KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Building Society Bhd (MBSB) expects an asset growth of 10 per cent by year-end, driven by fee income and trade financing business.

       Acting chief executive officer Datuk Nor Azam M Taib said the growth of the new progressive Islamic bank will also be driven by the group's retail and commercial side.

       From the retail side, the growth will definitely come from personal financing, montages and home financing, while from commercial and corporate, it will be trade business.

       "MBSB is just a new bank coming to the industry. So, for us to grow by 10 per cent there is still a lot of room to grow, unless we are a much bigger bank where market share is already touching 40 per cent to 50 per cent. To bring another growth might be another challenge.

       "So, for us to create a new growth of 10 per cent for 2022, it would be possible," he said after MBSB's 52nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) today.

       Nor Azam said the group aims to reach RM20 billion trade volume by year-end.

       As at May, MBSB has already reached RM12 billion trade volume, he said, adding that, "We've built trade volume of more than RM15.6 billion last year. So, we expect to close RM20 billion trade value by this year,” he said.

       Moving forward, Nor Azam said MBSB aims to enhance its existing business to improve competitiveness and meet evolving market expectations.

       "We are currently pursuing new businesses to accelerate growth to increase shareholder value," he said.

       Nor Azam said MBSB Bank is pursuing its Journey 2025 (J25) roadmap as it aims to become a top progressive Islamic bank in the country, guided by a two-pronged business strategy of generation of new revenue streams and enhancement of existing businesses.

       "We are generating new revenue streams to accelerate our growth, which will be undertaken by way of product differentiation and customised solutions," he added.

       For the year ended Dec 31, 2021, the group registered a net profit of RM438.7 million, a 62.9 per cent increase from RM269.3 million in the previous corresponding period.

       Meanwhile, revenue declined slightly by 16.6 per cent to RM2.6 billion from RM3.2 billion last year. - Bernama