Maybank Islamic optimistic with 12% growth for 2014

Maybank Islamic Bhd is optimistic of up to 12% growth this year, news that bode well for its parent Malayan Banking Bhd’s (Maybank) aspiration of 15% return on equity (ROE) for 2014. Maybank Islamic accounts for 40% of the group’s revenue and profit for the first-quarter ended March 31, 2014 (1Q14). In 1Q14, total income grew 26% to RM1.319 billion. Nevertheless, pretax profit and zakat for the same period dropped 7% to RM315.1 million, mainly due to the increase in the overhead expenses. This was disclosed at Maybank Islamic launch of its MasterCard Ikhwan Card-i, the bank’s first Mastercard offering.