News about BNM

According to Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB), banks, in particular Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd and Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd (BIMB), are expected to benefit from the OPR hike as it would help alleviate some pressure off Net interest margins (NIM) in 2Q2023.

In a report on Thursday (May 4), BMI, a Fitch Solutions company, said that as inflation continues to moderate domestically, "we believe BNM will increasingly turn its focus to supporting growth over the coming months".

The majority of economists now bet that the OPR, which has normalised to pre-pandemic levels, will be maintained for the remaining three monetary policy meetings in 2023, scheduled in July, September and November.

The rate hike, after two consecutive pauses in early 2023 at 2.

"We believe loan growth will be supported by the resilient household sector on the back of improved income and steady labour market conditions, as reflected in the lower unemployment rate,” Kenanga said.

“Her talent and experience make her an accomplished business leader, and we look forward to her contributions to PRG.

“We believe that the central bank’s dedication to maintaining both stable prices and sustainable economic growth is coherent with this view.

A quarter of household borrowers had DSRs exceeding 60%, and they accounted for 33.

According to AIBIM, financial institutions are required to stop imposing fees on housing loan and home financing documents to lawyers from Feb 1 this year as part of the standardisation exercise.

Kenanga Research: Given that growth and inflation outlook are expected to moderate this year amid downside risk from the external front, we foresee a small probability that BNM will resume its rate hike in the near term.