KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Group Holdings Bhd’s net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026 (1Q 2026) fell 2.9 per cent to RM1.91 billion from RM1.97 billion in the same period a year ago.
The group said the net profit translated into a return on equity (ROE) of 11.0 per cent and earnings per share of 17.8 sen.
“The performance reflected steady underlying momentum despite foreign exchange (FX) and geopolitical headwinds, supported by disciplined execution of its Forward30 strategy,” it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today.
The group’s revenue also decreased 1.6 per cent to RM5.41 billion from RM5.49 billion, despite strong non-interest income (NOII), which rose 11.9 per cent quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) to RM1.7 billion, driven by stronger trading and FX income.
“This helped offset a five per cent q-o-q decline in net interest income (NII) to RM3.7 billion, due to a two-basis-point compression in the group’s net interest margin (NIM) during the quarter, although the impact on NII was partially cushioned by asset growth,” it said.
Nonetheless, CIMB Group is seeing early signs of NIM compression bottoming out, with country-level NIMs expanding q-o-q by one basis point in Malaysia, 12 basis points in Singapore and five basis points in Thailand.
CIMB’s total assets and gross loans grew marginally during the quarter, while its cash-led strategy continued to gain traction.
Total current account savings account (CASA) balances expanded further, bringing the CASA ratio to 43.3 per cent as at March 2026, from 42.7 per cent in December 2025.
During the quarter, operating expenses declined 5.5 per cent q-o-q, contributing to an improvement in the cost-to-income ratio (CIR) to 47.2 per cent in March 2026 from 49.9 per cent in December 2025.
Investments in technology, data and artificial intelligence (AI) remained within its target technology cost-to-income ratio range of eight to nine per cent, while asset quality remained strong, with the gross impaired loan ratio maintained at 1.7 per cent, reflecting disciplined risk management amid a more uncertain macroeconomic environment.
Capital and liquidity positions remained robust, with the Common Equity Tier 1 ratio at 14.3 per cent, providing sufficient capacity to absorb potential headwinds and support future growth.
On the outlook, group chief executive officer Novan Amirudin said the group will continue investing in its digital and regional capabilities to strengthen its franchise, deepen customer relationships and capture longer-term growth opportunities across ASEAN.
He said, looking ahead, CIMB remains cautiously optimistic.
“While our direct exposure to West Asia remains limited, we continue to assess potential second-order impacts on the broader macroeconomic and operating environment. We continue to see resilient asset and loan growth, supported by a healthy pipeline, alongside steady client franchise income across our key markets,” he added. – BERNAMA
