Malaysian banks are well-capitalised and their lending activities have not been affected by the global financial crisis, an industry body said on Thursday. "Malaysia has been relatively unaffected. Liquidity level in the banking system is healthy," Abdul Hamidy Abdul Hafiz, chairman of the Association of Banks in Malaysia, said in a statement.
"It is business as usual and commercial banks are not putting any brakes on lending," he added. The association, whose members include top bank Maybank and industry number-two CIMB Bank said more than 90 percent of the country's banking assets are ringgit denominated and concentrated in the ASEAN region.
Banks' loan-to-deposit ratio, an indicator of their liquidity level, has declined to around 75 percent from 90 percent a decade ago when the region was hit by the Asian financial crisis, it said. Banks' loan profile is also more diversified between corporate and consumer loans, with no heavy exposure to any single segment, it added. Bank Negara, Malaysia's central bank, said earlier this month it stood ready to provide liquidity where necessary although it also said the Malaysian financial sector is strong enough to weather the global turmoil.
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