This list of the best banks in Malaysia is a useful starting point for anybody, especially expats, looking for a bank where they can open an account.
A wide variety of banking and financial services are provided by Malaysian banks, some of which are the biggest in Southeast Asia.
The 1959-founded Bank Negara Malaysia oversees all financial institutions in the nation. It acts as the nation’s central bank and is in charge of fostering economic and monetary stability.
If you are looking to invest as an expat or high-net-worth individual, which is what I specialize in, you can email me ([email protected]) or use WhatsApp (+44-7393-450-837).
We recommend that most wealthy locals and expats invest offshore despite this list, and we can help with that.
Best Banks in Malaysia
1. AMMB Holdings Berhad – AmBank Group
AmBank Group, a Kuala Lumpur-based company, offers insurance, Islamic banking, and retail and wholesale banking services in Malaysia. The bank does business using a network of 170 locations and 641 ATMs.
Furthermore, it conducts business under a variety of names, including AmInvestment Bank, AmInvest, AmMetLife, and AmGeneral Insurance.
The organization, which started out as the Arab-Malaysian Development Bank, now has 10,000 employees and more than three million clients.
2. Bank Rakyat
The biggest Islamic cooperative bank in Malaysia is Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia Berhad, often known as Bank Rakyat. Since 2004, it has been a body under the control of the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives, and Consumerism. It was created in 1954 as a result of the Cooperative Ordinance of 1948’s merger of 11 union banks in Malaysia.
Bank Rakyat offers a variety of goods and services via its 147 branches, including consumer banking, business financing, and investments. In Kuala Lumpur, it has its main office.
3. CIMB Bank
A part of the CIMB Group, CIMB Bank provides consumer banking services. The bank is one of the best banks in Malaysia.
A network of 1,080 branches is used by the universal bank to deliver financial services such as retail and wholesale banking, strategic investments, treasury and markets, and more.
Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia are among the bank’s other key markets. CIMB Bank, a Kuala Lumpur-based institution founded in 1972, provides services to more than 13.5 million clients nationwide.
4. Hong Leong Bank
Hong Leong Bank Berhad, a significant publicly listed banking firm in the nation, is one of the biggest banks in Malaysia.
It serves customers throughout Malaysia as well as in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, and the US by offering financial services.
Hong Leong Bank, a Kuala Lumpur-based institution, was founded in 1905 as Commerce International Merchant Bankers.
The bank is a member of the Hong Leong Group, which has diverse operations in real estate, manufacturing, and infrastructure development.
5. HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad
HSBC is one of the best banks in Malaysia. With a network of more than 60 branches across the nation, HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad, a subsidiary of HSBC Holdings plc, is the biggest foreign-owned bank in the nation.
The bank, which was established in Malaysia in 1994, provides Islamic banking services for both individuals and businesses. It established HSBC Amanah Malaysia Berhad, a subsidiary for Islamic banking, in 2007.
Read our HSBC expat review here.
6. Malayan Banking Berhad – Maybank
In terms of both market capitalization and total assets, Maybank is the biggest bank in the nation. Additionally, it is one of Southeast Asia’s biggest banks.
Through its large network of 2,626 locations, which spans 10 ASEAN nations and major financial hubs, it offers a wide variety of banking products and services.
In The Banker’s Top 1000 World Banks for 2020, Maybank came in at number 106. The top Islamic bank in the Asia-Pacific area is Maybank Islamic, the bank’s division dedicated to Islamic banking.
In terms of assets, it is also the fifth-largest Islamic bank globally. The Kuala Lumpur-based Maybank was established in 1960.
7. OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad
The oldest local bank in Singapore, Overseas-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited, or OCBC, owns OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad.
In addition to consumer and corporate banking, investing, Islamic banking, and treasury, the bank also offers a variety of other financial services.
It is one of the biggest foreign banks in Malaysia in terms of assets and has over 46 branches.
8. Public Bank Berhad
One of the biggest banks in Malaysia and Southeast Asia, Public Bank Berhad was established in 1966.
It is the second-biggest bank in the nation in terms of market capitalization and the largest bank in terms of shareholders’ funds. As such, it is one of the best banks in Malaysia.
The bank, which has its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, provides a variety of goods and services, including personal and business banking, investment banking, Islamic banking, the sale and administration of unit trust funds, share trading, and insurance.
9. RHB Bank
The several subsidiaries of RHB Bank offer a broad range of financial goods and services. In addition to Malaysia, it provides service to Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Brunei, Laos, and so on.
It was established in Malaysia in 1994 as a public limited company, and in 1997 it changed its name to RHB Bank.
The RHB Banking Group founded the RHB Islamic Bank Berhad in 2005, becoming the first domestic financial institution to establish an Islamic banking affiliate.
The organization presently oversees 278 branches and offices and employs over 14,000 people.
10. United Overseas Bank (Malaysia)
United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB), a worldwide financial organization based in Singapore, offers a variety of banking services including personal finance, corporate finance, asset management, investment, and insurance.
UOB is in charge of a network that includes 68 branches in Singapore and more than 500 offices spread over 19 different countries in the Asia-Pacific, as well as Western Europe and North America. As United Chinese Bank (UCB), the bank was established in 1935.
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