CIMB renews focus on SMEs

Source From (Business Times): http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/cimbsme-2/Article/index_html

Published: 13 January 2012
By Adeline Paul Raj

CIMB Bank expects double-digit revenue growth in small- and medium-sized enterprise business this year

CIMB Bank Bhd is renewing its focus on SME (small- andmedium-sized enterprise) banking now that it has cleared up the legacy of bad debts in this segment.

"We expect double-digit revenue growth in that business this year," executive director Datuk Sulaiman Tahir said at the launch of a loyalty programme for SME clients here yesterday.

Last year, SME loans expanded by about 14 per cent and is likely to continue to grow in the double-digit range this year, he added.

CIMB claims to be the country's third largest player in this segment, with some 300,000 SME customers.
"We have in the last five years largely focused on improving the asset quality of our SME portfolio. This consolidation and clean-up was necessary to address legacy issues and having successfully done so, we have recently begun to reposition our SME banking franchise and will be attending to this segment with renewed focus going forward," said Datuk Seri Nazir Razak, group chief executive officer of CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, the bank's parent.

For a start, it plans to improve its reach to SME customers by setting up three new business centres this year, taking the total number nationwide to 24.

It will also double the number of its SME Desks in the country to 150 from 75. These desks will initially offer key SME products and services such as property and asset financing, working capital financing, business deposits, transaction banking services and remittances.

Nazir said the bank would further engage the SME community via business associations and industry groups. As an Asean bank, it also wants to bring its expertise in regional markets to clients.

Its new loyalty programme, BizLoyalty Programme, is touted as the first of its type in the country for SMEs. The bank partnered leading companies, including Telekom Malaysia Bhd, Canon Marketing Malaysia and Dell Malaysia, to attract SMEs to the programme.

SMEs that sign up for a BizLoyalty current account, which comes with an online business banking facility, will get to earn points as they perform their banking transactions and these can be used to redeem a variety of goods and services offered by the programme partners.