CIMB announced a strategy recalibration during the CIMB Group Media Day 2025 in Kuala Lumpur on July 21. This move is part of the broader CIMB ASEAN strategy, formulated in response to slowing global growth, capital realignment, and climate responsibility. The bank aims to lead in digital resilience, sustainable finance, and regional flexibility. In a world where interest rates are unstable, the dollar is losing its supremacy, and supply chains are breaking down, CIMB sees ASEAN as a competitive platform for scalable innovation, cross-border talent, and ESG-driven development.
Vietnam and the Philippines are pivotal markets for CIMB’s digital banking expansion, which is a cornerstone of the CIMB ASEAN strategy. “Vietnam and the Philippines has been extremely important to us. We started digital banking in Vietnam and the Philippines five to six years ago with a small capital allocation, around 1–2 per cent but today, they shape how we operate across the group,” said Novan Amirudin, CEO of CIMB Group. In Vietnam, the bank has built a mobile-first model deeply integrated with customer behaviour, focusing on ecosystems rather than physical branches. “We’re not building branches, we’re building ecosystems,” he added.
CIMB now has eight million subscribers in the Philippines, six million of whom came via e-commerce agreements. “We learned that embedding financial services into digital platforms outpaces traditional models. These lessons now guide our expansion even in mature markets like Malaysia and Indonesia,” said Novan. Vietnam also plays a key role in AI deployment for risk analytics, fraud detection, and client servicing. “We use AI to reduce multistep processes to just a few, improving speed and resilience across our operations,” he noted.
Lawrence Loh, Co-CEO of Group Commercial and Transaction Banking, described Vietnam as both a growth engine and innovation hub. “This is where we’re testing ESG-linked loan products, green supply chain financing, and digitised small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) onboarding. The learning curve here is steep and invaluable.” He added, “Vietnam is where fintech maturity intersects with climate urgency. That’s where CIMB wants to lead.”
Sustainability plays a major role in the CIMB ASEAN strategy. The bank’s ESG financing target has increased from MYR30 billion to MYR100 billion, and most recently to MYR300 billion (about USD63 billion) by 2030. “We didn’t jump on ESG for awards or public relations,” said Novan. “We did it because it’s good business sense. If we lend to a company that becomes non-compliant with ESG standards and loses access to global supply chains, we’re left with exposure. So helping clients transition is a risk management imperative.”
CIMB plans to expand its sustainable finance capabilities to support regional projects aligned with the CIMB ASEAN strategy, including the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone, Malaysia’s National Energy Transition Roadmap, and the ASEAN Power Grid. The bank aims to help clients adopt responsible business practices, mitigate the impact of possible carbon taxes and tariff increases, and create long-term value through tools such as transition financing, nature-based carbon instruments, and blended finance.
As part of its inclusive transition agenda, the CIMB ASEAN strategy also includes targeted support for small and medium-sized businesses. The GreenBizReady program offers sustainability-linked financing and advisory services. In 2024 alone, CIMB’s SMEBizReady program disbursed more than RM990 million in financing to over 500 SMEs for investments in green technology, automation, and digital tools.
The bank promotes sustainable living through incentives for electric vehicles and green homes. It also supports underserved segments, such as the B40 group, through financial literacy programs, scam awareness efforts, and micro-investment tools.
Chu Kok Wei, CEO of Group Wholesale Banking, observed that ESG-led demand is becoming mainstream across ASEAN. “We’re seeing growing interest in sustainable infrastructure, renewable energy financing, and transition solutions. The appetite is real and so is the business case,” he said.