KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 14): CIMB Group Holdings Bhd has appointed Mohamed Rafe Mohamed Haneef as the chief executive officer (CEO) and executive director of CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd and the CEO of group Islamic banking division from Jan 4, 2016.

The post has been left vacant after the resignation of Badlisyah Abdul Ghani on Aug 15. The bank was led temporarily by Mohd Shafri Shahul Hamid prior to Rafe's appointment.

"Rafe is a proven leader, with a deep and broad understanding of Islamic banking, having been an Islamic banker for the last 15 years and worked in multiple financial centres around the world," said CIMB group chief executive Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz in a statement today.

"I am confident he will bring tremendous value as he spearheads one of CIMB Group's key business pillars. I look forward to working closely with him to put into motion the plans that will further cement CIMB Islamic's leading position in the Islamic banking arena globally," Zafrul added.

Rafe's appointment confirmed a report by The Edge Financial Daily on Sept 23, which had tipped Rafe as the new CEO of CIMB Islamic after helming HSBC Amanah Malaysia Bhd for almost five years.

At the time, CIMB was reported to be in the process of seeking Bank Negara Malaysia's nod for Rafe's appointment at CIMB Islamic.

According to CIMB, Rafe has specialised in Islamic banking in the last 15 of his 20-year career and has worked in major financial markets, including London, Dubai and Kuala Lumpur.

He is also a member of the Malaysian Bar and the New York State Bar, as well as a SFA-registered securities representative of the UK.

Badlisyah's resignation followed a controversial Facebook post he made on July 8 relating to the financial woes of state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

In the post, Badlisyah had questioned the authenticity of the documents used in a Wall Street Journal report on bank transactions involving 1MDB. Later the same day, he said he was wrong in his analysis, stressing that the views were strictly his personal opinions.

The post, however, drew the attention of CIMB group chairman Datuk Seri Nazir Razak, who said that an internal inquiry would be conducted into Badlisyah's comments.

CIMB shares closed down one sen or 0.23% at RM4.43 today, bringing a market capitalisation of RM37.78 billion.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company's profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)