Malaysia Banking Sector Update Asset Quality Recovery Delayed Beyond 2021 - Nancy Duan Ivan Tan Geeta Chugh - S&P Global

 
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Malaysia Banking Sector Update               Nancy Duan
                                             Ivan Tan

Asset Quality Recovery Delayed Beyond 2021   Geeta Chugh
                                             April 12, 2021
Key Takeaways

– Higher stress on asset quality could come from wholesale and retail trading, construction, transport, and household
  sectors when the debt moratorium on retail and SME segments is being phased out.

– We have revised down our sector credit growth to 6.0% from 8.0% previously as a result of lower GDP growth
  projection. Growth will be driven by secured consumer lending and pent-up business loan demand.

– Strong capital and funding positions anchor Malaysian banks’ stand-alone credit profiles but their negative rating
  outlook highlights the weakened credit standing of the Malaysia sovereign amid the pandemic’s hit to the economy.
2021 Recovery May Be Weaker On COVID Travel Restrictions

Our recent revisions of GDP growth and unemployment rate forecast for Malaysia
 10%                                                                                         6.0%
                                                                                                    – S&P recently revised down its 2021 GDP
  8%                                                                                         5.5%     forecast for Malaysia to 6.2% from 7.5%
                                                                                                      previously.
  6%
                                                                                             5.0%
  4%
                                                                                             4.5%   – Meanwhile, unemployment rate is also
  2%
                                                                                             4.0%     expected to stay higher for longer.
  0%
                                                                                             3.5%
 -2%
                                                                                                    – The downward revisions are prompted by the
                                                                                             3.0%     renewed economic weakness in 1Q 2021.
 -4%

 -6%                                                                                         2.5%

 -8%                                                                                         2.0%
               2019                2020    2021f     2022f        2023f         2024f

           Real GDP Growth@Mar2021 (left scale)       Real GDP Growth@Nov2020 (left scale)
           Unemployment Rate@Mar2021 (right scale)    Unemployment Rate@Nov2020 right scale)

f--Forecast. Source: S&P Global Ratings.

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Still Far From Business-As-Usual For Malaysia’s Economy
– Resurgence of COVID-19 infections and the reintroduction of domestic travel restrictions delay recovery.
– Normalization of business activities is only expected after vaccine rollout to achieve herd immunity.

Google Mobility Data Suggests Residents’ Activities Remain Strained               COVID Cases Better Contained By Recent Movement Controls

            Retail and recreation         Transit   Workplace       Residential                             Reported daily new COVID-19 cases in Malaysia
   60                                                                              7000

   40                                                                              6000
   20
                                                                                   5000
     0
                                                                                   4000
  -20
                                                                                   3000
  -40
                                                                                   2000
  -60

  -80                                                                              1000

 -100                                                                                  0
    Feb-20         Apr-20        Jun-20    Aug-20   Oct-20      Dec-20   Feb-21        Jan-20       Mar-20      May-20        Jul-20   Sep-20   Nov-20   Jan-21   Mar-21

Source: Google, S&P Global Ratings.                                               Source: Our World in Data, S&P Global Ratings.

                                                                                                                                                                       4
Delayed Crystallization Of Stressed Asset Led To Provisioning Jump
– Significant decline of moratorium credits after 3Q 2020 reveals credit transition.
– Credit cost will remain elevated in 2021 after reaching a decade high last year.

Steep Decline Of Moratorium Coverage Since Last Sept.                     Only Moderate Rise Of NPL Ratio But Substantial Growth In Provision

                                   Jun-20     Dec-20    Feb-21                              Credit cost (right scale)             Industry NPL ratio (left scale)   Bps
 80%                                                                        3.0%                                                                                     90

 70%                                                                                                                                                                 80
                                                                            2.5%
 60%                                                                                                                                                                 70
                                                                            2.0%                                                                                     60
 50%
                                                                                                                                                                     50
 40%                                                                        1.5%
                                                                                                                                                                     40
 30%
                                                                            1.0%                                                                                     30
 20%                                                                                                                                                                 20
                                                                            0.5%
 10%                                                                                                                                                                 10
  0%                                                                        0.0%                                                                                     0
                                        Moratorium coverage (%)                       2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Source: S&P Global Ratings estimates.                                      NPL--Nonperforming loan. Bps-- Basis points. Source: S&P Global Ratings, bank reports.

                                                                                                                                                                          5
2020 Year-End Industry NPL Ratios Distorted By Moratorium
– We expect NPL ratios in wholesale and retail trade and construction to deteriorate more visibly.
– Credit trends of banks’ retail portfolio will diverge as crisis tests the resilience.

Sector-Wise NPL Ratio Trending Up For Agriculture And                                      Consumer Credits Could Face Higher Pressure As Stage 2 Ratio
Transportation                                                                             Rises To 7.3% By End-2020
                                        Dec-19       Dec-20                                                                         Dec-19     Dec-20

                            Agriculture                                                                    Purchase of securities
                                 Mining                                                           Purchase of transport vehicles
                         Manufacturing                                                           ow, purchase of passenger cars
                                Utilities                                                      Purchase of residential properties
              Wholesale and retail trade                                                   Purchase of non-residential properties
                          Construction                                                        Purchase of fixed assets other than…
 Transport, storage and communication                                                                             Personal loans
                      Financial services                                                                              Credit card
                  Education and health                                                                              Construction
                             Household                                                                            Working capital
                          Other sectors                                                                           Other purposes
                                   Total                                                                                    Total

                                              0.0%           2.0%            4.0%   6.0%                                                0.0%     2.0%   4.0%   6.0%   8.0%

NPL--Nonperforming loan. Source: Bank Negara Malaysia, S&P Global Ratings.                 Source: Bank Negara Malaysia, S&P Global Ratings.

                                                                                                                                                                             6
Banks’ NPL Ratios Started Trending Up Since 4Q 2020

Banks’ 4Q NPL Ratios Could Increase More Visibly Excluding Write-offs And NPL Sale

                           4Q2019         1Q2020        2Q2020        3Q2020        4Q2020    4Q2020a                     – 4Q 2020 NPL ratios of major banks
 4.5%                                                                                                                       weakened more after adjustments.
 4.0%

 3.5%                                                                                                                     – Recovery prospects of major Malaysian
                                                                                                                            banks’ regional markets vary.
 3.0%

 2.5%
                                                                                                                          – Small banks are more vulnerable compared
 2.0%                                                                                                                       with bigger lenders on thinner buffer.
 1.5%

 1.0%

 0.5%

 0.0%
           Maybank        CIMBG         Public        RHB          Hong           AMMB   Affin Bank Alliance   Industry
                                        Bank                       Leong                             Bank
                                                                   Bank

NPL--Nonperforming loan. a--Actual. Source: S&P Global Ratings, banks’ reports.

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Substantial Build-up Of Stage 1 And 2 Allowances Throughout 2020
– Local banks could maintain their high stage 1 and 2 allowance coverage in most of 2021.
– We also expect banks to look at NPL sales more actively.

Trends Of Local Banks' Stage 3 Coverage Fluctuate On Write-offs, NPL                                       Malaysian Banks Significantly Strengthened Their Stage 1 And 2
Sales And ECL Model Assumption Changes                                                                     Allowances In 4Q 2020 After The Expiry Of Blanket Moratorium
     1Q2019                             2Q2019                            3Q2019                               1Q2019                              2Q2019   3Q2019
     4Q2019                             1Q2020                            2Q2020                               4Q2019                              1Q2020   2Q2020
     3Q2020                             4Q2020                            Industry level as of Dec-2020        3Q2020                              4Q2020   Industry level as of Dec-2020

   70%                                                                                                     1.8%
   60%                                                                                                     1.6%
                                                                                                           1.4%
   50%                                                                                                     1.2%
   40%                                                                                                     1.0%
   30%                                                                                                     0.8%
                                                                                                           0.6%
   20%
                                                                                                           0.4%
   10%                                                                                                     0.2%
     0%                                                                                                    0.0%

NPL--Nonperforming loan. ECL--Expected credit loss. Source: S&P Global Ratings, banks’ reports.           Source: S&P Global Ratings, banks’ reports.

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Asset Quality Recovery To Be Delayed Beyond 2021

We Expect COVID-19’s Hits On Asset Quality To Materialize This Year

                                             Dec-2019                 Dec-2020            Dec-2021f         Dec-2022f    – Our base case assumes the industry
                                                                                                                           maintains its end-2020 allowance coverage.
 Gross loan growth (%)                             3.9%                      3.4%                6%                 5%

 Gross NPL ratio (%)                               1.5%                  1.56%             2.5-3.0%          3.0-3.5%
                                                                                                                         – We expect more stresses from agriculture,
 Credit cost (bps)                                     8                       79              60-70            40-50      domestic trade, construction, transport, and
                                                                                                                           consumer lending.
f--Forecast. NPL--Nonperforming loan. Source: S&P Global Ratings.

Industry Credit Cost Peer Comparison                                                                                     – Malaysian banks, however, face this
                                               2019        2020      2021f     2022f                                       downturn from a position of strength.
 4.00%
 3.00%
 2.00%
 1.00%
 0.00%
             Malaysia       Singapore Philippines          Vietnam      Thailand       China    Indonesia   India

f--Forecast. Source: S&P Global Ratings.

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Net Interest Margin And Profitability Only Recover Slowly This Year
– Less near-term upside for net interest margin (NIM) as Bank Negara Malaysia is likely to keep policy rate low.
– Bottomline performance could stay muted in 2021 on the elevated credit cost.

Industry NIM To Stabilize In The Next 12-24 Months                                          Sector ROA And ROE Are Likely To Stay Depressed In 2021

                           NIM (left scale)             Policy rate (right scale)                                        ROE (right scale)            ROA (left scale)
 2.3%                                                                               4.0%    1.8%                                                                         20%
                                                                                            1.6%                                                                         18%
 2.2%                                                                               3.5%    1.4%                                                                         16%
                                                                                                                                                                         14%
                                                                                            1.2%
 2.1%                                                                               3.0%                                                                                 12%
                                                                                            1.0%
                                                                                                                                                                         10%
                                                                                            0.8%
 2.0%                                                                               2.5%                                                                                 8%
                                                                                            0.6%
                                                                                                                                                                         6%
 1.9%                                                                               2.0%    0.4%                                                                         4%
                                                                                            0.2%                                                                         2%
 1.8%                                                                               1.5%    0.0%                                                                         0%

f--Forecast. NIM-- Net interest margin. Source: S&P Global Ratings.                        ROE--Return on equity. ROA--Return on assets. Source: S&P Global Ratings.

                                                                                                                                                                              10
Strong Capitalization And Funding Support Creditworthiness
– Strong capital position and funding/liquidity conditions are critical buffers to the downside.
– We expect loan growth to slightly outperform deposit growth over the next two years.

Rated Malaysian Banks’ Capital Position Progressively Enhanced                                   Liquidity Conditions Remain Supportive In the Near Term

                       Weighted average S&P RAC ratio of rated banks*                                                 Liquidity coverage ratio        Loan-to-deposit ratio
 10.5%                                                                                              90%

 10.0%
                                                                                                    88%
  9.5%
                                                                                                    86%
  9.0%
                                                                                                    84%
  8.5%

  8.0%                                                                                              82%

  7.5%                                                                                              80%
                                                                                                              2015        2016    2017      2018   2019    2020    2021f      2022f
  7.0%
              2016         2017        2018        2019         2020        2021f       2022f                 125%       124%     135%     143%    149%    148%

Source: S&P Global Ratings. *S&P rated Malaysian banks include Maybank, CIMB, RHB Bank, Public   Source: S&P Global Ratings.
Bank, and AmBank (M) Bhd.

                                                                                                                                                                                      11
Bank Ratings Carry Negative Outlook On Sovereign
– We believe the stand-alone credit profiles of rated Malaysian banks remain sound.
– Downside risks to bank ratings stem from the sovereign outlook at this point.

 Bank                          SACP       Ratings/Outlook            Comments

 Maybank                       a-         A-/Negative/A-2            Negative outlook on sovereign rating cap

 CIMB Bank                     a-         A-/Negative/A-2            Negative outlook on sovereign rating cap

 Public Bank                   a          A-/Negative/A-2            Negative outlook on sovereign rating cap

 RHB Bank                      bbb        BBB+/Negative/A-2          Negative outlook on likely reduced sovereign capacity to support

 AmBank                        bbb        BBB+/Negative/A-2          Negative outlook on likely reduced sovereign capacity to support

 Source: S&P Global Ratings.

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Rating Scores For Individual Banks

                              Maybank                    CIMB Bank                  Public Bank                RHB Bank               AmBank (M) Bhd.

 Anchor                       bbb                        bbb                        bbb                        bbb                    bbb

 Business position            Strong (+1)                Strong (+1)                Strong (+1)                Adequate (+0)          Adequate (+0)

 Capital and earnings         Adequate (+0)              Adequate (+0)              Adequate (+0)              Adequate (+0)          Adequate (+0)

 Risk position                Adequate (+0)              Adequate (+0)              Strong (+1)                Adequate (+0)          Adequate (+0)

                              Above average and strong   Above average and strong   Above average and strong   Average and adequate   Average and adequate
 Funding and liquidity
                              (+1)                       (+1)                       (+1)                       (+0)                   (+0)

 SACP                         a-                         a-                         a                          bbb                    bbb

 Systemic importance          High                       High                       High                       Moderate               Moderate

 Sovereign support            +0                         +0                         +0                         +1                     +1

 ICR                          A-/Negative/A-2            A-/Negative/A-2            A-/Negative/A-2            BBB+/Negative/A-2      BBB+/Negative/A-2

Source: S&P Global Ratings.

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Analytical Contacts

Nancy Duan                Ivan Tan                Geeta Chugh
Associate Director        Director                Senior Director
nancy.duan@spglobal.com   ivan.tan@spglobal.com   geeta.chugh@spglobal.com
+65-6236-1152             +65-6239-6335           +91-2233-4219 10

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