KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 26): Malayan Banking Bhd (KL:MAYBANK) fell on Thursday as investors were disappointed that the country’s biggest bank skipped details on boosting returns to shareholders.

Investors have been looking for clues on Maybank’s capital management initiatives, such as higher dividend or share buyback, after the company excluded any such measures when it presented its five-year corporate plan in January, according to several analysts.

Shareholders probably expected “a lot on the capital optimisation,” Maybank’s chief financial officer Shafiq Abdul Jabbar said at the post-earnings briefing on Thursday. Maybank has yet to finalise some of the plans and “we haven’t come through yet with that,” he noted.

The stock fell as much as 94 sen, or more than 7% from the previous close, to a low of RM11.42 shortly after its results were announced at midday and the earnings reported came in largely within market expectations. Maybank, however, recouped some losses to close at RM12, down 36 sen or 2.9%, on Thursday with 68.6 million shares changing hands.  It is the biggest single-day decline in over 10 months.

Other Malaysian banks have announced their plans to step up distributions of excess cash at a time of strong capital positions. CIMB Group Holdings Bhd (KL:CIMB), the country’s second-largest bank, plans to return up to RM2 billion to shareholders over the next two years.

Smaller rival Public Bank Bhd (KL:PBBANK) is preparing to raise its dividend payout ratio guidance to 60% for 2025, while AMMB Holdings Bhd (KL:AMBANK) seeks to double payouts within five years. At Maybank, the common equity Tier 1 capital ratio, a measure of a bank’s capital strength based on the highest quality of regulatory capital, was over 15% at the end of 2025 — a level considered high by analysts.

Maybank's decline on Thursday weighed on the KLCI that closed down 6.87 points or 0.39% at 1,740.94. Trading volume at the broader market also surged. Market breadth was negative as losers outnumbered winners 746 to 367 while 520 closed unchanged after shares worth over RM4 billion changed hands.

Index constituents like Mr DIY Group (M) Bhd (KL:MRDIY) and Telekom Malaysia Bhd (KL:TM) also pulled the index lower.

Broadly, the sell-down appeared to be primarily driven by foreign investors locking in gains after a strong rally in the past few months, said Loui Low, head of research at brokerage Malacca Securities.

The decline would be short-lived as the retreat did not reflect any deterioration in corporate fundamentals, said Low. “This is just a healthy correction and not a full-fledged trend reversal,” he added.  

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