Bank Pembangunan aims to reduce NPLs

Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Bhd aims to lower its non-performing loans (NPLs) form the present 12% into single digit in two years, driven by a tighter credit policy, said its president and group MD Mohammed Rafidz Ahmed Rasiddi.

It is a long-term plan.  For this year, we are targeting to reduce our NPLs to 10%-11%, he told reporters after the signing of syndicated financing facility between Ramly Food Processing Sdn Bhd with Bank Pembangunan and Bank Pertanian Malaysia Bhd in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

He said to reduce loan delinquency, the bank plans to tighten its credit policy and perform a more comprehensive credit evaluation on borrowers.

It is the usual credit evaluation that a bank normally does, he said.  Mohammed Rafidz said the bank is mandated to provide medium-to long-term financing for Islamic and Conventional facilities to capital-intensive industries including infrastructure projects, maritime, technology and oil & gas (O&G) sectors.

He said for its business, Bank Pembangunan is targeting a 5 loan growth this year.  The bank, he said will focus on its four mandated sectors especially infrastructure which accounts for 85% of its loan portfolio.  Other sectors include maritime, technology and O&G.

As part of our risk management, we want to ensure risk awareness is embedded into all aspects of the Bank’s operations.  This will ensure risks are promptly identified, assessed and effectively controlled, he said.

For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2014 the bank recorded a net profit of RM124.7 million compared to RM304.05 million recorded a year earlier.