Maybank profit rises 14% to RM6.55b

MAYBANK yesterday reported record net earnings of RM6.55 billion (S$2.53 billion) on net income of RM18.54 billion for the year ended Dec 31, 2013.

This is the second year that the lender has registered record growth and illustrates the potential of its regional market with double-digit loan growth in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. The bank, in its note to the stock exchange, said that it intended to accelerate plans to expand in the region.

The surging profit underscores the fact that South-east Asia remains a growth story. On Tuesday, CIMB, Malaysia's second largest bank and, like Maybank, a regional lender with a presence in most of the region,…