Maybank Islamic targets US$566M in deposits

Maybank Islamic is targeting US$566.7 million in deposits from its launch of two new financial products, within one year. The products are Foreign Currency Mudharabah-i or FCM-i, the first such product in Malaysia, and the Profit Now Account-i or PNA-i.

According to Ibrahim Hassan, Acting CEO of Maybank Islamic, both the new deposit products had specific benefits that would attract a wide segment of customers.

FCM-i would benefit those who would like to diversify their investment options into foreign currencies or who may want to acquire foreign currency for their business or personal use in the future.

Dividends on FCM-i are based on an agreed profit-sharing ratio which is agreed upfront. The actual dividend will then be calculated on this ratio and the amount payable will be known upon maturity of the investment. The minimum deposit for individual customer is equivalent to US$5,000 with tenures ranging from 1 - 12 months. As for Non-individual customers (Business Customers), the minimum deposit is equivalent to US$20,000 with minimum tenures of 1 day for USD, 7 days for Euro, AUD and GBP, 1 month for NZD, HKD, CAD, SGD, CHF and JPY with a maximum tenure of 12 months.

Currently, Maybank Islamic offers the largest option of currency choices for FCM-i, which is available in ten currencies, namely US dollar, Euro, Australian dollar, British pound, New Zealand dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Canadian dollar, Singapore dollar, Swiss Franc and Japanese yen.

PNA-i, on the other hand, is ringgit-based and is attractive to customers as it pays the term deposit upfront the moment they place the deposit. "Customers requiring cash need not use their term deposits but can place it in PNA-i to receive upfront dividend which can be used for their requirements," Ibrahim explained.

The minimum deposit is US$2833 with increment in multiples of US$283 while investment tenure ranges from one to six months. It also offers a pre-approved cash line based on the deposit amount against PNA-i certificate. In addition, PNA-i account holders also enjoy takaful PA coverage of US$2833 per customer.

Ibrahim stated that Maybank Islamic is expecting its financing to increase by at least 12 percent for the financial year ending 30 June 2009, up from the US$5.98 billion in loans at the end of financial year 2008.