Malaysian Banking Sector Must Be More Resilient To Face Stiff Competition, Says Najib

KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak wants the Malaysian banking sector to be stronger and more resilient to face stiff competition with regional and global players.

"We want to see our banks become stronger and robust as we move forward," he said when replying to a question posed by the Malayan Banking Bhd's (Maybank) staff on what was his aspiration for the Malaysian banking industry in future.

Najib, who is also Finance Minister, on Monday visited the Menara Maybank to celebrate the bank's 50th anniversary with its employees.

The Prime Minister was accorded a rousing welcome by over 2,000 Maybankers, some dressed in traditional attire, reflecting the 1Maybank family.

"We are fortunate to have many characteristics of such a banking industry in Malaysia today and this is one of the reasons why we can recover relatively unscathed from the recent global recession because we have strong and resilient banking sector," he said.

Najib said the local banking sector must further enhance its financial strength and grow its asset base to compete with foreign bankers.

"To be more competitive, it involves developing new products and services as well as strengthening professional skills of the people involved in this industry.

"I'm looking in the context of further developing the banking sector in Malaysia so that we will become one of the strongest banks in the world in terms of major indicators," said Najib.

The Prime Minister also expressed his hope for more local banks to have strong presence abroad.

Earlier, in his speech, Najib said the government was determined to elevate the socio-economic development, creating better equilibrium in areas where there are imbalances and inspire every citizen to strive for excellence and high performance.

"The New Economic Model and the National Key Result Areas will drive change and take us to a high-income economy that will set the pace for us to achieve our goals," he added