RHB Bank Bhd, Malaysia’s third-largest bank, is planning to increase its small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) loan portfolio to 40 per cent of total loans in five years.
Executive vice-president Philip Lu Nam Ann said SMEs are a core part of the bank’s business, accounting for 30 per cent of the total loan portfolio. This in turn represents 10 per cent of the country’s RM82 billion in total current loans to SMEs.
Lu said SMEs have been recognised as a priority business for RHB Bank since the merger of DCB Bank with Kwong Yik Bank in 1997, followed by the merger with Sime Bank (once United Malayan Banking Corp) and Bank Utama.
