Media Briefing for PARTNER 2 by the Association of Banks in Malaysia

July 18, 2013
Kuala Lumpur, Thursday, 18 July 2013: The Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) held a media briefing today to take members of the press through the material relating to Phase 2 of PARTNER, or PARTNER 2 in short. The relevant material has been posted and is accessible via its website, www.abm.org.my.

PARTNER 2 which is part of the commercial banking industry’s continuing efforts to streamline and simplify the processes and procedures for loan applications by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) was rolled-out on Monday, 15 July 2013 and will see the participation from a total of 10 commercial banks for a start.

The main thrust of PARTNER 2 is the introduction of a template which will allow the SMEs to understand the reason(s) why a loan application cannot be considered by the bank at a given point in time.

Chuah Mei Lin, the Executive Director of ABM, explained that PARTNER 2 would provide SMEs with:
  1. A template for the guidance of, and adoption by, banks, which provides a checklist of areas in which the applicant has failed to satisfy;
  2. A chart depicting the timeline in respect of the processing of loan/financing applications for straight-forward cases supported by Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia Berhad (CGC); and
  3. A chart depicting a refined timeline in respect of the processing of loan/financing applications for straight-forward cases.
Copies of the template setting out the checklist, the two charts depicting the two sets of timelines as well as the explanatory notes were handed out at the media briefing.

“Explanatory notes have also been prepared to help SMEs understand better the initiatives under PARTNER 2,” added Chuah.

“Importantly, we hope the template will help SMEs appreciate what is lacking in their applications so that they can work towards being better prepared in their next loan application,” said Chuah.

Representatives from the banking fraternity were present to stamp their support for the initiatives at the briefing as members of the press were guided step by step through the PARTNER 2 documents.

Feedback from the SMEs will be welcomed as there is nothing to stop the industry from collaborating with SMEs in relation to the next phase and PARTNER 3.
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