CIMB steps up advisory role to gov't

The CIMB Group, one of Southeast Asia’s leading lenders, will step up its advisory role to help the government overcome the current global financial crisis, triggered by the collapse of giant financial firms in the US and Europe.

CIMB Chief Executive Nazir Razak - who is also the brother of deputy premier and finance minister Najib - said the group had always played a pivotal advisory role for the government by providing feedbacks from customers.

According to him, this information was important to policymakers when forming and implementing constructive fiscal policies.

"We will step up our role to continue to advise the government on the financial policies, especially to tackle the current crisis," he told a press conference during a CIMB Raya Foundation programme in Penang over the weekend.

CIMB Group is the second largest financial outfit in Malaysia. Owned by the KLSE-listed Bumiputra-Commerce Holdings Bhd, which has a market capitalisation of about RM10 billion, the group has officesin nine countries, including Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand and a total workforce of about 24,000 employees.

Will speak up

Nazir promised that as a responsible financial services provider, CIMB would not hesistate to speak its mind on how to assist the government in implementing financial policies to benefit the country and the people.

He said CIMB has already carried out several measures of its own to reduce the cost burden created by soaring fuel prices.

Among the measures the group has taken to avoid a spate of bad loans include restructuring the repayment schedule for personal and hire purchase loans to fit the individual financial capacities of debtors, especially small and medium size entrepreneurs.

"The measures have helped ordinary laymen and businessmen to counter their cost burden," he said.

Nazir also said Malaysians must understand that the current crisis was sparked by banking failures in the west, and therefore different from the Asian financial crisis of 1997 – 98, which was sparked by huge government and corporate borrowings in US dollars to fund mega projects.

He side-stepped a question on whether current financial measures announced would be adequate in buffering the country from the external turmoil. But he said Bank Negara’s policy to provide full guarantee for deposits up to RM60, 000, emulating its Singapore counterpart, was a good move.

On CIMB Raya Foundation programme, he said since being established in November last year, the foundation would spend some RM8 million by this year-end on various community projects.

The banking group has pledged an initial RM100 million to the foundation during the first three years of its set-up to focus on three key areas of community, sports and educational development.

A substantial portion of the funds would be channelled through the CIMB community link project to benefit single mothers and their children.

So far the foundation has spent some RM3 million to carry out 116 programme, with another 75 programmes in the pipeline until year end to benefit some 20,000 people.