Public Bank is pleased to announce the launch of Public Bank Berhad’s new internet banking website ‘PBe’ on 15 May 2014.

The totally new website was designed and developed with the objective of showcasing a bright, bold and contemporary website featuring responsive web design for optimal viewing where information displayed will automatically fit across a wide range of computers and mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones. Customers no longer need to pan, resize or scroll the webpages to perform their banking needs or obtain information on banking services, special products and promotions online. Together with the improved navigation and enhanced features, it will be a whole new rewarding experience for the Bank’s internet banking customers.

With the new website, the Bank is confident its customer base and the demand for electronic banking services would continue to see significant growth. This is also in line with Bank Negara Malaysia’s initiatives to promote e-payments and reduce the usage of cheques and cash for payments.

In conjunction with the introduction of the new PBe website, the Bank is pleased to launch the ‘Experience the New PBe and be Rewarded’ Campaign. New and existing customers who perform Interbank GIRO (IBG), Instant Transfer, Bill Payment and Prepaid Top-up with a minimum amount of RM30 will stand to win attractive weekly cash prizes. In addition, for the same type of transactions exceeding RM80, customers stand the chance to win one of the eight Grand Prize of the latest Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphones. The more transactions performed, the better the chances of winning any of the prizes. No SMS pre-registration is necessary nor the need for any catchy slogan. As long as the criteria are met, participation is automatic. The campaign will run from 19 May to 13 July 2014. All eligible winners will be duly notified and the list of winners published in our website.

To learn more about the new PBe website and campaign, please go to www.pbebank.com or call  PBe Customer Support at 03-21795000.

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Public Bank Berhad today announced the launch of the Public Bank Visa Signature Credit Card, offering the market with a premium card tailored with a host of perks to fulfill the needs of customers that are pragmatic and status-oriented, aspiring at recognition and differentiation, and seeking higher rewards for their lifestyle.

The PB Visa Signature Credit Card is targeting the mid-affluent segment market with a minimum income level of RM100,000 per annum. This card offers 6% cash rebate on grocery, dining and online transactions while every Ringgit charged on other retail transactions will be rewarded with 1 VIP point which differentiate itself from other cards with only one reward system. Cardmembers can redeem VIP points for products from our Preferred Redemption Rewards Catalogue. As such, cardmembers enjoy both cash rebate and reward point through usage of this card.

Moreover, frequent travelers could have peace of mind while travelling as cardmembers are automatically insured by travel insurance of up to RM1.5 million and also able to enjoy unlimited complimentary access to Malaysia Plaza Premium Lounge with 5 overseas transactions within 30 days before and/or after each access. For frequent travelers, cardmembers can redeem VIP points for Air Miles which allow cardmembers to travel for free or other privileges. Meantime, RM50 Activation Cash Rewards will be credited upon one retail transaction charged within first two months once card approved.

To celebrate the launch, Public Bank Berhad will reward the first 300 qualified cardmembers with RM188 cash bonus added to his/her new Public Bank Visa Signature Credit Card account upon one retail transaction charged on the card within first two months from card approved date.

Present at the launch of PB Visa Signature Credit Card was Dato’ Chang Kat Kiam, Senior Chief Operating Officer of Public Bank Berhad and Mr. Tee Chui Chee, Director of PB Card Services, Public Bank Berhad, together with Mr. Ng Kong Boon, Country Manager, Malaysia, Visa at Menara Public Bank in Kuala Lumpur.

Commenting at the launch, Dato’ Chang, Senior Chief Operating Officer of Public Bank Berhad said, “Customers today are more savvy and sophisticated in their lifestyle choices. We are continually looking to provide our customers with greater rewards and privileges that complement their lifestyle needs.”

“An increasing number of Malaysian consumers are starting to look for exclusive services and lifestyle related offers. Visa understands the needs of this group of consumers and provides them access to the things that matter most to them. The Public Bank Visa Signature Credit card offers cardholders access to a wide range of services and lifestyle privileges with the convenience of Visa payWave contactless technology,” said Mr. Ng Kong Boon, Country Manager, Visa Malaysia.

“Visa payWave allows cardholders to make everyday purchases faster and easier by simply waving their Visa payWave enabled card in front of a Visa payWave reader,” added Mr. Ng.

To find out more about this Card, customers are invited to meet our customer service representatives at any of our branches, log on to Public Bank’s website at www.pbebank.com or call PB Visa Signature Help Desk at 03-2176 8118. Terms and conditions apply.

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(From left) Mr. Tee Chui Chee, Dato' Chang Kat Kiam and Mr. Ng Kong Boon at the launch of PB Visa Signature Credit Card
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Ms. Cheah Kim Ling
Independent Non-Executive Director of Public Bank

Chairman’s Review

The Founder and Chairman of Public Bank, Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr. Teh Hong Piow is pleased to announce that, “The Public Bank Group recorded a pre-tax profit of RM1.33 billion and net profit attributable to shareholders of RM1.02 billion for the first quarter of 2014. Against the profits for the corresponding quarter in the prior year, the Group’s pre-tax profit and net profit for the first quarter of 2014 grew by 4.5% and 5.0% respectively.”

Tan Sri Teh highlighted that, “Despite the protracted external uncertainties and challenging operating environment with expected moderation in the overall domestic demand, the Public Bank Group continued to demonstrate resilience in performance, particularly for its domestic operations which recorded a healthy annualised loan growth of 10.7% and an annualised deposit growth of 14.2%.”

Tan Sri Teh further added that, “We are certainly encouraged that the Public Bank Group continued to be at the forefront amongst its banking peers in Malaysia, achieving the highest net return on equity of 20.5% whilst maintaining the lowest gross impaired loan ratio of 0.7% and cost-to-income ratio of 31.8% in the first quarter of 2014.”

Sustaining Growth Momentum in Loans and Deposits

The Public Bank Group sustained a healthy loan growth momentum at an annualised rate of 9.8% in the first quarter of 2014. Domestic loans grew at a stronger annualised rate of 10.7% over the same period. The Group maintained its market leadership position in its domestic lending for residential mortgages, commercial property financing and passenger vehicles financing with market shares of 19.6%, 33.7% and 26.9% respectively.

Lending to the retail banking segment remained the key focus of the Public Bank Group, with extension of credit mainly to small and medium enterprises as well as for purchasing of residential properties and passenger vehicles. As at the end of March 2014, the Group’s retail loan portfolio collectively accounted for 86% of its total loans. The Group’s lending to small and medium enterprises recorded an annualised growth of 25.2% in the first quarter of 2014.

Tan Sri Teh commented that, “The Public Bank Group’s funding and liquidity position remained supportive of its lending activities, backed by its strong retail deposit franchise with a large domestic depositor base of over 5 million customers. The Group’s total customer deposits grew at an annualised rate of 12.8%, with domestic customer deposits growing at a stronger annualised rate of 14.2%.”

The strong domestic deposit growth was mainly backed by the steady inflows of fixed deposits, low cost savings and current accounts, which grew by an annualised rate of 20.5%, 17.1% and 5.0% respectively.

Maintaining Growth in Non-Interest Income

Non-interest income of the Public Bank Group grew by 7.5% in the first quarter of 2014 as compared to the corresponding quarter in 2013, mainly driven by income from higher unit trust business and transactional banking services.

Tan Sri Teh said that, “The Group’s unit trust management business through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Public Mutual Berhad (“Public Mutual”), registered a strong double-digit performance during the quarter under review with a pre-tax profit growth of 17.1% as compared to the corresponding quarter in 2013. As at 31 March 2014, Public Mutual had 105 funds with total net asset value of RM62.6 billion under its management. It remained as the market leader in the private unit trust business, capturing 40.7% of the overall market share as at the end of February 2014, with 59.1% and 53.0% market share in the equity and Islamic unit trust fund sectors respectively. To further drive the Group’s unit trust business, Public Mutual will continue to place strong emphasis on building and nurturing unit trust consultants who are a highly effective distribution channel, to serve its unit trust customer base that has grown to over 3.0 million accounts as at the end of March 2014.” 

Observing Prudent Cost Management

Tan Sri Teh highlighted that, “The Public Bank Group remained the most cost-efficient bank in Malaysia with its cost-to-income ratio of 31.8% in the first quarter of 2014 as compared to the banking industry’s average ratio of 45.6%.”

“To ensure cost sustainability amid the challenging business landscape, the Public Bank Group will continue to practise prudent cost discipline, deploy adequate resources to review and improve its business processes, and ensure optimum utilization of its infrastructure to further enhance efficiency and productivity while ensuring strict compliance with internal operation standards and procedures,” added Tan Sri Teh.

Upholding Asset Quality

“Despite the strong growth in its loan portfolio year after year amid the continuously challenging environment in the markets in which it operates, the asset quality of the Public Bank Group remained resilient with a low gross impaired loan ratio of 0.7% as at the end of March 2014, significantly lower than the Malaysian banking industry’s gross impaired loan ratio of 1.8%,” said Tan Sri Teh.

The strong asset quality is a result of the Group’s consistent approach of carrying out a combination of both preventive and proactive measures in its lending activities, such as establishing strict and prudent credit policies, advocating strong discipline and “know your customer” culture in the credit assessment and approval processes as well as ensuring effective and efficient recovery processes.

Tan Sri Teh added that, “The Public Bank Group's loan loss coverage ratio stood at 119.1%, which was higher and more prudent than the banking industry's coverage ratio of 104.5%.”

Overseas Operations

For the first quarter of 2014, the Public Bank Group’s overseas operations contributed 6.9% of the Group’s overall pre-tax profit. Cambodian Public Bank Plc (“Campu Bank”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Public Bank, reported a commendable growth in pre-tax profit of 32.2% to USD9.6 million as compared to the corresponding quarter in 2013, amid the challenging business environment, and remains as one of the top three largest banks in Cambodia.

Ensuring a Healthy Capital Position

The Public Bank Group’s capital position remained stable, with its common equity Tier 1 capital ratio, Tier 1 capital ratio and total capital ratio standing at 8.5%, 10.1% and 13.3% respectively as at the end of March 2014.

Tan Sri Teh emphasised that, “We will continue to assess the Group’s capital requirements to ensure that it is well positioned to support the Group’s business growth strategies by balancing the need for higher capital retention in view of the requirements under the Basel III capital regime whilst maximising our shareholders’ return.”

Group’s Prospect

“Our strategies for the Public Bank Group remain unchanged. The Group will continue to focus on its core retail banking and financing business, whilst maintaining its prudent credit policies, as well as upholding strong corporate governance. The Group will continue to leverage on its strong PB brand and its wide and efficient branch network as well as its excellent customer service to support long term sustainable growth.

With the expectation that the Malaysian economy will remain on a steady growth path of 4.5% to 5.5% in 2014, backed by domestic demand, albeit at a more moderate pace, the Public Bank Group is expected to maintain its earnings momentum for the rest of 2014,” remarked Tan Sri Teh.

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Y.Bhg. Tan Sri Dato' Sri Dr. Teh Hong Piow
Founder and Chairman of Public Bank
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Performance Review

Tan Sri Teh said, “The Public Bank Group recorded a pre-tax profit of RM5.31 billion in 2013, representing a growth of 5.2% as compared to 2012. The Group’s net profit attributable to shareholders exceeded the RM4 billion mark for the first time, increasing by 6.2% to RM4.06 billion.”

Tan Sri Teh commented that, “In 2013, the Public Bank Group recorded healthy double digit growth of 11.8% and 11.5% in gross loans and deposits. In particular, domestic loans and deposits grew at a faster rate of 12.0% and 11.6% respectively, leading to improved market shares in the domestic market.”

Tan Sri Teh highlighted, “As a result of the Group’s favourable performance in 2013, a second interim single-tier dividend of 30 sen was paid on 28 February 2014. Together with the first interim single-tier dividend of 22 sen which was paid in August 2013, the total dividend for 2013 was 52 sen.” The total dividend paid for 2013 amounted to RM1.82 billion and represented a total payout of 44.8% of the Group’s net profit for 2013.

Strong Double Digit Growth in Loans and Customer Deposits

The Group continued to focus its lending activities on the retail sector, with loans for the financing of residential properties, passenger vehicles and lending to small and medium enterprises. The Group’s retail loan portfolio collectively accounted for 86% of its total loans.

Tan Sri Teh said, “The Public Bank Group continued to command market leadership in domestic lending for residential mortgages, commercial property financing and passenger vehicle financing with market share of 19.6%, 33.8% and 26.5% respectively as at the end of 2013.”

“The Group’s funding position remained stable and healthy, supported by its strong retail deposit franchise of over five million customers. Domestic customer deposits grew by 11.6%, significantly higher than the domestic banking industry’s deposit growth of 8.5%.” commented Tan Sri Teh.The strong domestic deposit growth was mainly attributed to the steady inflow of fixed deposits and low cost savings and current accounts, which grew by 14.2%, 8.3% and 17.0% respectively.

Excellent Asset Quality

“The Public Bank Group’s gross impaired loans ratio remained low at 0.7% as at the end of 2013 which was significantly lower than the Malaysian banking industry’s gross impaired loans ratio of 1.9%.” commented Tan Sri Teh.

Tan Sri Teh further added, “The Group's loan loss coverage ratio stood at 118.5%, which was higher and more prudent than the banking industry's loan loss coverage ratio of 107.6%.”

International Operations

The Public Bank Group’s pre-tax profits from international operations registered a growth of 8.6% in 2013 and contributed 6.6% to the Group’s pre-tax profits in 2013. Cambodian Public Bank Plc (“Campu Bank”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Public Bank, reported an improvement in profit contribution by 8.0% to RM117.2 million in 2013.

The Public Bank Group remains committed to expand its presence in the region through organic growth. As at the end of 2013, the Group has 124 overseas branches, with 83 branches in Hong Kong, 3 branches in Shenzhen in the People’s Republic of China, 25 branches in Cambodia, 7 branches in Vietnam, 4 branches in Laos and 2 branches in Sri Lanka.

Sustaining Growth in Fee-based Income

The Public Bank Group continued to focus its efforts to increase fee income from unit trust, bancassurance, foreign-exchange related transactions and transactional banking services.

“The Group’s unit trust management business through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Public Mutual, recorded commendable performance with a 14.5% growth in pre-tax profit in 2013. Public Mutual remained the market leader in the private unit trust industry with 104 funds under its management. Total assets under management rose by 14.5% to RM62.5 billion, capturing 41.2% of the overall market share as at the end of 2013, with 59.5% and 53.2% market share in the equity and Islamic unit trust fund sectors respectively.” Tan Sri Teh commented.

The Public Bank Group’s strategic bancassurance partnership continued with AIA Group Ltd (“AIA”) following the acquisition by AIA of the ING’s insurance operations in Malaysia. The bancassurance partnership has proven to be successful as it enables the Group to provide life, health and investment-linked insurance products to its large customer pool in Malaysia and Hong Kong. In 2013, the Group achieved sales of bancassurance products, measured in terms of Annualised Premium Equivalent of RM121.1 million.

Healthy Capital Position

The Public Bank Group’s capital position remained healthy, with common equity Tier 1 capital ratio, Tier 1 capital ratio and total capital ratio standing at 8.8%, 10.5% and 13.8% respectively as at the end of 2013.

Tan Sri Teh emphasised that, “Public Bank will continue to proactively manage its capital to ensure an optimum level of capital to support the Group’s business growth whilst maximising its shareholder value and balancing the need for higher capital retention as required by the Basel III standards.”

Superior Returns to Shareholders

The Public Bank Group has consistently delivered superior returns to its shareholders, both over the medium term and long term.

Tan Sri Teh commented, “If a shareholder of Public Bank had bought 1,000 shares in Public Bank when it was listed in 1967, and assuming the shareholder had subscribed for all rights issues and had not sold any of the Public Bank shares, he would have 135,398 Public Bank shares worth RM2.6 million based on the current share price of Public Bank (Local) shares of RM19.16. In addition, he would have received total gross dividends of RM914,243. This translates into a total value of RM3.5 million representing remarkable compounded annual rate of return of 19.6% for each of the 46 years since 1967.

Over the medium-term of 5 years since the end of 2008, a Public Bank shareholder would have enjoyed a total return of 159.5% or a compounded annual return of 21.0% for each of the last 5 years.”

Outstanding KPIs

Tan Sri Teh added that, “The Group continued to be in the forefront amongst its banking peers in Malaysia, achieving the highest net return on equity of 22.4% while maintaining the lowest gross impaired loans ratio of 0.7% and lowest cost to income ratio of 30.7%.”

Corporate Responsibility

In support of environment sustainability, the Public Bank Group adopted the “green” concept in the construction of Public Mutual’s new head office building in Kuala Lumpur, which incorporates a host of green features in the design and layout of the building.

Other key corporate responsibilities initiatives undertaken include providing continued financial assistance to the IJN Foundation for the set up of a dormitory to house families of needy patients undergoing treatment at Institute Jantung Negara, the continued support of the Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman in its research studies in the field of banking and finance and contributions focused in the area of healthcare, education, professional development and community activities.

Tan Sri Teh said, “The Public Bank Group will continue to channel funding to assist the development and growth of SMEs and micro enterprises. The Group also actively participated in BNM’s initiatives and financing schemes to promote SME activities. As a result of its strong profitability track record, the Group is a major contributor to the fiscal revenue of the country with tax payments totalling RM4.8 billion for the past 5 years.”

An Award Winning Bank

Tan Sri Teh highlighted that, “In 2013, the Public Bank Group was accorded numerous awards and recognition of excellence by reputable domestic and international publications and independent organisations.” The awards received include:

• Best Bank in Malaysia by FinanceAsia (15th time)

• Best Bank in Malaysia by Alpha Southeast Asia (7th time)

• Domestic Retail Bank of the Year - Malaysia by Asian Banking and Finance (5th time)

• Best Domestic Bank in Malaysia by The Asset (12th time)

Tan Sri Teh further added, “Public Mutual won 10 awards at The Edge-Lipper Malaysia Fund Awards 2014. This is the 11th consecutive year that Public Mutual has won the most awards at this prestigious annual event.”

Corporate Governance Awards

Tan Sri Teh said, “The Public Bank Group’s pursuit of excellence in good corporate governance continued to be validated by reputable domestic and international publications and independent organisations.”

Public Bank was awarded the Corporate Governance Asia’s 3rd Asian Excellence Recognition Awards 2013 for Best Corporate Social Responsibility and Best Investor Relations by a Malaysian company and the Corporate Governance Asia Recognition Award 2013. Public Bank was also awarded The Asset Platinum Corporate Award 2013 for All-Round Excellence in Financial Performance, Management, Corporate Governance, Social Responsibility, Environmental Responsibility and Investor Relations as well as Minority Shareholder Watchdog Group’s Malaysia-ASEAN Corporate Governance Index 2013 Awards for Top Five Overall Corporate Governance and Industry Excellence - Financials.

Outlook

On strategic directions for the Public Bank Group, Tan Sri Teh commented that, “The Public Bank Group will continue to focus on its core retail banking and financing business and uphold prudent credit policies as well as strong corporate governance to support long term sustainable growth. The Group is expected to maintain its earnings momentum and record satisfactory performance in 2014.”

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Y.Bhg. Tan Sri Dato' Sri Dr. Teh Hong Piow
Founder and Chairman of Public Bank


The Public Bank's Board of Directors at the Bank's 48th Annual General Meeting
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Due to overwhelming response by customers, ‘PB Super FD Rates’ campaign is back to reward our loyal customers. The campaign is open to all new and existing Public Bank individual customers from 28 January to 30 June 2014.

The campaign is suitable for customers who are looking for long-term FD placement with higher step-up interest and yet receive regular monthly interest payment.

The ‘PB Super FD Rates’ campaign offers step-up fixed deposit rates to as high as 8.88% p.a. to individual customers. To participate in the campaign, individual customers are required to place a minimum of RM30,000 fresh funds. From the total placement amount, 80% would be placed under 1-Month PLUS Fixed Deposit (PLUS FD) auto-renewable for 12 consecutive months at a step-up rate whilst 20% of the funds would be deposited into the PLUS Savings Account earning interest at the current prevailing rate. Each individual customer is allowed to place up to a maximum of RM3 million under the campaign.

This campaign also provides customers the flexibility to withdraw the fixed deposit at any time and customers are still entitled to the prevailing 1-month PLUS FD counter rate without any penalty. With this flexibility, customers will save with Public Bank to grow their monies while having a peace of mind in case they require the funds urgently before the end of the 12-month period.

The above campaign is a continuous effort by the Bank to enable customers to enjoy more benefits while saving with the Bank.

To find out more about this Campaign, customers are invited to meet our customer service representatives at any of our branches, log on to Public Bank’s website at www.pbebank.com or call toll-free line at 1-800-22-9999 during normal working hours. Terms and conditions apply.

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Public Bank is pleased to announce the launch of a BonusLink campaign namely ‘Public Bank Welcome Offer’ (Offer) to reward our loyal customers and encourage savings. This Offer is open to all new and existing customers who still do not have PB SaveLink (SALink) or PB CurrentLink (CALink) account. The Offer period is from 19 November 2013 to 17 February 2014.

This special offer allows customers to collect a guaranteed 200 BonusLink Points (BLP) for SALink or 300 BLP for CALink account open with Public Bank during the offer period. The minimum deposit required is only RM500 for SALink or RM3,000 for CALink respectively.

In addition to the guaranteed BLP from SALink and CALink, customers will be able to join the BonusLink ‘Race For Gold’ contest and be in the running to win a BonusLink Card made of Gold.

Both SALink and CALink are the only Savings and Current accounts in the country that offer BLP. Just save enough with Public Bank and you will be able to redeem exclusive gifts for yourself via BLP.

In addition to this, SALink rewards customers with both interest and BLP. Customers are entitled to value-added BLP on every ringgit they have in their accounts provided they keep a Monthly Average Credit Balance (MACB) of RM500 and above per month. Multi-tiered interests are calculated daily and credited monthly at month-end.

For CALink, customers will be rewarded with 0.06 BLP for every RM 1 of MACB when their MACB is maintained at RM500 and above every month. In addition, customers will be provided with a cheque book and a monthly statement to keep track of their expenditure. CALink is similar to any other current accounts whereby an introducer is required during account opening.

To find out more about the ‘Public Bank Welcome Offer’, customers are invited to meet our customer representatives at any of our branches, log on to Public Bank's website at www.pbebank.com or call at toll-free phone at 1-800-22-9999 during normal working hours. Customers can also log on to www.bonuslink.com.my for more information on BonusLink ‘Race For Gold’ contest. Terms and Conditions apply.

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Public Bank and Public Islamic Bank are activating the Relief Assistance Programme for its customers and employees who have been affected by the recent flood in several states in Malaysia.

Public Bank Managing Director, Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Tay Ah Lek said today, “Similar to previous relief initiatives undertaken by Public Bank, the objective of this Relief Assistance Programme is to lend a helping hand in relieving the temporary financial hardship faced by the Bank’s affected customers. This Programme reaffirms Public Bank's commitment to corporate social responsibility as a corporate citizen.”

Relief Assistance for Affected Customers

For the affected individual and business customers, Public Bank is offering a six-month moratorium for the monthly instalment payments of loans and financing. The moratorium is effective December 2013 and is applicable to housing loans, hire purchase, credit cards and other loans and financing facilities.

In addition, Public Bank will, on a case-to-case and need basis, accommodate to requests by the affected customers to restructure their loans and financing and reschedule their monthly repayment to assist in their cash-flow situation over the medium term.

Public Bank will waive charges to affected customers who are seeking to replace their ATM cards, passbooks, cheque books or any banking related documents, which have been destroyed or lost in the flood.   

Public Bank will also work in collaboration with Lonpac Insurance Bhd, to facilitate and expedite claims to be made by the affected customers on insurance policies underwritten by Lonpac.

Financial Assistance for Staff

As a caring employer, Public Bank has provided special cash relief assistance to its affected staff and their families. The affected staff are being granted compassionate leave to enable them to attend to their domestic affairs.

Contacts

Affected customers who require the Relief Assistance Programme are advised to go to the Public Bank branch where they maintain their accounts or call the Bank’s toll-free number at 1800 22 555. For insurance claims related matters, affected customers can contact Lonpac at 03-2723 7704.

“Public Bank will continue to monitor the current flood situation in the affected states and will initiate further appropriate assistance to customers and staff should the situation warrants such need,” Tan Sri Tay added.

Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Tay Ah Lek
Managing Director

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