KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - Media OutReach Newswire - 20 August 2025 - Hong Leong Bank ("HLB" or the "Bank") has won awards in three coveted categories at the Asian Banking & Finance ("ABF") Retail Banking Awards 2025, a testament to the significant progress the Bank has made in its 5 year bankwide transformation journey.

Best SME Bank in Malaysia: Driving Innovation and Accessibility for SME Customers

A pivotal aspect of HLB's bankwide transformation and success story is its established leadership as a prominent SME bank. For the fourth consecutive year, HLB has been named the Best SME Bank in Malaysia by ABF. This recognition directly reflects the Bank's diverse product offerings, pioneering digital innovations, and personalized advisory services, all meticulously designed to cater to the varied needs of its customers. HLB's unwavering commitment to customer-centricity has translated into tangible success, with the Bank's SME loans and financing portfolios achieving an impressive 11.6% year-on-year ("y-o-y") growth, nearly double the industry average of 6.7%. This significant growth not only reinforces HLB's strong market position but also vividly demonstrates its dedication to providing a seamless banking experience through increased accessibility and convenience. The Bank achieves this through its extensive branch network, flexible out-of-branch account openings, and intuitive digital platforms, all serving as effective touchpoints to ensure a comprehensive and effortless banking journey for every customer.

Domestic Cash Management Bank of the Year

Continuing its strong performance within the corporate banking sector, HLB has also been recognized as the Domestic Cash Management Bank of the Year. This award underscores how the Bank empowers its corporate and financial institution clients with sophisticated cash management solutions that streamline operations and enhance financial control, further contributing towards HLB's bankwide transformation plan. By leveraging the Bank's real-time API integration, businesses can automate fund transfers to beneficiaries on a same-day basis, eliminating manual intervention and ensuring timely access to funds. The Bank's cash consolidation services also enable clients to streamline cash management by centralizing funds into a single account for better liquidity oversight and easier reconciliation. This comprehensive suite of services has led to the Bank consistently managing over 700 corporate clients with their cash management needs, boasting a remarkable 95.52% customer retention rate and over 99% utilization rate of its cash management platform.

Digital Transformation of the Year: Revolutionizing Credit Collections with Innovative Solutions and Artificial Intelligence

Aligned with its 5 year bankwide transformation plan, HLB has invested significantly in its digital capabilities, leading to the strategic implementation of AI, effective data management, and innovative digital banking solutions. This commitment to digital excellence culminated in the Bank winning the Digital Transformation of the Year award for its groundbreaking collections platform.

Since 2018, HLB has embarked on a pervasive transformation journey within its Collections team, fundamentally reshaping the collections process with an industry-first, fully integrated, web-based collections platform. The platform provides the Bank with a 360-degree view of its customers, strengthened by real-time information sharing, a predictive dialing system, an AI humanized voice bot, and secured remote working capabilities. These innovations have resulted in a 47% surge in monthly call volume and allowed 20% of HLB's collections officers to be redeployed to higher-value tasks, showcasing the tangible benefits of this digital leap.

HLB's 5 Year Bankwide Transformation Plan

Kevin Lam, HLB's Group Managing Director and CEO, commented, "This isn't just about winning awards; it's about reimagining the way we do banking. Two years ago, we set out on our bankwide transformation plan, and these three accolades prove that we are on the right track. This vision has defined our operating cadence, where we have reevaluated existing structures, reimagined the customer journey, and unleashed a wave of innovation throughout the Bank that is redefining what we can be to our customers. Looking ahead, we strive to continue on our transformation journey, implementing digital innovations while preserving that human touch to ensure we provide an elevated banking experience for all our customers."