Malaysian banks to see healthy loan pipeline in H2: Research

The Malaysian banking sector will sustain growth momentum in the second half of the year with a healthy loan pipeline, especially business loans, according to HwangDBS Vickers Research.

Loan growth picked up in the second quarter of this year by five per cent quarter-on-quarter, after a slow first quarter with RHB Capital Bhd's loan growth of nine per cent quarter-on-quarter being the strongest, followed by CIMB Group Holdings Bhd and Maybank.

"We expect more bond issuances for project financing in the second half, thus we reiterate our 12 percent loan growth target for this year," it said in a research note.

Its top picks were Maybank for strong dividend yields (five per cent based on 70 per cent payout) and Hong  Leong Bank Bhd which continues to reap benefits from post-merger synergies.