Public Bank Falls In Early Trade

KUALA LUMPUR, May 22 (Bernama) -- Share prices of Public Bank Bhd declined by 2.48 per cent despite recording strong financial performance in the first quarter ended March 31, 2025 (1Q 2025).

As of 11.25 am, Public Bank fell 11.0 sen to RM4.32, with 12.31 million shares traded.  

Malaysia’s third-largest bank by assets reported a higher net profit of RM1.75 billion in 1Q 2025 compared with RM1.65 billion in the same period last year.

Revenue increased to RM7.31 billion from RM6.65 billion previously, supported by healthy loans and customer deposits growth. 

The bank said gross loans grew by RM5.9 billion, or at an annualised rate of 5.6 per cent, to RM430.1 billion in 1Q 2025 against RM424.2 billion previously, mainly contributed by growth in mortgage financing, hire purchase financing, and small and medium enterprise (SME) financing.

MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd noted that Public Bank management cited that liquidity was no barrier to achieving loan growth targets.

“Despite an elevated loan/deposit ratio, management does not seem overly concerned, given their comfortable liquidity coverage ratio.

“They can always draw from (pricier) wholesale deposits or money market deposits,” the investment bank said in a research note today.

It added that Public Bank’s SME loan growth is expected to subside a little in subsequent quarters, since the group is guiding for an 8.0 per cent-9.0 per cent full-year growth.

Public Bank’s annualised loan growth in 1Q 2025 stood at 14.5 per cent.

-- BERNAMA