PETALING JAYA: The outlook for RHB Bank Bhd is encouraging this year judging from its loan growth and healthy net interest margin although the one-off Cukai Makmur may be a drag on its earnings.Maybank Investment Bank in a research note said the operating outlook for RHB Bank is positive as loan growth is seen at least 4% to 5%, and NIM appears stable a with potential upside, while loans under repayment assistance are 4.5% of total loans.
However, Maybank IB said having instituted overlays, the loan loss coverage on both oil and gas loans and bonds is currently more than 100%. RHB Bank saw a 43% year-on-year increase in its net profit to RM631.17mil for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2021 from RM438.63mil earlier, due to lower expected credit losses.