Changes seen at helm of three banks

Tuesday March 31, 2009

PETALING JAYA: Key changes are imminent at several local banks which will see the exit (and entry) of prominent bankers even as the global economic woes add to the challenges faced by the country’s finance sector.

According to sources, Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Bhd president and group managing director Datuk Tajuddin Atan is tipped to take over the helm at RHB Banking Group from Michael J. Barrett. It is believed that the appointment has the approval of Bank Negara.

Barrett joined the group in January 2005 as CEO of RHB Bank Bhd and was appointed group managing director of RHB Capital Bhd on Oct 8, 2007. He is currently also group managing director of the RHB Banking Group. His term would expire in June this year, a source said.
The Employees’ Provident Fund owns 57.55% and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank a 25% interest in the banking group. RHB Capital recently released its financial year 2008 results which showed a 47% year-on-year improvement in net profit to RM1.049bil, in line with estimates. Still, there are concerns that the global economic slowdown may crank up the pressure on the group’s asset quality.

Tajuddin, who has 25 years’ experience in the sector, was CEO of Bank Simpanan Nasional before being appointed to helm Bank Pembangunan on Dec 1, 2007.

It is also widely speculated that EPF head of strategic planning unit Johari Abdul Muid may be appointed chief operating officer of the banking group. “There’s no news or confirmation of that appointment,” a source said.

EPF is under pressure to perform well and provide good returns against a tough operating climate that has seen a drastic fall in equity values. It declared a 4.5% dividend for 2008 versus 5.8% the previous year. It is also believed that Affin Bank Bhd managing director and CEO Datuk Seri Abdul Hamidy Abdul Hafiz’s term will come to an end in June; there is no word yet on whether he will continue heading the bank. Hamidy is also chairman of the Association of Banks in Malaysia.

Affin Bank’s parent company, Affin Holdings Bhd, is the flagship financial services subsidiary of Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT), which is its major shareholder.

Hamidy was appointed to the top seat at Affin Bank in June 2003, when the bank was going through a trying time, with rising bad loans that reached a staggering 25%. He has since managed to bring the non-performing loans to a more manageable level of under 5%.
Elsewhere, EON Bank Bhd is also set to have a new boss. In response to a news article, parent company EON Capital Bhd announced that the bank’s CEO Albert Lau Yiong “has indicated his desire to retire from the group” when his term of appointment expires on April 26. Lau is also group CEO and executive director of EON Capital. He has been with the group for more than 24 years.

It is understood that Michael Lor, who heads the bank’s consumer banking business, will be the acting CEO.

According to sources, Lau may have opted to retire for personal reasons. It is generally perceived that he is closely tied to EON Capital’s major shareholder, Rin Kei Mei. The company’s largest shareholder is Hong Kong-based private equity firm Primus Pacific Partners LLP.

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/3/31/business/3590721&sec=business