Revenue rose to RM4.88 billion from RM4.62 billion previously, the banking group said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today.

CIMB said its operating income of RM4.89 billion during the quarter under review was 5.7% higher on the back of improvement in both net interest income (NII) and non-interest income (NOII).

In a separate statement, group CEO Abdul Rahman Ahmad said strong top-line growth, continued cost discipline and lower provisions across all businesses and markets had contributed to the positive performance in the first half of 2022 (H1 2022).

“We are seeing an upward trend in our loans and deposits, which recorded healthy growth of 6.8% and 5.7%, respectively, as efforts to reshape our portfolio are starting to crystallise,” he said.

CIMB Group’s total gross loans in H1 2022 increased by 6.8% to RM394.3 billion year-on-year while total deposits grew by 5.7% y-o-y to RM444.3 billion.

As for CIMB Islamic, operating income grew by 8% y-o-y in H1 2022 with Islamic financing growing by 15.7%, while deposits grew by 8%.

The group has proposed a first interim dividend of 13 sen per share in respect of the financial year ending Dec 31, 2022 (FY2022), comprising 2.6 sen in cash and 10.4 sen in a dividend reinvestment scheme.

This amounts to RM1.36 billion, resulting in a dividend payout ratio of 50%, which is in line with the group’s dividend policy.

Moving forward, Abdul Rahman said, the group remained confident of achieving positive financial performance and is currently on track to exceed its FY2022 targets across all profitability metrics.