Moody's Affirms CIMB Group Holdings Berhad's Ratings, Outlook Remains Stable

Strategic Insights -

CIMB Group Holdings Berhad, Malaysia's second-largest banking group, has maintained its Baa1 issuer ratings and A3 issuer ratings for its banking subsidiaries, according to a recent announcement by Moody's Investors Service. The stable outlook reflects the group's strong market position, successful de-risking initiatives, and stable solvency and liquidity metrics. However, the rating agency notes that the evolving US tariffs on Malaysia and other Asian countries pose a risk to its expectations.

Key Takeaways:

  • CIMB Group Holdings Berhad's Baa1 issuer ratings and A3 issuer ratings for its banking subsidiaries have been affirmed, with a stable outlook.
  • The ratings reflect the group's strong market position as Malaysia's second-largest banking group, successful de-risking initiatives, and stable solvency and liquidity metrics.
  • The stable outlook is driven by the group's ability to maintain its solvency and liquidity metrics, with a common equity tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio of 14.7% as of 31 March 2025.
  • CIMB Bank's baa1 Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA) and Adjusted BCA reflect the bank's prudent credit underwriting and its ability to manage risk.
  • CIMB Islamic Bank Berhad's A3 issuer and deposit ratings, baa1 Adjusted BCA, and baa2 BCA reflect the bank's strong asset quality, stable but moderate capital and liquidity, and modest profitability.
  • CIMB Investment Bank Berhad's A3 issuer ratings reflect the bank's highly integrated entity status with CIMB Group, reliance on CIMB Group's wholesale banking business, and transfer of risk exposure arising from investment banking to CIMB Bank.

Statistics:

  • CIMB Group Holdings Berhad reported total assets of MYR769.6 billion as of 31 March 2025.
  • CIMB Bank reported total assets of MYR664.9 billion as of 31 March 2025.
  • CIMB Islamic Bank Berhad reported total assets of MYR175.2 billion as of 31 March 2025.
  • CIMB Investment Bank Berhad reported total assets of MYR1.3 billion as of 31 March 2025.
  • Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio: 14.7% (as of 31 March 2025).
  • Liquid Asset Ratio: 30.4% (as of 31 March 2025).
  • Loan Loss Provision Coverage Ratio: 120.6% (as of 31 March 2025).

Sources:

  • Moody's Investors Service
  • CIMB Group Holdings Berhad
  • CIMB Bank Berhad
  • CIMB Islamic Bank Berhad
  • CIMB Investment Bank Berhad
  • Banks (Moody's methodology, November 2024)
  • Securities Industry Market Makers (Moody's methodology, June 2024)