KUALA LUMPUR (April 15): Stringent cost optimisation will continue to be a core focus of CIMB Group Holdings Bhd in its financial year ending Dec 31, 2021 (FY21) as it seeks to further improve productivity and efficiency, in anticipation of an uncertain and uneven pace of recovery across all its markets this year, driven by the Covid-19 vaccine roll-out.

In a statement, its group chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad said the banking group is still committed to supporting the government's efforts to help business recovery and economic growth across the region, while continuing to help its customers who have been affected by pandemic.

"The group will continue to drive strategic core programmes including among others, capital optimisation, cost management and portfolio reshaping initiatives. We are also making focused investments in key segments that offer strong opportunities for profitable growth, such as wealth management, treasury and markets, transaction banking and intra-ASEAN wholesale banking.

"The group will continue to monitor asset quality and maintain a prudent approach to credit underwriting to achieve the right balance between profitability and growth. Digitalisation, both within the bank and for our customers, remains a key priority. We will continue to invest in and enhance our technology and digital platforms to increase productivity and improve customer experience, reflecting the accelerated shift towards digital banking over the past year," he said.

Meanwhile, its chairman Datuk Mohd Nasir Ahmad said the group remains resilient thanks to its strong capital position and healthy liquidity ratio notwithstanding pandemic-related market volatility.

"Guided by our recalibrated strategy known as Forward23+, we are now focused on accelerating growth in tandem with economic recovery," he added.

According to the group, it has surpassed its aggressive cost reduction goals, with a 5.5% or RM524 million decrease in operating expenses leading to an improved cost-to-income ratio of 52.2%, down 1.2% from a year ago.

"Top line resilience, cost discipline and proactive measures to protect asset quality enabled the group to strengthen its financial position and ensure it remains well capitalised against shocks, leading to its highest ever CET1 ratio of 13.3%. It declared a proposed annual dividend of 4.81 sen per share for FY20, amounting to a total payout of RM477 million and a payout ratio of 40% in line with its dividend policy," it said.

Shareholders passed all of its 11 ordinary resolutions tabled at its annual general meeting today, including its FY20 audited financial statements, while two resolutions pertaining to the establishment of a long term incentive plan (LTIP) were also passed at its extraordinary general meeting, which was also held today.

"The LTIP, which entails a combination of share options and performance shares that are awarded conditional upon the achievement of performance targets and value created, is part of the group's shift towards a more balanced compensation mix for senior management and closer alignment towards shareholder value creation," it said.

At 4.20pm today, CIMB's share price fell one sen or 0.23% to RM4.27, giving the group a market value of RM42.371 billion.