CIMB Islamic Bank Berhad (CIMB Islamic) is reinforcing its status as Malaysia’s leading Islamic financial institution. The bank won the Global Islamic Bank of the Year and Most Innovative Islamic Savings Product awards at the Banker’s Islamic Banking Awards 2024.
Furthermore, CIMB Islamic has again been named Malaysia’s Best Islamic Bank. This marks their eighth consecutive win at the Islamic Finance News IFN Best Banks Poll 2023.
These awards highlight the bank’s innovation and leadership in the Islamic finance sector. “We are honoured to be recognised with these awards, which reaffirm our expertise and strengths in delivering innovative Shariah-compliant to our clients and customers,” expressed CIMB Islamic Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ahmad Shahriman Mohd Shariff.
A notable product by CIMB Islamic is the Daily Unrestricted Investment Account-I (DURIAN-i). This offering has been conferred the Most Innovative Islamic Savings Product by the Banker’s Islamic Banking Awards.
DURIAN-i is particularly significant as the bank’s first sustainability-linked Investment Account (IA). This means the funds deposited into the DURIAN-i account are allocated to the bank’s retail assets.
CIMB Islamic’s sustainability efforts extend to its electric vehicle (EV) financial solutions, offering preferential fixed rates. For quicker approvals within eight hours of application submission, the bank implemented a specialised approval process known as the Green Lane Finance Approval.
Rebates for secure motor insurance and additional complimentary EV coverage are also included. The bank has also launched the CIMB Petronas Visa Platinum-I and Infinite-I credit cards. By 2023, the cards had 33,000 openings with an outstanding amount of RM80 million.
Yet another noteworthy achievement is its takaful plan, the Sun Legacy Shield. The plan is investment-linked, which means it combines both investment and protection components.
Shahriman also assured that the bank will continue adhering to value-based intermediation (VBI) principles. Through this approach, the bank seeks to align its operations and services with sustainable development and social well-being while pursuing financial success.
The bank has successfully completed several major domestic and international transactions.
The Republic of Indonesia issued a US$2 billion Global Sukuk Offering (Global Trust Certificate) last year, which is another milestone for the bank. The offering included a US$1 billion green trance and is the largest sukuk issuance in 2023 by an Asian sovereign.
The transaction also achieved the tightest five-year and ten-year spreads for an Asian sovereign in the past two years. CIMB Islamic played an important role in this transaction, acting as the sole principal adviser, arranger, dealer, lead manager, and book runner.
