in its Casa could buffer the impact.

"Of course we will try to maintain our margin by not only booking consumer and small and medium enterprise (SME) loans which are giving us a better yield, but we are also trying to grow our Casa which is one of the key areas of growth," he said.

Kamarul shared that the group is targeting for a 3% to 4% loan growth this year — driven mainly by its consumer and SME segments — which he said is "conservative" given the overall market sentiment.

At the noon break today, shares in Affin Bank rose two sen or 0.9% to RM2.21, for a market capitalisation of RM4.39 billion.