Maybank parent firm to infuse $200-M fresh capital for expansion

MANILA, Philippines - Malayan Banking Berhad, Malaysia’s largest financial services group, is set to infuse as much as $200 million in fresh capital to subsidiary Maybank Philippines Inc. to support its expansion over the near term, a top bank official said.

Maybank president and CEO Dato’ Sri Abdul Wahid Omar told a press briefing Monday that the first $100 million tranche would be invested in early 2013.

“We are very much committed to the Philippines. An increase in capital will enable us to position well in the Philippine banking industry. We have been growing in the ASEAN region and we are continuously looking at all markets in the ASEAN for growth including the Philippines,” he said.

He said Maybank Group wants to maintain its lead not only in its homeland but also in the ASEAN market. The group reported a profit after tax and minority interest of 4.29 billion ringgit ($1.4 billion) in the first nine months of 2012, up 18.2 percent from last year.

He said another $100 million would come in once Maybank Philippines calls for it.

The infusion of new capital, Omar said, is reflective of the heightened confidence of the Malaysian financial conglomerate on the growth prospects of the Philippine banking industry.

Maybank Philippines currently has about P5 billion in capital.

The Maybank executive said he believes the Philippine economy would continue to benefit from the prevailing regional growth expansion.

For the first nine months, Maybank Philippines  posted a record profit before tax (PBT) of P523.8 million, up 71 percent from P306.5 million registered in the same period in 2011.

Net of applicable income tax, gains/losses from market valuation of investments and other adjustments, cumulative nine-month profit amounted to  P469.4 million, which is more than doubled the P187.3 million recorded in the same period last year.

Return-on equity (ROE) also strengthened to 11.6 percent, almost doubled from last year’s ROE of 6.9 percent.

Maybank Philippines president Herminio Famatigan Jr. said their bottom line strengthened on the back of sustained improvement in business fundamentals.

Loans rose 35 percent from its year-ago level to reach P29.3 billion. Loans growth was broad-based as both retail and commercial segments grew at a double-digit pace.

Deposits advanced 28 percent from its level a year ago to reach a new high of P32.4 billion. The growth in deposits, notwithstanding the expansion in branch network to 53, saw productivity improve as deposits per branch rose 21 percent to P611.2 million from P506.2 million the year before.