CIMB Thai Bank (CIMBT) is prioritising digital banking next year, setting an aggressive target for all customers to use its mobile banking app in 2020, its chief says.
The bank's new features, promotional campaigns and enhanced convenience and security should attract all customers to the mobile app, said Adisorn Sermchaiwong, president and chief executive, at his first press conference since taking helm in October.
The bank has 500,000 total customers, of which 50,000 are already on the digital platform.
To keep pace with customer demand, the CIMB Thai Digital Banking app was launched for payment, basic financial and mutual fund transactions. A soft launch of the mobile lending app, targeting personal loans and auto lending, has already been unveiled.
An app for debt consolidation is in the pipeline.
The bank expects unsecured digital loans to expand significantly next year.
"CIMBT lent new personal loans worth 6-7 billion baht this year, of which 10% were from the digital platform. The proportion from digital is expected to reach 40% next year," said Mr Adisorn.
A promotional campaign is key to digital banking expansion, he said.
The bank expects to spend around 500 baht per head for new client acquisition, so a budget of around 250 million baht is needed and is not considered too steep when compared with the opportunities provided by the business expansion, said Mr Adisorn.
The bank plans to pare 46 more brick-and-mortar branches, down to 50, by the end of next year.
CIMBT, a small bank, targets 2020 loan growth of 10%, the same level as this year.
The bank expects to set aside additional provisions for loan losses next year, in line with loan expansion and Thailand Financial Reporting Standard 9, the new financial reporting standard.
The bank is estimated to set aside loan-loss reserves of 2.05 billion baht this year, falling 49.1% from the previous year. The non-performing loan ratio is 5%, which is expected to decline next year thanks to debt restructuring scheme Fast Forward, started in 2017.
Under the Fast Forward programme, which lowers operational cost and improves productivity, the bank expects operating profit before tax for 2019 to be 1.84 billion baht, a whopping 619% year-on-year rise, he said.
CIMBT shares closed yesterday on the SET at 0.54 baht, up two satang, in trade worth 701,490 baht.