Banking on value-creation

THE banking industry is not having a walk in the park.

It is operating in an environment shaped by geopolitical uncertainty, volatile markets and changing interest-rate expectations.

Then, there are growing regulatory demands and increasingly sophisticated cyber and financial-crime risks.

Banks can grow profitably, but balance-sheet expansion alone remains insufficient, says AMMB Holdings Bhd (AmBank) group chief executive officer Jamie Ling.

“Sustainable value will increasingly depend on the depth and quality of customer relationships, the ability to provide relevant advice and solutions, and disciplined pricing for risk and capital,” he tells StarBiz 7.

Ling says a second challenge is converting technology investment into measurable outcomes.

“Artificial intelligence, digitalisation and data can improve customer experience, decision-making and productivity, but they must be supported by effective governance, cybersecurity, privacy protection, reliable data and clear human accountability.”

The third challenge is capital allocation.

“Banks must balance regulatory resilience, strategic investment, customer growth and shareholder distributions,” he says, adding that this requires capital to be directed towards opportunities that are strategically relevant and capable of producing sustainable risk-adjusted returns.

Ling notes that continued but disciplined investments in technology, digital capabilities, data infrastructure and talent are critical and central to its overall strategy.

“Such investments will likely increase cost in the near-term but are critical to delivering stronger customer outcomes, higher productivity, and sustainable long-term competitiveness.”

Like the rest of the 87 companies taking part in the MY Value Up programme, a national capital market initiative jointly led by the Securities Commission and Bursa Malaysia, AmBank is prepping itself towards this end.

However, Ling says AmBank’s Winning Together 2029 (WT29) strategy is already closely aligned with the principles of the MY Value up framework which aims to “encourage stronger corporate value creation, enhance investor engagement and support the long-term competitiveness of Malaysia’s capital market,” according to Bursa.

WT29 is fundamentally a value-creation strategy, focused on strengthening customer relationships, improving productivity and maintaining disciplined risk and capital management to deliver sustainable shareholder return, he says.

“For AmBank, MY Value Up is not a separate strategy layered onto WT29,” Ling adds.

“It is the public articulation of how WT29 creates value, how we measure progress and how the board and management remain accountable for delivery.”

For the first quarter ended June 30 (1Q27), AmBank made a net profit of RM520.2mil on revenue of RM1.33bil compared to a net profit of RM516.2mil on revenue of RM1.29bil for the same quarter, a year earlier.

The group’s gross impaired loan ratio went up to 1.62% from 1.59% at end of fiscal year ended March 31 (FY26), while loan loss coverage, including regulatory reserves, improved to 102.5% from 100.9%.

The lender has said that it will continue to focus on growing its mid-tier corporate and small and medium enterprise loan segment, while turning more selective on retail lending.

Its focus is on returns over market share, it said earlier.

Focus on sustainability

Meanwhile, Ling says that under WT29, sustainability is both a responsibility and a business capability: supporting customers’ transition while strengthening portfolio resilience and generating relevant income.

He says AmBank’s strategic focus is to become Malaysia’s “bank of choice” for entrepreneurs and their businesses and families.

It intends to compete through deeper primary relationships, combining appropriate financing with deposits, transaction banking, investment banking, advice and wealth solutions.

Operationally, its priority is to simplify customer journeys, improve decision and fulfilment times, automate core workflows and strengthen the use of trusted data and technology.

“We are not pursuing growth for its own sake, we are directing growth and investment towards customer relationships and capabilities that can improve sustainable risk-adjusted returns,” Ling says.

He notes that the lender has made “meaningful progress”, but the next phase will be more demanding.

For FY26, AmBank’s return on equity, a gauge for profitability, remained around 10% and cost-to-income was 44.7%.

WT29’s next chapter is not simply about becoming larger but about becoming more relevant to customers, simpler in execution, more disciplined in the use of risk and capital, and more transparent in how we report progress, Ling says.

“The first phase of WT29 restored AmBank’s earnings, dividends and market standing,” he adds.

“The next phase is about making that value creation repeatable.”

WT29, Ling says, is anchored by three financial aspirations namely, doubling dividend per share from 22.6 sen, improving return on assets to 1.1% and moving the cost-to-income ratio towards 40%.

In FY26, the lender’s profit after tax and minority interests reached RM2.1bil, dividend per share rose to 35 sen, dividend payout ratio increased to 55% and it delivered a total shareholder return of 19.6%, providing a stronger foundation for the next phase.

In 1Q27, gross loans grew at a 5% two-year compounded annual growth rate and 7% on a year-on-year basis, amid higher unrated bonds outstanding.

In August, the bank said that it had made some RM275mil in provisions across its retail, small and medium enterprises, and corporate segments and that this amount was enough for now.

“This is the buffer we have internally, what we call our overlay, over and above what we normally take on as general provisions.

“We are dynamically looking at risks,” Ling said then.

At last look, AmBank’s shares were at RM6.31 apiece, valuing the entire banking group at some RM20.9bil.

The stock has traded between RM5.68 and RM7.37 in the last one year.

“Our share price is a market outcome,” Ling says.

“Our job is to deliver the earnings quality, returns, resilience and accountability that support long term value.”

Hong Leong Investment Bank’s (HLIB) Research says assuming earnings remain on track, it sees scope for a stronger dividend payout ahead for AmBank shareholders.

It says the lender could likely declare an interim dividend of around 15 sen per share alongside its 2Q27 results, reinforcing capital returns as an increasingly important component of the investment proposition.

HLIB Research has a “buy” call on the stock with a target price of RM7.

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Dialog tanking up for growth

Beyond dividends – a profit push

Banking on value-creation

银行业的日子并不好过。

它所处的运营环境受到地缘政治不确定性、市场波动和利率预期变化的影响。

此外，监管要求不断提高，网络犯罪和金融犯罪风险也日益复杂。

AMMB Holdings Bhd (AmBank) 集团首席执行官 Jamie Ling 表示，银行可以实现盈利增长，但仅靠资产负债表扩张是不够的。

“可持续价值将越来越取决于客户关系的深度和质量、提供相关建议和解决方案的能力，以及对风险和资本的严格定价，”他告诉 StarBiz 7。

Ling表示，第二个挑战是将技术投资转化为可衡量的成果。

“人工智能、数字化和数据可以改善客户体验、决策和生产力，但它们必须得到有效治理、网络安全、隐私保护、可靠数据和明确的人为问责制的支持。”

第三个挑战是资本配置。

他表示：“银行必须平衡监管韧性、战略投资、客户增长和股东分红”，并补充说，这就要求将资本投入到具有战略意义且能够产生可持续风险调整后收益的机会中。

Ling指出，持续但有纪律地投资于技术、数字能力、数据基础设施和人才，对于其整体战略至关重要且是核心。

“此类投资短期内可能会增加成本，但对于提升客户满意度、提高生产力以及实现可持续的长期竞争力至关重要。”

与参与 MY Value Up 计划的其他 87 家公司一样，AmBank 正在为此做准备。MY Value Up 是由证券委员会和马来西亚证券交易所共同牵头的国家资本市场计划。

然而，Ling表示，AmBank的“携手共赢2029”（WT29）战略已经与马来西亚价值提升框架的原则紧密契合，该框架旨在“鼓励更强大的企业价值创造，增强投资者参与度，并支持马来西亚资本市场的长期竞争力”，马来西亚证券交易所表示。

他表示，WT29 从根本上说是一种价值创造战略，专注于加强客户关系、提高生产力以及保持严谨的风险和资本管理，从而为股东带来可持续的回报。

“对于AmBank来说，MY Value Up并不是在WT29基础上叠加的独立策略，”Ling补充道。

“这是对 WT29 如何创造价值、如何衡量进展以及董事会和管理层如何对成果负责的公开阐述。”

截至 2027 年 6 月 30 日的第一季度（1Q27），安邦银行实现净利润 5.202 亿令吉，收入 13.3 亿令吉，而去年同期净利润为 5.162 亿令吉，收入为 12.9 亿令吉。

截至 2026 年 3 月 31 日的财政年度末，该集团的不良贷款总额比率从 1.59% 上升至 1.62%，而贷款损失覆盖率（包括监管准备金）从 100.9% 提高到 102.5%。

该贷款机构表示，将继续专注于发展其中型企业和中小企业贷款业务，同时对零售贷款业务更加谨慎。

该公司此前曾表示，其关注点在于回报而非市场份额。

关注可持续发展

与此同时，凌表示，在 WT29 框架下，可持续发展既是一项责任，也是一项业务能力：支持客户转型，同时增强投资组合的韧性并创造相关收入。

他表示，安邦银行的战略重点是成为马来西亚企业家及其企业和家庭的“首选银行”。

它打算通过更深入的一级关系参与竞争，将适当的融资与存款、交易银行、投资银行、咨询和财富解决方案相结合。

在运营方面，其首要任务是简化客户旅程，缩短决策和履行时间，实现核心工作流程自动化，并加强对可信数据和技术的使用。

“我们追求的不是增长本身，而是将增长和投资导向客户关系和能力建设，以提高可持续的风险调整后收益，”凌说。

他指出，贷款方已经取得了“实质性进展”，但下一阶段将更具挑战性。

2026 财年，AmBank 的股本回报率（衡量盈利能力的指标）保持在 10% 左右，成本收入比为 44.7%。

Ling表示，WT29的下一个篇章不仅仅是扩大规模，而是要与客户更加相关，执行起来更简单，在风险和资本的使用上更加自律，以及在报告进展方面更加透明。

他补充说：“WT29的第一阶段恢复了AmBank的盈利、股息和市场地位。”

“下一阶段的目标是使这种价值创造能够重复进行。”

Ling表示，WT29的财务目标是三个方面：将每股股息从22.6仙提高一倍，将资产回报率提高到1.1%，并将成本收入比提高到40%。

2026 财年，该贷款机构税后及少数股东权益后的利润达到 21 亿令吉，每股股息增至 35 仙，股息支付率增至 55%，股东总回报率达到 19.6%，为下一阶段奠定了更坚实的基础。

2027 年第一季度，贷款总额按两年复合年增长率计算增长了 5%，按年增长率计算增长了 7%，这主要是由于未评级债券的未偿付额增加所致。

8 月份，该银行表示，已在其零售、中小企业和企业部门计提了约 2.75 亿令吉的拨备，目前这笔金额足够了。

“这是我们内部的缓冲资金，我们称之为我们的额外资金，是在我们通常作为一般准备金之外的额外资金。

“我们正在动态地评估风险，”凌当时说道。

截至目前，AmBank 的股价为每股 6.31 令吉，整个银行集团的市值约为 209 亿令吉。

过去一年，该股票的交易价格在 5.68 令吉至 7.37 令吉之间波动。

“我们的股价是市场结果，”凌说。

“我们的工作是提供高质量的盈利、回报、韧性和问责制，从而支撑长期价值。”

丰隆投资银行（HLIB）的研究报告称，假设盈利保持正常水平，那么安邦银行股东未来有望获得更高的股息支付。

报告称，该贷款机构可能会在公布 2027 年第二季度业绩的同时宣布派发每股约 15 仙的中期股息，这进一步巩固了资本回报作为投资方案中日益重要的组成部分的地位。

HLIB Research 对该股票给予“买入”评级，目标价为 7 令吉。

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