Maybank has entered into a strategic partnership with Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia Berhad (CGC) to provide up to RM2 billion of financing to small & medium sized enterprises (SMEs) via CGC’s portfolio guarantee (PG) scheme. This is the largest ever amount under the CGC PG scheme to support local SMEs in growing their businesses further.
This strategic partnership was signed by Maybank Head of SME Banking, Adnan b Sharif and Chief Business Officer of CGC, Leong Weng Choong. It was witnessed by Maybank Head of Community Financial Services Malaysia, Datuk Hamirullah Boorhan and President/ CEO of CGC, Datuk Mohd Zamree Mohd Ishak.
Under the Maybank-CGC PG scheme, SMEs can apply for either Islamic or Conventional financing facilities from Maybank, from a minimum of RM50,000 up to a maximum of RM1.5 million and for a fixed tenure of up to seven years. Under this scheme, 70% of the principal financing amount will be guaranteed by CGC.
Speaking at the event, Datuk Hamirullah said the RM2 billion PG allocation is in addition to the RM1.26 billion approved by Maybank in 2014, followed by RM1.1 billion in 2015 and RM1.5 billion in 2016, which was driven by the strong demand from the SME industry.
“Our decision to extend Maybank’s collaboration with CGC for up to RM2 billion is a reflection of our commitment to support the growth of the SME sector in Malaysia which is an integral contributor to the Malaysian economy.”
“As at end 2017, Maybank became the largest PG partner in the SME market with a total disbursement of close to RM3.78 billion and benefitting more than 8,000 customers nationwide. Currently, in the first quarter of 2018, I am happy to say that we have surpassed the RM4 billion PG disbursement mark and we are confident that the numbers will increase.”
Hamirullah further said that Maybank also offers other non-financing services to ensure SME players remain competitive and continuously appraised of growth opportunities.
“Among these non-financial services include advisory services, training roadshows and capacity building programmes such as the ‘Building Capacity & Capability for SMEs’ programme,” he explained.
“This programme is part of our efforts to ensure SMEs are able to leverage opportunities within the rapidly changing business environment. The Building Capacity & Capability for SMEs has reached out to more than 3,500 participants since it was launched in 2014. This year the program is continuing at eight locations nationwide between April and November.”
Meanwhile, Datuk Zamree said, “We are pleased to work with Maybank through this strategic partnership as we strive to increase access to financing and provide more customised financing products and services that meet SMEs’ needs. I would also like to thank Maybank for being one of our top supporter for the imSME initiative.”
imSME is Malaysia’s first online SME Financing/Loan referral platform that is designed to simplify the process of searching for financing/loan for SMEs from 15 FIs and DFIs and was launched in February this year.
Zamree said that the response for imSME is very encouraging as over 40,000 visitors have visited imSME, to-date.
Apart from CGC’s PG scheme, Maybank offers customers the convenience of applying for SME Clean Loans without collateral via its online banking platform, Maybank2u Biz. SMEs can boost their working capital with non-collateral financing from a minimum of RM20,000 and up to a maximum of RM250,000 at their convenience. To equip SMEs with added digital tools, Maybank2u Biz also facilitates more efficient business operations by providing payroll management and other bulk payment transactions. In addition, SMEs can sign up as Maybank QRPay merchants to provide speedy cashless payments for customers.
“Technology is changing the way we live, work and relate to one another. At Maybank, we have also implemented innovative and user-friendly digital solutions to bring greater efficiency and security to support the extensive needs of SMEs which bring us closer to our aim of becoming the Digital Bank of Choice.” said Datuk Hamirullah.