Hong Leong Bank Announces 9MFY26 Results

 

HONG LEONG BANK ANNOUNCES 9MFY26 RESULTS:

RESILIENT PERFORMANCE ON SUSTAINED LOANS/FINANCING GROWTH MOMENTUM AND HEALTHY ASSET QUALITY

 

Kuala Lumpur, 26 May 2026 - Hong Leong Bank Berhad (“Bank” or “HLB”), (BM: HLBANK) today announced its results for the nine months ended 31 March 2026 (“9MFY26”). 

 

• Gross loans/financing grew 8.4% year-on-year (“y-o-y”) to RM218.2 billion, as we continued to support customers with their financing needs.

• Asset quality maintained at healthy levels with gross impaired loan (“GIL”) ratio of 0.60%.

• Strong CASA expansion of 14.1% y-o-y to RM77.9 billion, bringing CASA ratio to 32.0%.

• Profit after tax for 9MFY26 reported a 3.3% y-o-y growth to RM3,289 million. 

 

Kevin Lam, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of HLB commented, “Our performance for the first nine months of the financial year remained resilient amidst the ongoing geopolitical uncertainties. We remain agile and adaptive in this challenging business backdrop which allowed us to deliver a higher profit after tax of RM3,289 million, on the back of top-line growth, strategic cost management and healthy asset quality.

 

Gross loans/financing sustained its growth momentum, with 8.4% y-o-y expansion driven by growth across key segments including mortgage, auto loans, SME and commercial banking, as well as key overseas markets. We continue to be proactive in providing steadfast support to our customers, ensuring those facing disruption see this challenging phase through, while delivering a healthy asset quality with an overall GIL ratio of 0.60%.”

 

Sustained Performance Against a Challenging Backdrop

 

• Total income for 9MFY26 was 3.2% y-o-y higher at RM4,932 million, attributable to loans/financing portfolio expansion and prudent funding cost management, which saw net interest margin (“NIM”) stable at 1.83%. Non-interest income grew 2.2% y-o-y, buoyed by an increase in wealth management activities and global markets franchise sales.

• The Bank continued to maintained operational efficiency with positive JAWS, as operating expenses declined 1.1% y-o-y against the rise in total income, delivering a lean cost-to-income ratio (“CIR”) of 37.2% for 9MFY26. 

• Consequently, operating profit before allowances increased 6.0% y-o-y to RM3,099 million, while profit after tax registered a 3.3% growth to RM3,289 million. This moderation in growth rate was attributable to lower profit contribution from associated company, Bank of Chengdu Co., Ltd (“BOCD”) following the natural dilution of the Bank’s stake in BOCD with the completion of its convertible bonds’ conversion, alongside FX translation impact from a stronger ringgit.

   

Supporting Customers’ Loans/Financing Needs

 

• Gross loans, advances and financing maintained its growth trajectory with an 8.4% y-o-y expansion to RM218.2 billion, led by expansion in our key segments of mortgage, auto loans, SME and commercial banking, as well as key overseas markets.

• Domestic loans/financing growth of 8.5% y-o-y continued ahead of industry growth rate of 5.4% y-o-y.

• Residential mortgages, anchored by a healthy loans/financing pipeline, grew 6.4% y-o-y to RM105.4 billion. Transport vehicle loans/financing rose 9.4% y-o-y to RM25.7 billion, on the strength of an expanding dealer footprint, complemented by strategic alliances with leading brands across the automotive industry and electric vehicle manufacturers.

• Loans to domestic business enterprises increased 8.3% y-o-y to RM71.1 billion, whilst SME loans/financing portfolio increased 9.5% y-o-y to RM41.9 billion. Our community SME banking initiative, within the SME segment, tracked higher by 10.8% y-o-y to RM16.3 billion, attributed to active customer acquisition and the effective leveraging of bespoke digital solutions that better address specific client needs while enhancing user experience.

• Loans from overseas operations expanded 7.2% y-o-y, backed by solid growth of 19.8% and 14.3% in Singapore and Vietnam in local currency terms respectively.

   

Prudent Funding and Liquidity Positions

 

• The Bank continues to place emphasis in maintaining prudent funding and liquidity positions. Accordingly, loans to deposits ratio (“LDR”) stood at 88.0% as at 31 March 2026, while rolling 12 months average liquidity coverage ratio (“LCR”) stood at 129.0%, well exceeding regulatory requirements.

• Customer deposits for 9MFY26 grew 8.3% y-o-y to RM243.5 billion. CASA increased 14.1% y-o-y to RM77.9 billion, leading to a CASA mix of 32.0%. This reflects the Bank’s concerted efforts in community deposit acquisition and impactful cash management solutions.

• The Bank’s funding base continued to be supported by a strong individual deposit base of RM122.8 billion, resulting in individual deposit mix ratio of 50.4%.

   

Healthy Asset Quality and Capital Positions

 

• Asset quality positions of the Bank remained healthy with a GIL ratio of 0.60%. Loan impairment coverage (“LIC”) ratio stood at 81.1% as at 31 March 2026. Inclusive of the value of securities held against our GIL, the Bank’s LIC ratio was well-positioned at 151.1%, whilst with regulatory reserve, the coverage ratio strengthened to 236.9%.

• The Bank’s capital position remained healthy with CET 1, Tier 1 and Total Capital ratios at 12.4%, 13.3% and 15.4% respectively as at 31 March 2026.

   

Best Managed Bank in Malaysia

 

• HLB has been named the Best Managed Bank in Malaysia at The Asian Banker Global Leadership Achievement Awards 2026, achieving a definitive milestone in its bankwide transformation plan.

• This is attributed to the Bank implementing structures and systems that allow it to efficiently meet the needs of its customers, from cross-functional ecosystems and strategic branch innovations, to comprehensive rebranding exercises and AI integration.

• Complementing this achievement, Kevin Lam, HLB’s Group Managing Director and CEO, was named the Best Bank CEO in Malaysia, recognising his pivotal role in orchestrating the Bank’s three-to-five-year transformation plan.

   

AsiaTop Music Festival 2026: Exclusive Access for HLB Cardholders

 

• HLB has announced a strategic partnership with Tencent Music Entertainment Group (“TME”) platforms, JOOX and QQ Music, to present the AsiaTop Music Festival 2026, in support of Visit Malaysia Year and Visit Selangor Year 2026.

• The festival will take place on 30 & 31 May 2026 at the Sepang International Circuit, showcasing an elite lineup of artists from Malaysia and across Asia.

• HLB cardholders enjoyed exclusive privileges such as ticket pre-sale access, highlighting HLB’s commitment to lifestyle-centric banking where it strives to provide cardholders exclusive access to experiences and lifestyle events.

   

HLB Priority: Reimagining Wealth for a New Era

 

• HLB has announced the evolution of its affluent wealth management segment, now known as HLB Priority. This marks a strategic pivot towards a life stage-based approach designed to seamlessly support the entire financial journey of our clients from a child’s first savings to legacy planning. The new model merges institutional financial solutions with tailored wealth strategies and exclusive lifestyle privileges.

• As part of the renewed proposition, HLB has introduced a first-of-its-kind, specialised healthcare pillar into its client offerings via a landmark partnership with Asia OneHealthcare (“A1Health”), a leading private healthcare provider in Malaysia. This provides clients access to highly specialised care across key critical health areas through A1Health’s curated network of dedicated hospitals and single-specialty centres of excellence.

   

HLB Islamic: Timeless Principles Guiding Tomorrow’s Wealth

 

• As part of HLB’s bankwide initiative to refresh and strengthen its core vision, Hong Leong Islamic Bank has also unveiled a renewed consumer-facing brand identity, now known as HLB Islamic. This comes alongside a strengthened core proposition that approaches financial services through a total wealth stewardship view known as Hayat @ HLB Islamic.

• This evolution is rooted in the Bank’s philosophy of Timeless Principles Guiding Tomorrow’s Wealth, centred around aligning HLB Islamic’s product suite into a life cycle approach, guided by the 5 pillars of Islamic wealth stewardship.

 

Business Outlook

 

Kevin Lam commented, “The Malaysian economy is expected to stay resilient despite prevailing uncertainties and increasingly volatile situation from geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East. In our base case scenario that the Iran War will not be prolonged into the later parts of this year, and Malaysia’s position as a net exporter of energy, the Malaysian economy should remain resilient, upheld by domestic consumption through proactive government programmes, continuous rollout of investment initiatives under various masterplans such as the 13th Malaysia Plan, Artificial Intelligence and demand for electrical and electronics products, continuous investments into data centres as well as favourable commodity prices. All these are expected to cushion the blow from external challenges and potentially a more inflationary environment. Taking a cue from such sound fundamentals, we remain cautiously optimistic that the Malaysian economy will be able to navigate through this challenging time, coming from a position of strength, and expand at a pace of 4.0%-5.0% this year, as of the time of this writing.

 

Our aspiration to become the Best Run Bank in Malaysia remains the steady anchor of our 3-5 Year Transformative Plan. Through internal campaign, we continue to empower our HLB Bankers to truly embody our core values and bring our “Built Around You” promise to their everyday engagements with customers. We are focused on enhancing customer experience by providing innovative banking and lending solutions to meet our customers' financial needs.

 

As we navigate the dynamic macroeconomic landscape, the Bank’s priority remains strengthening our core operations through the transformation of our branch network, deepening strategic alliances and stepping up AI and digital capabilities. As always, we remain dedicated to embedding environmental, social and governance principles across our business strategies and practices, ensuring that we create a positive, lasting impact on the communities and stakeholders we serve.”