Is RHB Bank profitable in 2026?

Yes. RHB Bank reported a record FY2025 net profit of RM3.4 billion, up 7.8% year on year, on total income of RM8.8 billion and return on equity of 10.5%, as of December 31, 2025 per its May 6, 2026 results release.

RHB Bank is publicly listed on Bursa Malaysia (ticker 1066/RHBBANK). Malaysia's Employees Provident Fund is the largest shareholder, commonly cited around 15 to 20 percent, alongside PNB, KWAP and OSK Holdings, which holds a stake from a 2012 share swap.

Could AI replace RHB Bank?

No. AI can automate KYC, fraud detection and customer service, but RHB holds a Bank Negara Malaysia banking license that AI cannot obtain. RHB uses AI as a tool, launching an AI-driven multi-asset fund in March 2025 and a Microsoft/Google AI vendor day in July 2026.

Who is RHB Bank's biggest competitor?

Maybank and CIMB are RHB's largest domestic rivals. As of March 2026, Maybank's market cap was about RM144.5 billion and CIMB's about RM86.8 billion, versus RHB's roughly RM36.6 billion, making RHB the fourth-largest Malaysian banking group.

Is RHB Bank cutting jobs?

Headcount stood at 13,000 as of Q1 2026 (March 31), down 480 employees from December 2025, per stockanalysis.com data dated June 26, 2026. WSJ separately cited 13,345 employees as of February 2026.

Is RHB Bank being acquired or merging?

No active merger talks are reported as of mid-2026. RHB has twice been the subject of aborted mega-mergers: a 2014 to 2015 tripartite deal with CIMB and MBSB called off in January 2015, and a 2017 proposal with AmBank that was scrapped.

Insurance companies · Malaysia

RHB Bank

rhbgroup.com ↗

RHB Bank is Malaysia's fourth-largest banking group, spanning retail, business, and investment banking.

Hard to displace

Assessed 26 July 2026 · Evidence as of 26 July 2026

Strong structural protection; the business model survives ai pressure.

On the recordSince 26 July 2026 · Checkable from August 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: Q2 FY2026 earnings release

The call

RHB sits protected by its banking license in a stable four-bank oligopoly, growing profit steadily while AI trims its costs rather than its customer base.

RHB Bank takes deposits, makes loans, and manages investments like any bank, but operates inside Malaysia's banking system where the government has already approved only a handful of players to do this work. Bigger rivals like Maybank and CIMB face the same legal walls that protect RHB, so none can easily knock the others out; AI can speed up paperwork and catch fraud faster, but it cannot replace the banking license or the vault itself. The real question is whether RHB falls further behind its larger competitors over the next few years by spending money poorly on technology, or keeps pace by using AI smartly to cut costs.

Why

AI pressure: None apparent. AI can automate KYC, fraud checks, and customer service, but it cannot take deposits or hold a banking license, so it cuts costs rather than customers. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.

Bigger players: Maybank and CIMB. Both are bigger by market cap but face the same Bank Negara Malaysia licensing wall, so there is no active takeover of RHB's customers underway. Could a giant copy it? No, they are blocked.

What protects it. A Bank Negara Malaysia banking license and deposit base that AI tools and fintech apps cannot replicate or bypass.

What would change this call

RHB quarterly gross impaired loans ratio stays above 1.3% target for 2+ more quarters. Would show credit quality slipping and margin for error narrowing.
RHB cost-income ratio widens versus Maybank and CIMB over next 2 fiscal years. Would show mid-tier position eroding relative to larger peers.
GXBank or Boost publish deposit or loan volume figures showing material growth. Would show digital banks starting to draw deposits away from incumbents like RHB.

Key numbers

FY2025 net profit RM3.4 billion, up 7.8% (2025-12-31)
Customer deposits RM250.9 billion (2025-06-30)
Return on equity 10.5% (2025-12-31)

Named risks

Gross impaired loans ratio at 1.41% exceeds internal target of under 1.3% as of March 2026. Severity: medium
Subscale versus Maybank and CIMB with no unique product edge, limiting re-rating. Severity: medium
No named proprietary AI platform despite peers like RBC and JPMorgan launching branded AI stacks. Severity: low
History of two collapsed mega-mergers raises renewed consolidation speculation risk. Severity: low

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
Maybank	gaining on	Maybank market cap ~RM144.5bn vs RHB ~RM36.6bn, March 2026 Kenanga peer table
CIMB	gaining on	CIMB market cap ~RM86.8bn vs RHB ~RM36.6bn, March 2026 Kenanga peer table
Hong Leong Bank	contesting	Hong Leong market cap ~RM50.5bn, close mid-tier rival, March 2026 data
AmBank (AMMB Holdings)	contesting	Smaller peer at ~RM21.3bn market cap, prior scrapped 2017 merger target

Questions people ask

Is RHB Bank profitable in 2026?: Yes. RHB Bank reported a record FY2025 net profit of RM3.4 billion, up 7.8% year on year, on total income of RM8.8 billion and return on equity of 10.5%, as of December 31, 2025 per its May 6, 2026 results release.
Who owns RHB Bank?: RHB Bank is publicly listed on Bursa Malaysia (ticker 1066/RHBBANK). Malaysia's Employees Provident Fund is the largest shareholder, commonly cited around 15 to 20 percent, alongside PNB, KWAP and OSK Holdings, which holds a stake from a 2012 share swap.
Could AI replace RHB Bank?: No. AI can automate KYC, fraud detection and customer service, but RHB holds a Bank Negara Malaysia banking license that AI cannot obtain. RHB uses AI as a tool, launching an AI-driven multi-asset fund in March 2025 and a Microsoft/Google AI vendor day in July 2026.
Who is RHB Bank's biggest competitor?: Maybank and CIMB are RHB's largest domestic rivals. As of March 2026, Maybank's market cap was about RM144.5 billion and CIMB's about RM86.8 billion, versus RHB's roughly RM36.6 billion, making RHB the fourth-largest Malaysian banking group.
Is RHB Bank cutting jobs?: Headcount stood at 13,000 as of Q1 2026 (March 31), down 480 employees from December 2025, per stockanalysis.com data dated June 26, 2026. WSJ separately cited 13,345 employees as of February 2026.
Is RHB Bank being acquired or merging?: No active merger talks are reported as of mid-2026. RHB has twice been the subject of aborted mega-mergers: a 2014 to 2015 tripartite deal with CIMB and MBSB called off in January 2015, and a 2017 proposal with AmBank that was scrapped.

Timeline

2026-07-13RHB Vendor Engagement Day with Microsoft and Google on responsible AI and cloud adoption
2026-05-06RHB reports record FY2025 net profit of RM3.4 billion, up 7.8% year on year
2026-03-02Kenanga Research notes gross impaired loans at 1.41%, keeps Market Perform, target RM8.40
2026-02-27Q4 FY2025 analyst briefing: gross loans RM245.4 billion, AUM RM57 billion
2025-08-281H FY2025 net profit up 7.0% year on year to RM1.6 billion
2025-03-20RHB Asset Management launches Malaysia's first AI-driven multi-asset fund
2017-01Proposed RHB-AmBank merger scrapped
2016RHB Bank Berhad assumes listing status of RHB Capital Berhad
2015-01CIMB-RHB-MBSB tripartite mega-merger called off over valuation disagreements
2012RHB-OSK Investment Bank share swap gives OSK a 10.27% stake in RHB

Revision history

26 July 2026

First assessed. Hard to displace. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

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