KUALA LUMPUR: AmBank Group has big plans to boost its card business and leapfrog over competition in the arena of mobile banking.
AmBank, currently sixth largest bank in the country, wants to become one of the top four banks by 2020.
The ambition for mobile domination is based on the group’s investment in technology and systems upgrade.
“When I came in, we had already spent RM500 million completing the new core banking system at the bank early this year. We invested in digital mobile banking platform, called BackBase which is a highly valuable and agile system.
“We will be be launching the new phase of mobile banking very soon,” said AmBank Group chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Sulaiman Mohd Tahir.
Sulaiman, who joined AmBank in November last year, is confident Ambank is better than the other banks in terms of mobile banking so much so that he said: “I am skipping desktop banking and going for mobile because it (mobile) is so convenient”.
AmBank is nimble and lean and can focus on mobile banking and digital analytics, Sulaiman added.
“(I can) spend my resources there, and I can do a quantum leap. I can get an additional 40 per cent improvement in my results.
“It is about leveraging on what we have by strengthening the bank and making sure we cover the gaps. Then we can be competitive. Technology is an opportunity to get there faster,” he said in an exclusive interview with Business Times.
As the mobile strategy gathers pace, Sulaiman has his team solidifying the bank’s traditional strengths like hire-purchase (HP) and investment banking.
“AmBank is historically a good HP business bank and it is still the top three in the country, Our strategy is to continue doing well in the areas where we do well,” he said.
Sulaiman said a lot of planning was done in the early months of him joining AmBank.
He said AmBank’s corporate side of the business is already good and the group is in the top four in investment banking in the country with one of the largest AUM (assets under management) with only the consumer side needing a boost.
The detailed analysis of the bank’s portfolio and the growth strategies have given Sulaiman and his management team deep insights into AmBank’s strength and weaknesses. This has boosted their confidence in gearing the bank into one of the top four local banking groups in the next few years.
Following AmBank’s acquisition of MBF Cards a few years ago, the CEO admits the cards business can be strengthened.
As a result, an MBF integration system was undertaken where the bank invested in CardPro for about RM600 million.
The bank admits the big role merchants play in the card business and is now tweaking the processes to take advantage of the new features and increasing the penetration of the merchant base for the card.
“For the cards products, if the system supporting the card is not good, it is very difficult for people to use the card,” Sulaiman explained, adding that weaknesses like rate of approval and turnaround time were issues faced and the team has stabilised the cards business.
Sulaiman said catering to the SMEs (small and medium enterprises) is an area the group has not done well. But that is about to change.
“We have not done well in SMEs and we have not done well in mid-corps. This is the space where we need to improve.”
On the conventional banking side, the group is supporting SMEs in the infrastructure and construction, food, and auto-parts export play.
These strategic sectors are supported by the group’s Islamic banking division, which is focused on the SMEs in the halal segment (food, cosmetics, fashion etc).
“When I came in, the group as whole had some plans going and what I wanted to do was more of a plan that is holistic that tied up the retail side, the corporate side, and the insurance side.
“We are actively focused on what the bank has, and understanding the environment out there and how we can align the resources of the bank in the areas we think we can grow,” he said.
And now the pragmatic Sulaiman is leading AmBank’s technological push with the solid support of the bank’s 11,000 staff to make the group a leading bank again.
AMMB Holdings Bhd closed one sen higher to RM4.15 with 956,600 shares traded yesterday.
Based on Bloomberg data, there are 12 research firms recommending a target price of RM3.80 to RM5.10 on the stock.
