KUALA LUMPUR (April 5): Bank Rakyat recorded a higher profit before tax and zakat of RM1.76 billion for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2023 (FY2023), an increase of 3.8% compared with RM1.70 billion a year earlier.
In a statement on Friday, the group attributed the higher profit to strong fundamentals and its focus on core activities, despite an uncertain global economic outlook and challenging banking environment.
“The commendable performance was underpinned by the group’s robust financing and investment activities, solid current account, savings account and investment account growth, as well as adequate provisioning during the year,” it said.
The group’s core income surged by 12.9% to RM6.67 billion against RM5.90 billion for the previous year, attributed to solid growth in gross financing balance of 3.82% year-on-year across all business segments.
Bank Rakyat’s total assets grew by 1.16% to RM118.69 billion versus RM117.33 billion a year ago, mainly driven by solid growth in its gross financing balance, offset by a lower net investment position.
“Despite intense competition, the group continued to benefit from the diversification of portfolios, mainly from Home Financing-i, Vehicle Financing-i and Business Financing-i,” it said.
As a result of the diversification, the group said its financing retail segment grew by 3.22% to RM75.77 billion, while the business segment posted a solid 16.57% growth to RM8.18 billion.
“The bank's main focus is on harnessing untapped potential in business and operations through digital transformation to create long-term value for members and customers,” it said.