Malaysia

In an age when banks everywhere are playing catch-up with ESG principles, Maybank’s longstanding commitment to diversity in its ranks is winning important shoutouts. Although there are other measures, Bloomberg’s GEI carries real weight in the industry because of its place at the nexus of financial data and reporting.

In close to 30 years of offering Shariah-compliant products and services, Public Islamic Bank has become part of Malaysia’s market infrastructure, paving the way for the industry and its constellation of issuers and investors.

When Credit Suisse accepted a mandate in October 2021 for IOI Corporation’s $300 million, 10-year bond, many observers in Malaysia could not help but wonder if the Swiss bank was trying to make a point.

Despite all the investment banking rivals nipping at its heels in 2021, Maybank Investment Bank, which has spent 49 years navigating the ebbs and flows of Malaysia’s event-rich economy, proved unbeatable.

The way RHB Banking Group responded to Malaysia’s overlapping crises these last two years is nothing short of impressive.

If any bank in Malaysia put pressure on its peers to play catch-up in 2021, it’s Hong Leong Bank, the nation’s oldest local financial institution.

Citi’s Malaysia chief executive, Usman Ahmed, took the reins at the bank in February 2021, in the thick of the Covid-19 pandemic and at a time of political turmoil.

AmBank, led by chief executive Sulaiman Mohd Tahir, has been rapidly gaining ground at home.