KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 15): Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd (ABMB) is enhancing its strategy plan to drive the bank’s growth over the next four years by targeting new market segments and business verticals, regional expansion, championing sustainability as well as driving synergies and value creation through digital innovations and partnerships.
ABMB group chief executive Kellee Kam said the banking group was building upon the successes it has achieved so far with the strategy focused on business owners, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as well as the communities they operate in, and this strategy was anchored in a challenger bank mindset with a community-centric approach.
“During that time, we developed many innovative, relevant and effective solutions including those in the digital sphere which were market-leading and helped us build inroads into our chosen market segment,” said Kam, who took over the helm of the bank on Sept 1, 2022.
Kam said the bank has built an organisational DNA that is defined by its agility in meeting dynamic market changes while maintaining high standards of service to customers.
He said this is a formula that has been proven to bring results as evidenced by the bank taking SME market share from the bigger players of the industry even through challenging times.
“We will apply this same challenger mindset to the refreshed areas of focus under our new transformation strategy, Acceler8, which are aligned to other high-growth areas in our market, in order to drive the bank’s next phase of growth,” he said.
Kam said Acceler8 will guide the bank’s growth through to FY2027 and focus on providing fast, convenient and personalised solutions that are relevant to customers even as their needs grow and evolve.
He said with this strategy, ABMB aims to launch itself into the top quartile in the industry for return on equity, cost-to-income ratio below 45% and loans growth above the industry average.
He said the bank also seeks to achieve excellence in non-financial metrics such as customer service, employee satisfaction and sustainability.
Kam said that ABMB will expand its consumer banking focus to target the emerging affluent customer segment including over 2.1 million young professionals in Malaysia.
“We aim to broaden our consumer product offerings to serve the HENRY segment (High Earners Not Rich Yet) as well as high-net-worth individuals.
“The HENRYs have growing financial needs which we will be well positioned to support, being a partner to achieve their life goals and aspirations,” he said, adding that overall, the bank is looking at supporting the needs of businesses and individuals at every stage of their life cycle.
Kam said ABMB will also be expanding its reach into other business verticals such as the education, renewable energy and healthcare sectors, providing a comprehensive suite of offerings from the bank’s business, corporate, Islamic and consumer banking functions.
Additionally, he said business presence in fast-growing states and secondary cities will be amplified to position the bank to capture the growth opportunities of these economic corridors.
“To be successful in the long run, we must proactively take a look at the market we operate in and how well we are positioned.
“Against an evolving backdrop of an economy in recovery, we remain positive in fulfilling our growth ambitions under Acceler8 through our planned transformations in technology, branding, culture, sustainability, customer service and other key areas of our business,” Kam said.
As at writing, ABMB was flat at RM3.50 with 433,200 shares done.
