Winners rationale

After having established a solid foothold in the private banking arena in its first five years, Maybank Private continued its expansion in 2019. Through its thorough understanding of private clients’ needs in Malaysia — and the ability to create solutions to meet those needs — the private banking offshoot of Maybank Group managed to grow the number of clients in its home market by 20% for a second consecutive year, while increasing its revenue by nearly double digits.

HNW clients were able to hedge, leverage, and diversify their assets thanks to Maybank Private’s Multi Currency Lombard Credit, which was launched in 2019. The product, available in eight foreign currencies, lets clients borrow in foreign currencies to purchase foreign assets, thereby protecting themselves against fluctuations in the value of the Malaysian ringgit. Conversely, the bank offered ringgit mortgages in Malaysia for properties in London, Melbourne, Sydney, and Perth.

Through Maybank Trustee Berhad, Maybank Private provided trust and fiduciary services catering to the wealth protection and succession needs of HNW clients. In 2019, it established a private banking trust team to improve the efficiency of private clients setting up trusts. To serve entrepreneurs in the private banking clientele, Maybank Private connected clients with the group’s corporate solution group for any financing, IPO, and hard asset demands.

Unique in Malaysia, the bank has an education centre — the Maybank Wealth Management Academy (WMA) — to upgrade the knowledge and competency of wealth management staff. The WMA was established through a strategic partnership with the Wealth Management Institute of Nanyang Technological University of Singapore and provides courses that seek to respond to the risks and challenges facing HNWI clientele in the 21st century.

The Maybank Wealth App delivered a quality client experience in 2019, both online and offline. The online trading platform supported the transactions of over 100 unit trust funds, precious metals, and an end-to-end Sharia-inspired equities trading platform. The app was well received by private clients with a 62% adoption rate in 2019, resulting in constant growth since the app’s launch three years earlier.

Built on the legacy of Maybank Group, which has a presence in all 10 ASEAN countries, Maybank Private made the most of the group’s network, resources and expertise to offer clients the full spectrum of wealth management solutions in 2019, thereby ensuring the sustainability of their wealth and business.

Maybank is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Malaysia Domestic for 2019.