Maybank 2nd quarter net up 15%

Malaysia’s biggest lender Maybank reported a 15 per cent rise in second-quarter net profit and gave an upbeat outlook, driven by strong business growth in its Southeast Asian subsidiaries. Malaysian banks have reported robust earnings in recent quarters, riding on growth back home and in Singapore and Indonesia, although a possible euro zone recession may slow global growth and earnings for the lenders. “Notwithstanding the global challenges, the group expects to maintain a satisfactory performance for the next financial year ending 31 Dec, 2012 in view of expected growth in key markets that the group operates,” Maybank said in a statement on Thursday. Maybank said it was targeting growing loans and debt securities by 15.6 per cent in the financial year ending Dec 2012. The lender has changed its financial year-end to Dec. 31 from June 30 previously and the first new financial year ended on Dec 31 with a shorter six-month period. Its second-quarter net profit rose to 1.3 billion ringgit ($429 million) from 1.125 billion ringgit in the same quarter of the previous year. Analysts generally do not provide detailed quarterly estimates of Malaysian companies.