RHB Bank Bhd, which saw a 24% drop in its net profit for its fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2023 (4Q23), is eyeing Singapore for loan growth for next year.

"The mortgage, auto finance, SME and Singapore remain as the primary drivers for loan growth for 2024," RHB group MD/CEO Mohd Rashid Mohamad told a media briefing yesterday.

The nation's fourth largest banking group by asset size posted a net profit of RM585.9 million for the 4Q23 on a turnover of RM4.399 billion, up 12% from the year before.

For the full year, its net profit was up 5% year-on-year to RM2.806 billion on turnover of RM16.581 billion, up 26% from FY22.

The net profit was up mainly due to higher non-fund based income and lower expected credit losses (ECL).

In its exchange filing, RHB said its gross loans and financing grew 4.8% year-on-year (yoy) to RM222.4 billion, mainly supported by Singapore and group community banking growth.

Its gross impaired loans was RM3.9 billion as of December 2023, with a gross impaired loans ratio of 1.74%, compared with RM3.3 billion and 1.55%, respectively, a year ago.

RHB said that its group international business encountered challenges due to slower-than- expected recovery in certain Asean countries. Despite the uncertainties, it said Singapore continued to record a pre-tax profit of S$50.5 million.

It added that gross loans and financing grew 14.3% yoy to RM32.3 billion, while deposits increased 33.4% yoy to RM37.3 billion, attributed to 17.5% and 36.9% growth in Singapore, respectively.

Aside from Malaysia and Singapore, RHB has a presence in Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Vietnam and Lao PDR.

RHB has declared a second interim dividend of 25 sen per share, consisting of a cash payout of 15 sen per share and an electable portion under a dividend reinvestment plan of 10 sen per share.

Together with the first interim dividend, the full-year dividend amounts to 40 sen per share, equivalent to a payout ratio of 61.1% and a dividend yield of 7.3% for FY23.