KUALA LUMPUR: Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) is confident its Retail Small and Medium Enterprise (RSME) segment will grow by 35 per cent this year, bringing the total RSME loan portfolio to RM16.8 billion by end-2017.
The bank said in an emailed statement that the RSME segment, which has been registering continuous double-digit growth over the last five years is a key component of its Community Financial Services (CFS).
RSMEs typically comprise businesses with turnover of RM25 million and below.
Maybank Head of CFS Datuk Hamirullah Boorhan said that the RSME segment growth this year is expected to come from business property-based loans, portfolio guarantee (PG), trade finance, commercial cards, micro credit and SME deposits through the Maybank SME First Account and payroll accounts.
“We recognise that RSMEs play a vital role in the country’s economy and constitute some 97 per cent of the overall SME segment.
"In this regard, we are committed to supporting them to ensure that they are given the opportunity to expand their businesses and contribute to the nation’s overall progress,” he said.
Maybank said that as part its effort to support the RSME segment, it will increase the number of seminars in 2017 to 15 (compared to 8 last year) under its 'Building Capacity & Capability' programme (BCC).
Hamirullah said the bank wants to ensure that local SMEs are sufficiently equipped with knowledge and resources to benefit from the expected boost in e-commerce growth in Malaysia thanks to the implementation of the Digital Free Trade Zone.
Maybank's BCC programme will cover 15 sub-urban locations nationwide over the next six months, reaching an estimated 1,200 entrepreneurs.
In 2016, about 61 per cent of the RSME financing comprised Islamic financing, with the rest under conventional loans.