Maybank (MAYMK)

Maybank is Malaysia’s largest banking group. Its credit strength rests not on high loan growth, but on one of the country’s largest deposit franchises, customer access across ASEAN, product breadth including Islamic finance, and ample capital and liquidity buffers. As of May 7, 2026, the latest group financial disclosure available for review is the FY2025 full-year results announced on February 26, 2026. Those results showed net profit of RM10.51bn, ROE of 11.7%, a CET1 ratio of 15.13%, total capital ratio of 19.05%, LCR of 138.2%, and NSFR of 116.6%. These metrics continue to support the view of Maybank not merely as a “Malaysian domestic bank,” but as a core investment-grade bank in ASEAN.

The investor-facing conclusion is that Maybank should be viewed not as a bank credit for large upside, but as a defensive carry-oriented bank credit. FY2025 loan growth was only 1.7%, so headline growth appears visibly subdued. At the same time, however, CASA balances increased 9.4% YoY and the CASA ratio rose to 40.5%. NIM remained stable at 2.05%, while the net credit charge-off rate declined from 26bps in FY2024 to 8bps in FY2025. In other words, Maybank did not increase earnings by aggressively chasing loan volume; rather, it defended earnings through deposit quality, cost management, non-interest income, and lower credit costs.

This is quite important from a credit perspective. When the economy or interest rates are supportive, banks can relatively easily generate profits by expanding lending. What bond investors really need to see, however, is how far funding, capital, and asset quality can be protected during headwinds. In FY2025, Maybank saw loan growth in Malaysia and Singapore, while the corporate portfolio restructuring continued in Indonesia. Group-wide loan growth was contained, but this is better read not as a sign that risk selection has been relaxed, but rather as an operating stance focused on risk-adjusted returns.