PETALING JAYA: CIMB Group Holdings Bhd is committed to expanding its presence in Asean’s fast-growing affluent and wealth segment, as part of its Forward30 strategy, to strengthen its cash and deposit franchise and deepen cross-sell opportunities across the group.
Asean’s affluent segment is expected to grow by 5%-6% per annum to 65-70% of its total population by 2030.
CIMB sees a significant opportunity to tap into this segment with holistic wealth, advisory and banking solutions while building deeper primary banking relationships.
The group’s wealth proposition is anchored on an advisory-led, insight-driven approach designed to safeguard and grow client’s wealth through a comprehensive, digitally enabled, and personalised experience.
Today, affluent customers expect their banking partners to journey with them through financial life cycles, including navigating market complexities, adjusting investment strategies as priorities shift and aligning portfolios to their unique risk profiles and long-term objectives.
To deliver these, CIMB has invested significantly in deeper, insight-driven portfolio reviews, curated wealth events and market intelligence that is supported by a dedicated Chief Investment Office (CIO) and personalised Relationship Manager advisory, equipped with a product suite of wealth management across conventional and Islamic banking.
At the same time, CIMB has strengthened its digital capabilities to equip frontliners with better AI enabled tools and proprietary insights, provided customers with access to track their portfolios in real-time, access to CIO content, asset allocation and product recommendations.
Beyond advisory and digital enhancements, CIMB is expanding its value proposition through strategic partnerships that extend its suite of wealth, protection and legacy solutions ensuring customers gain access toa broader, more specialised set of offerings aligned to their ambitions.
The group’s strong presence in Singapore serves as a key Asean wealth hub for affluent customers’ growing demands for cross-border and global investment propositions particularly around health, retirement and education. CIMB Singapore also provides a treasury base for multinational and regional firms seeking seamless cross-border financing or looking to scale in the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone.
CIMB Group consumer banking CEO Haniz Nazlan said, “Across Asean, the affluent population is growing at a robust pace, driven by rising incomes, entrepreneurship and intergenerational wealth creation, and their financial needs are becoming increasingly sophisticated. CIMB aims to deepen relationships with high-value clients through an integrated offering spanning wealth management, deposits, financing and investment advisory.
“With its strong presence and retail franchise across key Asean markets, CIMB comes from a position of strength and is well-positioned to capture the growth in the affluent wealth segment. Our ambition is to grow our wealth asset under management twofold and deliver stronger wealth and cross-sell revenue by 2030, enabling us to sustain a Non-Interest Income ontribution between 33% and 34%.”
Expansion into affluent wealth forms a key pillar of CIMB’s Forward30 ambition to grow its cash and deposits franchise, which provides a stable funding base while enabling the group to deliver higher-value cross-selling across investment products, lending and advisory services.
As at December 2025, the group’s cash strategy continues to demonstrate positive results. Total deposits and current account saving account (Casa) balances grew by 5.4% YoY to RM524.4 billion and 1.6% YoY to RM224.1 billion respectively on a constant currency basis, bringing the group’s Casa ratio to 42.7%.
In January 2026, the group launched CIMB Private Wealth in Indonesia, and this will be followed by Malaysia in mid-2026 and other markets during the year – strengthening the group’s regional wealth management ambition.
Islamic wealth markets such as Indonesia and Malaysia continue to outpace the conventional segment. Indonesia remains one of Asean’s most attractive long-term wealth markets, supported by strong economic fundamentals, a rapidly expanding middle and upper-income segment, and rising demand for professional wealth advisory.
The group expects its expanded wealth proposition to support multiple strategic objectives under Forward30, including deepening primary banking relationships with affluent and high-net-worth clients, strengthening deposit growth thus supporting a resilient funding base, increasing fee-based income through investment and advisory products and enhancing cross-sell across financing, investments, legacy and protection solutions.
