KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 25): Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank), the country's largest lender by assets, expects an increase in impaired loans this year, but does not see it as a systemic matter, said its group president and chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Farid Alias.

Rather, the impact of an increase in loan defaults will be from several individuals or clients.

"You are right to think that the current economic volatility would increase the stress on customers. But from what we have seen, the stress is on a few individual names. It is not a systemic issue," he told a news conference to announce the group's full-year 2015 results today.

Maybank's net impaired loans ratio climbed to 1.38% as at Dec 31, 2015, the highest in at least two years.

Maybank chief financial officer Datuk Mohamed Rafique Merican said the increased impaired loans came from some overseas clients and one Malaysian client.

While economic growth is expected to slow down this year, Abdul Farid said loan growth this year in Malaysia is likely at 6% to 7%, higher than 2015's actual growth of 5.3%.

He said despite corporates' lack of investment this year, the government's infrastructure spending will help support the growth, naming big-ticket projects such as the third phase of the light rail transit project (LRT 3) and the second line of the mass rapid transit project (MRT 2) for the expected growth.

"And consumer spending will grow again, although we know that people will be more selective," Abdul Farid said.

Malaysia's 5.3% group loans growth in the financial year ended Dec 31, 2015 (FY15) did not meet Maybank's revised key performance indicator of a range of 6% to 7%. There was a 1.4% drop in its corporate banking segment, while retail banking grew by 8.2%.