KUALA LUMPUR: MBSB Investment Bank Bhd and RHB Investment Bank Bhd have maintained their positive outlook on Malaysia’s banking sector, which remains fundamentally sound and continues to offer an attractive defensive option.
In a note today, MBSB Investment Bank said that recent profit-taking on the industry has created potential buying opportunities amid favourable sector valuations.
It said the banking sector’s strengths include attractive dividend yields, a positive asset growth outlook, and resilient topline prospects.
“However, headwinds continue to loom, largely in the form of asset quality or provisioning issues, as the US-Iran negotiations seem tenuous at best.
“While slowing loan growth does not seem to pose a threat any longer, deposit competition is ramping up significantly, providing some downside to net interest margin,” it added.
Meanwhile, RHB Investment Bank said in a separate note that it also maintained its “overweight” stance on Malaysian banks, citing resilient loan growth, healthy liquidity, and strong capital buffers.
It said system loans growth inched higher to 5.7 per cent year-on-year in May 2026, driven by continued strength in the non-household segment, while stronger loan approvals pointed to supportive growth momentum ahead.
Asset quality remained manageable despite a slight increase in gross impaired loans, it added.
At 12.10 pm, banking counters on Bursa Malaysia were mixed.
Maybank fell four sen to RM10.74, Public Bank eased one sen to RM4.79, and RHB declined six sen to RM8.22.
Hong Leong Bank gained eight sen to RM21.48, AMMB edged up two sen to RM6.39, while CIMB rose four sen to RM7.45. – BERNAMA
