PETALING JAYA: Hong Leong Bank’s (HLB) has won the “Best SME Bank in Malaysia” for the second consecutive year at Asian Banking and Finance’s Retail Banking Awards 2023.

       In a statement, HLB said the win is testament to the bank’s focus on small and medium enterprise (SME) banking and its impact on the SME sector.

       “In the past financial year, the bank has seen its overall SME loan/financing portfolio grow 16% year-on-year to RM30.1bil, attributed to its strong commitment in deploying new technologies to provide customers with a seamless banking experience.”HLB group managing director and chief executive officer Kevin Lam said the bank is dedicated to a customer-centric and community-focused digitalisation strategy.

       He added that this has led the bank to be at the forefront of bringing digital transformation and tailor-made financial solutions to the SME space in Malaysia.