CIMB THAI committed to be 'a Digital-led Bank with ASEAN Reach
Strengthening ASEAN Proposition, Digitalization, Wealth & Consumer Finance Solutions and Sustainability
Paul Wong Chee Kin, President & CEO of CIMB Thai Bank, today announced CIMB Thai’s strategic direction for 2024 where the bank remains steadfast in its commitment to becoming 'a Digital-led Bank with ASEAN Reach', leveraging the Group’s ASEAN proposition through digitalization, wealth & consumer finance solutions, and sustainability.
CIMB Thai has consistently highlighted its robust ASEAN proposition as a primary focus, which remains a top priority in 2024. The bank continues to facilitate corporate customers to expand their business into regional markets, leveraging the expertise of specialists within CIMB Group's ASEAN network. In 2023, CIMB Thai supported corporates in exploring ASEAN markets with its ASEAN Total Solutions, resulting in cross-border income surpassing its set targets. This year, the bank aims to grow its cross-border loans in ASEAN by 10%, with more customers looking for support to expand their businesses to Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Cambodia. At the same time, CIMB Thai will continue its positive momentum in expanding its Corporate & Transaction Banking, Financial Institution, and payments platform offerings.
In line with the ‘Digitize for Value’ strategic approach. CIMB Thai's services are driven by digital through its main banking app, CIMB THAI Digital Banking, which serves a rapidly growing digital customer base of 400,000 with over 90% of transactions conducted through the app, particularly the digital bond transactions which exceeded 66 billion baht transaction value since its launch in 2020. Having a comprehensive Digital Ecosystem complemented by wealth solutions has enabled the bank to secure the Wealth Management Platform of the Year - Thailand award for four consecutive years.
This year, the bank is gearing to elevate customer experience with a UX/UI revamp and new digital or digitally-enhanced products and services.
In 2024, CIMB Thai continues to operate with customers’ best interest at heart, emphasizing the importance of investing at the ‘right moment’ through a range of carefully selected products, including derivative-linked bonds, high-interest deposit accounts, foreign currency deposits (FCD), mutual funds, bancassurance, Wealth Credit Line (a special credit line for customers who invest with the bank), including investments in offshore funds, especially alternative investments to diversify their investment portfolio. Moreover, the bank aims to expand its wealth management business through CIMB Preferred to increase its customer base (customers with deposits or investments of 3 million baht or more) by another 12% from the current 100,000 customers.
In addition to four consecutive wins for its wealth management platform, CIMB Thai is also recognized as a market leader in treasury and bond solutions, ranking first in bond trading in 2023 with All Bonds Outright Trading Value (TTM > 1 Year) exceeding 700 billion baht. This recognition reflects positively on CIMB Thai's expertise, boasting a strong team of financial advisors, a diverse range of investment products, and a solid track record of delivering results for its clients.
On February 1st, CIMB Thai expanded the scope of its auto financing business by extending the coverage of CIMB Thai Auto Company Limited, a subsidiary of CIMB Thai Bank Public Company Limited, to include two-wheeler vehicles in addition to its current four-wheeler vehicles portfolio. This year, the bank will focus on diversifying its revenue streams by introducing new product offerings and enhancing our competitive position in the market.
The bank is driving Sustainability rigorously in every dimension, aligning with CIMB Group's goal to achieve Green, Social Sustainable Impact Products and Services (GSSIPS) Framework amounting to 100 billion ringgit or 770 billion baht by 2024. In 2023, CIMB Thai has contributed 15 billion baht towards Group’s GSSIPS target and the bank plans to contribute further in 2024. In terms of sustainable action, the bank continues its net zero operation journey in 2024 by targeting 36% reduction of scope 1 and 2 carbon emission from its 2019 baseline. To advance society towards a sustainable future, CIMB Thai hosted its first large scale carbon-neutral event, The Cooler Earth Summit (Bangkok) 2023, in collaboration with UN ESCAP and International Labour Organization. For this year, The Cooler Earth Sustainability Series will feature a series of events throughout the year – spanning from World Environmental Day celebration, sustainable finance roundtables, and sustainable finance conference in collaboration with United Nations agencies such as UN ESCAP in Bangkok.
“We are pleased to share that CIMB Thai ranked first in customer satisfaction (NPS) compared to the market based on a survey conducted by Rakuten Group in 2023, with a significant increase from 63 to 85 in the score. We will continue to engage with our customers through every touchpoint, whether through the app, branches, or Wealth Centers, while ensuring exceptional services are provided to meet our customers’ needs. We will continue looking at ways to improve our service processes and offerings, in line with CIMB Thai's commitment to being a customer-centric organization," said Paul Wong.
