DELIVERING the mandate and embracing digitalisation that started three years ago had contributed to SME Bank churning out decent earnings even with the odds stacked against the development finance institution (DFI).
Despite the bank facing extraordinary headwinds during its FY2020, it still posted a credible pre-tax profit of RM134.8 mil, although this is 37% lower than RM213.9 mil in the previous financial year.
The bank’s chairman Datuk Seri Nazir Ariff attributed the fine performance to its digital and customer-centric transformation.
“Despite the challenges, SME Bank successfully delivered our financial targets, having approved RM2.8 bil financing to 2,030 SMEs during the year,” he pointed out.
Out of the total financing approved, 50.4% were for small category SMEs while 36.6% went to medium-sized entrepreneurs. The top three sectors that received the approval were wholesale & retail trade and restaurants & hotels at 26.7%, construction (17.3%) and manufacturing (16.8%).”
“The National SME Digital Platform launched in 2019 saw SME Bank launching the ScoreXcess and ODELA digital applications which enabled the bank to address concerns and provide relief to our customers as they ride the waves of challenges in 2020,” shared Nazir.
As of end-December 2020, the business-to-business (B2B) digital platform has 848 products listed on its platform with a transaction value exceeding RM4.67 mil.
The bank’s ScoreXcess which facilitates micro financing applications under one seamless platform saw a total of 1,010 SMEs submitting their applications valued at RM19.87 mil.
Meanwhile, the SME Bank group president/CEO Aria Putera Ismail said the DFI has played its role well to ensure the survivability and sustainability of Malaysian SMEs.
“Thus, SME Bank was proactive and had swiftly offered its customers’ relief measures to tide them through unprecedented financial challenges,” he noted.
“Apart from the automatic moratorium assistance announced by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), SME Bank was the earliest in introducing targeted moratorium extension under SME Relief Programme (SRP) to benefit 3,084 eligible SME Bank customers with total financing value of RM4.1 bil.”
Additionally, the bank had also offered various relief assistance under the Government’s stimulus packages namely the Prihatin, Penjana and Pemerkasa as well as the Government’s economic assistance administered by BNM.
Under the Prihatin stimulus package, SME Bank had approved financing amounting to RM4.69 bil and another RM305.5 mil under Penjana. As for the 2021’s Pemerkasa initiative, the Bank had approved a total of RM200 mil. – June 1, 2021.
