Maybank delivered a resilient second-quarter performance for FY26 (2Q FY26), with net profit rising 2.4% year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to MYR2.69 billion ($668 million), bringing its first half (1H FY26) net profit to MYR5.17 billion ($1.28 billion).

Profit before tax (PBT) for the quarter meanwhile increased 3.7% Y-o-Y-to MYR3.64 billion ($904 million). Return on equity (ROE) improved to 12.0% from 11.6% a year earlier, supported by disciplined cost management and significantly lower net impairment provisions. Net operating income stood at MYR7.51 billion ($1.87 billion).

The group's underlying business remained strong amid a volatile operating environment, with income growth driven by net fund-based income rose by 1.9% Y-o-Y and increase in core fees, particularly wealth, Investment Banking (IB) and banking-related fees which increased by 61.5%, 58.4% and 2.6% Y-o-Y respectively. Net interest margin (NIM) expanded 10 basis points (bps) to 2.10%. Higher core fees helped cushion softer markets-related income, while Group Insurance & Takaful performance improved amid better equity market conditions.

Maybank maintained disciplined cost management, with overhead expenses declining 2.5% Y-o-Y to MYR3.69 billion ($916 million) lowering the cost to income ratio (CIR) to 49.1%. Personnel costs declined 6.9%, while marketing expenses dropped 21.9%, partially offset by higher establishment cost from continued investment in technology initiatives.

Net credit charge (NCC) stood at 8 bps, or 20 bps excluding the provision reclassification of a significant restructured borrower, reflecting lower provisions for corporate borrowers, partially offset by additional overlays addressing emerging risk and model limitations which stood at MYR2.6 billion ($646 million). Gross impaired loan (GIL) ratio was 1.35%, while loan loss coverage (LLC) remained at a reasonable level of 103.1%, or 112.1% excluding the said reclassification.

Resilient 1H performance

For 1H FY26, the group's performance remained resilient amid a dynamic operating environment, underpinned by a well-defended NIM of 2.12% and strong core fee income growth. Core fees grew 12.1%, supported by wealth and IB-related fees. Wealth management fees rose 48.4%, driven by higher investment and bancassurance income, while higher IB fees were supported by strong ECD and ECM performance. Asset quality remained stable, with net impairment provisions declining 51.6% Y-o-Y, while disciplined cost management saw overhead expenses decrease 3.9% Y-o-Y. Collectively, these contributed to the group's net profit of MYR5.17 billion ($1.28 billion). ROE stood at 11.6% vs 11.5% as at 1H FY25.

Group loans grew 2.7% Y-o-Y to MYR695.9 billion ($172.8 billion), with momentum strengthening in 2Q FY26 as loans increased 1.7% Q-o-Q, supported by growth across the group's key home markets. Malaysia loans grew 5.5% Y-o-Y, Indonesia 4.3% and Singapore 3.4%. In Malaysia, Community Financial Services loans increased 5.3% Y-o-Y, with Consumer loans growing 5.7% and SME loans 2.7%. Singapore Community Financial Services loans grew 7.4%, while Indonesia's growth was driven by LLC and inbound net worth clients, with Global Banking loans increasing 6.1%, reflecting continued growth across the group's regional franchise.

The group maintained a strong funding and liquidity position, supported by healthy CASA growth. Group CASA grew 7.6% Y-o-Y, lifting the CASA ratio to 41.5% from 37.8% a year earlier. CASA growth was recorded across all home markets, with CASA ratios of 44.0% in Malaysia, 34.2% in Singapore and 63.5% in Indonesia. The group also maintained comfortable liquidity levels, with LCR at 130.0% and NSFR at 113.4% as at June 2026.

Sound capital position reflects ongoing balance sheet discipline

The group continued to maintain a sound capital position, with group CET1 and total capital ratios at 14.92% and 18.68% respectively as at June 2026. This was supported by ongoing balance sheet discipline, healthy funding and liquidity positions and continued growth across the group's core businesses.

Stronger Q-o-Q performance

On a quarterly basis (2Q FY26 v 1Q FY26), the group's net profit increased 8.5%, while PBT rose 10.7%. The stronger quarterly performance was supported by a 5.8% increase in net operating income to MYR7.51 billion ($1.87 billion), driven by higher core fees. NIM moderated due to higher funding costs in Malaysia and Indonesia, resulting in a lower net fund-based income.

Sustainable shareholder returns

The Board has declared a first interim dividend of 31 sen per share, of which 5 sen is electable under the Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRP), translating into a total dividend payout of approximately MYR3.75 billion ($931 million), 72.5% of net profit for 1H FY26. This compares with 30 sen per share for the interim dividend in 1H FY25.

Maybank chairman, Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa, said that Maybank's second-quarter performance reflects the group's sound financial foundations and prudent approach to managing its balance sheet and risks.

"Our robust capital and liquidity positions provide a strong foundation for us to navigate changing market conditions with confidence, while maintaining the financial capacity to support our customers and businesses. We remain committed to prudent stewardship and responsible growth, creating enduring value for our shareholders while continuing to advance our sustainability agenda and make a positive impact in the communities we serve."

Meanwhile, president & group chief executive officer, Khairussaleh Ramli, said, "The group's performance reflects continued traction across key businesses and the progress of its strategic priorities. We are seeing healthy activity across wealth, investment banking, Global Market flow business and our key home markets, with technology helping us deepen customer engagement, scale our businesses and improve productivity. As we execute ROAR30, we will continue to sharpen our focus on businesses where we can lead, strengthen our capabilities and capture opportunities across the region. In the second half, our priority is to sustain this pace of execution, translate opportunities into quality earnings and remain agile in responding to changing customer needs and market conditions, keeping us firmly on track towards our FY2026 ambitions."

ROAR30: Broad-based growth and regional leadership, enabled by technology transformation

Maybank continued to drive broad-based growth across its key businesses, strengthening its regional leadership in Islamic finance, wealth, transactions banking and payments, corporate and investment banking (CIB) and SMEs. As a global Islamic finance institution, Islamic CIB income grew 3.9% Y-o-Y to MYR896.8 million ($222.7 million), while Takaful net written contribution rose 10.2% Y-o-Y to MYR1.72 billion ($427 million). Wealth fee income grew 49.6% Y-o-Y to MYR925.4 million ($229.8 million), while cross-border payments volume rose 15.8% Y-o-Y to MYR465.2 billion ($115.5 billion) and CIB fee income increased 15.6% Y-o-Y to MYR1.51 billion ($375 million). Looking ahead, Maybank is investing MYR10 billion ($2.48 billion) through 2030, including MYR1.5 billion ($373 million) in technology spend for FY26, to modernise its core, strengthen resilience, accelerate AI and cloud adoption and strengthen risk and compliance capabilities — enabling a more seamless and personalised customer experience across its business.

Advancing sustainability with measurable impact

Maybank continued to advance its sustainability agenda, mobilising MYR31.81 billion ($7.90 billion) in sustainable finance as at June 2026. Towards Impacting Society Positively, the group has also mobilised MYR12.86 billion ($3.19 billion) in Social Finance and MYR30.96 million ($7.69 million) in Social Empowerment in the same period. This has benefited over 268,000 lives, which comprises of over 238,000 and 30,000 individuals through Financial Inclusion and Financial Literacy interventions respectively. The group remains on track towards its 2030 ambitions with a refreshed target of MYR300 billion ($74.5 billion) in sustainable finance and MYR24 billion ($5.96 billion) in annual social finance, aimed at economically empowering three million lives.

The group also achieved a 58.9% reduction in carbon emissions, progressing towards its 2026 target of 61% reduction and longer-term ambitions of carbon neutrality by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050. Portfolio decarbonisation sustained steady progress towards the group's net zero commitments in 2Q FY26, with all six priority sectors aligned to their decarbonisation pathways.

Since the baseline year, physical emissions intensity has declined by 23% in Power, 13% in Palm Oil, 10% in Commercial Real Estate and 8% in Automotive, while Steel and Aluminium remain below their respective glidepaths. This reflects disciplined portfolio management, active client engagement and increasing exposure to lower-emitting assets. Beyond banking, Maybank's sustainability leadership continued to gain global recognition, including being named World's Best Bank for Corporate Responsibility.

Re-disseminated by The Asian Banker