Malaysia's CIMB to cut investment banking operating costs by 30%

[KUALA LUMPUR] CIMB Group Holdings, Malaysia's second-biggest lender by assets, said on Friday it will cut investment banking operating costs by 30 per cent this year as part of a plan to reassess its investment banking presence in Asia-Pacific.

"We have grown aggressively over the years and have a fantastic platform and brand. However we have weaknesses, and we can no longer depend on a high growth operating environment," Zafrul Abdul Aziz, CIMB's acting group chief executive officer, said in a statement.

CIMB also said it expects to achieve a return on equity of more than 15 per cent by the end of 2018, and that consumer banking will contribute 60 per cent of income.

The bank also said Arwin Rasyid, the CEO of Indonesian subsidiary PT Bank CIMB Niaga Tbk, will step down in April, without naming a successor.

REUTERS