Maybank CEO backs low interest rates

By Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider

The central bank should maintain its low interest rate policies to spur growth given the expected slowdown in the world economy, Maybank president and chief executive Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar has said.

“It is our hope that the low interest environment will remain so that the economic wheels will keep going,” he (picture)told reporters after launching the new look Maybank branch at Kota Damansara here.

Abdul Wahid pointed out that a strong domestic base was needed to drive the economy and that the role of bankers was to mobilise deposits to keep growth going.

He said entrepreneurs would benefit from cheaper loans, and stressed that Malaysian banks were “very responsible” in passing the benefits of low interest rates to their customers.

Abdul Wahid also said he hoped Budget 2012 next month would address the higher cost of living with accommodative policies that would encourage domestic consumption in light of debt woes in the US.

He added that the Budget must also provide further clarity and reinforcement for projects identified earlier under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) as they would help boost the local economy.