KUALA LUMPUR (May 6): Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank), Malaysia’s largest lender by market value, unveiled its five-year strategic plan, M25, that aims to accelerate growth in the "next normal".
Maybank president and chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Farid Alias said the group has set its desired long-term outcomes by 2025, including an aspirational return on equity (ROE) of between 13% and 15%, a cost-to-income ratio of below 45%, earnings per share (EPS) of more than 100 sen and delivering a dividend payout ratio of between 40% and 60% on a net cash basis.
For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2020 (FY20), Maybank’s ROE was at 8.1% compared with 10.9% in FY19, while its cost-to-income ratio was at 45.4% vs 46.7% in FY19. The group’s EPS came in at 57.66 sen and dividend payout was at 91.2%, compared with 73.45 sen and 87.8% in FY19 respectively.
The group’s key priority moving forward will be to also ensure that all key business decisions will be based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles with customers and the community being at the foremost in everything the group does, Farid told the media at the post-annual general meeting virtual briefing this afternoon.
The M25 plan will be steered by three strategic priorities, namely being pervasively digital, building new value drivers and embedding sustainability throughout Maybank’s operations.
Farid said the five-year plan will specifically focus on executing outcome-driven projects that will make a difference.
“We have set clear targets that will guide us in meeting our strategic priorities under this plan and we will be tracking our progress throughout this journey to ensure we stay on course.
“At the same time, we will continue to explore new ways of working and drive innovation with differentiated products and services, to provide world class customer experience,” he said.
On the group’s ESG efforts, by 2025, Maybank intends to mobilise RM50 billion in sustainable financing, improve the lives of one million households across ASEAN, achieve one million hours per year of sustainability activities and deliver one thousand significant United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDG) related outcomes.
Maybank has also committed to achieving a carbon neutral position by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Maybank’s share price gained two sen to close at RM8.23 today with some 5.18 million shares done. Its market capitalisation is at RM93.94 billion.