- Business
- Public Bank Berhad (PBBANK: 1295.KL) operates as a premier Malaysian banking group offering a comprehensive suite of financial products and services; these encompass personal banking including deposits, credit cards, residential mortgages, and remittance services; commercial banking focused on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with credit facilities and business loans; hire purchase financing primarily for passenger vehicles; Islamic banking through its subsidiary Public Islamic Bank Berhad; investment banking via Public Investment Bank; share broking; trustee and nominee services; unit trust fund sales and management through Public Mutual Berhad; bancassurance; and general insurance products following its recent expansion.
Founded in 1966 and headquartered at Menara Public Bank in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the bank maintains a dominant position in key domestic segments such as residential property financing (20.1% market share), hire purchase (32.5%), commercial property financing (32.0%), and SME financing (17.9%), while emphasizing organic growth in retail consumer and SME lending.
Public Bank Berhad extends its operations across Southeast Asia and beyond, with branches and subsidiaries in Hong Kong (Public Bank (Hong Kong) Limited), Cambodia (Cambodian Public Bank Plc), Vietnam (Public Bank Vietnam Limited), Laos (Public Bank Lao Ltd), China, and Sri Lanka; it serves over 9 million customers through a network of 259 branches in Malaysia and additional regional outlets.
In recent developments, the group completed the acquisition of a 44.15% controlling stake in LPI Capital Bhd for RM1.72 billion at the end of 2024, enhancing its general insurance capabilities and non-interest income streams through cross-selling opportunities with LPI's network; it also established Public Bank Securities Vietnam Ltd to broaden securities trading services in Vietnam and converted its Laos operations into a wholly-owned subsidiary, Public Bank Lao Ltd, on January 1, 2024, advancing its universal banking model and regional expansion.
The bank continues to innovate with product launches such as the PB Scholar Debit Card in 2025 for students, the Halal Engage Program offering RM1.0 billion in Shariah-compliant financing for halal SMEs, and preferential EV financing partnerships, while achieving pre-tax profit growth to RM7.10 billion for the nine months ended September 2025 amid sustained loan expansion of 5-6%.