Thursday, 6 September 2012

Malayan Banking - Building a niche presence in Singapore Hold


- Maybank Banking Bhd (Maybank) recently held an Investors’ Day Briefing for Maybank Singapore. In June 2012, Maybank Singapore’s loans made up 21% of group loan, and 13% of group pre-tax profit.  Maybank Singapore highlighted its continuing competitive edge as a niche player in Singapore with specialised expertise in selected corporate segments. Maybank Singapore was awarded a Qualifying Full Bank (QFB) status by the MAS in 2001 to increase its presence in mass retail market. It has a total of 27 service locations, with 22 branches and 5 offsite ATMs. 

- Prior to its QFB status in 2001, Maybank Singapore’s strengths were largely in the global and wholesale banking segment, specifically in the areas of construction and real estate property development, commerce and services, trade finance and vessel financing. Since its QFB status in 2001, Maybank Singapore has significantly beefed up its retail presence, gathering quite a fair share of retail loans and deposits in Singapore. Maybank Singapore’s total market share is currently circa 3% of total industry loans and circa 5% of domestic loans. As for the corporate segment, Maybank Singapore believes its strengths in the corporate loan segment is due to its historical presence and strong relationships, while its retail presence has been boosted since its QFB status was awarded in 2001.  

- Corporate loans form the bulk of total loans, with global markets’ loans contribution at around 12%, global wholesale banking at 48% and community (retail) financial services at 40%. The long-term target mix is 20% for global market, 40% global wholesale banking and 40% for retail.

- Maybank Singapore alluded to a strong likelihood of required local incorporation, although it is still engaging with regulatory authorities in Singapore in terms of details of the recent QFB rulings. Maybank Singapore alluded to likely considering local incorporation of only the retail operations, but would also need to be mindful of restraints under Section 35 of the Banking Act, which states that total financing exposure to property of a bank in Singapore shall not exceed 35% of the total eligible assets of the bank unless it obtains approval from the regulatory authority. Housing loans contributed 21% of total loans, and car loans are at 12.7%. 

- However, if Maybank Singapore is to consider incorporating both the retail and corporate segments, there are also restraints in terms of corporate loan book as it may need to consider concentration risk as well as single-party limits,  given that the loan book will now be benchmarked against a smaller portfolio compared to the group portfolio currently.  Overall, we get the sense Maybank Singapore is doing well, but in the short term, there may be growth constraints given possible new regulations. We maintain HOLD on Maybank.   

Source: AmeSecurities

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