ONCE thought of as a safe and secure bet, banks are increasingly looking vulnerable stemming from the recent crises that hit Western lenders such as Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Credit Suisse AG.
KUALA LUMPUR: Cagamas Bhd has concluded a combined RM715 million worth of sukuk issuances, comprising one-year variable rate notes (VRNs), three-year Islamic medium term notes (IMTNs) and five-year IMTNs.
KUALA LUMPUR: Cagamas Bhd has concluded the year with total funds raised of RM24.9bil, about 30% higher than in 2021 and the highest raised since 1999.
There are understandably growing worries over the high level of indebtedness the world over, and especially so given the current environment of rapidly rising interest rates. The recent market meltdown in the UK underscores the rising risks of a broader global financial crisis. The excesses of the past decade, the borrowing binge fuelled by ultra-low interest rates and liquidity, are coming back to bite us, no doubt.
KUALA LUMPUR: Singapore’s Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd (OCBC) has tapped former Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) deputy governor Datuk Ooi Sang Kuang to the sit on the boards of its key banking and insurance units. Ooi’s appointments by OCBC came barely two months after he retired from his position as special adviser to BNM on Dec 31. Prior to being retained for a one-year tenure as the central bank’s special adviser, Ooi had served for eight years as BNM deputy governor from 2002 to June 2010. But now, Ooi sits on the OCBC’s 14-man board as an independent non-executive director following his appointment on Feb 21. Ooi was also appointed to the boards of OCBC Bank Malaysia Bhd and insurance operator Overseas Assurance Corp Malaysia Bhd, which is a unit of OCBC’s insurance arm Great Eastern Holdings Ltd. Ooi sits on the OCBC's 14-man board as an independent non-executive director. Aside from that, Ooi is presently the chairman of BNM’s subsidiary, Malaysian Electronic C