PETALING JAYA: Hong Leong Bank’s (HLB) has won the “Best SME Bank in Malaysia” for the second consecutive year at Asian Banking and Finance’s Retail Banking Awards 2023.

In a statement, HLB said the win is a testament to the bank’s dedicated focus on small and medium enterprises (SME) banking and the impact it has made within the SME sector.

“In the past financial year, the bank has seen its overall SME loan/ financing portfolio grow 16% year-on-year to RM30.1bil, attributed to its strong commitment in deploying new technologies to provide customers with a seamless banking experience.”

HLB group managing director and chief executive officer Kevin Lam said the award was a testament to the bank’s dedication to a customer-centric, community-focused digitalisation strategy.

He added that this has led the bank to be at the forefront of bringing digital transformation and tailor-made financial solutions to the SME space in Malaysia.

“We employ a personalised approach with each SME, empowering each customer with digitalisation, innovation and environmental, social and governance considerations, equipping them with a competitive advantage in both domestic and international markets.”

HLB has a longstanding ongoing partnership with SME Malaysia and regularly participates in their nationwide roadshows that make digitalisation and SME banking services more accessible to businesses across the country.

Moreover, the Bank is the main sponsor of the SME Malaysia’s Platinum Business Awards 2023, which aims to foster and incentivize an environment that encourages innovation and transformation amongst the SME community.