CIMB
Effendy Shahul Hamid’s commercial banking division at CIMB has been a standout through 2017 and 2018. As the country underwent an unexpected political revolution, much of corporate Malaysia put business on hold; yet CIMB’s small and medium-sized enterprises business proceeded apace, snaring market share and advancing its digital offerings.
CIMB says that BizChannel, its online banking platform for SMEs, has been well received, with strong penetration. CIMB also offers the lesser BizLite for SMEs, and its takeup in Malaysia has encouraged the bank to roll it out at its sister operation in Indonesia. The bank now boasts more than 500,000 business customers, served by 2,000 staff – about 15% of its Malaysian headcount – manning 150 dedicated SME centres across the country. CIMB puts its SME market share in Malaysia at about 10%, and claims the operation has grown faster than the industry average in recent years. Malaysia’s SME sector generates around 36% of the Malaysian economy.