Raja Teh Maimunah Raja Abdul Aziz

Group Chief Executive Officer — Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad

About Raja Teh Maimunah Raja Abdul Aziz

Key facts Role: Group chief executive officer Organisation: Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad Country: Malaysia Sector: Islamic banking Headline figures: Total assets of RM106.7bn at end-June 2026; second-quarter net profit up nearly 10% to RM139.12m Six months into the job, Raja Teh Maimunah Raja Abdul Aziz is taking apart the growth-first playbook at the lender that pioneered Islamic banking in Malaysia. She became group chief executive of Bank Islam Malaysia on 1 April 2026. In August she told The Edge that the bank's next strategy would move "beyond asset growth" towards "sustainable value creation". The bank's second-quarter results, published days later, set out six priorities for a strategic renewal built on simplification, automation and digitalisation. The role The job puts her in charge of a balance sheet of RM106.7bn in total assets as at end-June 2026. That includes gross financing of RM77.9bn and customer deposits and investment accounts of RM86.9bn, according to results reported by The Edge. The lender is controlled by Lembaga Tabung Haji, the Malaysian pilgrims' fund. Its board chose her after what it called a "rigorous and comprehensive search process" to succeed Mohd Muazzam Mohamed, who retired early in December 2025. Chairman Ismail Haji Bakar said she would "lead the group's next phase of digital adoption and transformation", Bernama reported. What she inherited She inherited a bank that had hit its scale targets but struggled on efficiency. Under its five-year LEAP25 plan, Bank Islam grew total assets to RM104.12bn by end-2025 from RM80.16bn at end-2021, beating its RM100bn goal. Sustainable financing reached RM31.3bn. But its cost-to-income ratio rose to 66.1%, one of the highest in the industry, and net profit fell 2.4% in 2025 to RM557.24m, The Edge reported. First-quarter 2026 profit fell 8.9%, and the shares were trading near a one-year low. "Our focus now is on improving profitability, productivity and shareholder returns," she told The Edge, and named return on equity and cost-to-income as the measures investors should watch. Second-quarter net profit rose nearly 10% to RM139.12m, and first-half profit was up 0.5% at RM254.15m. No new dividend was declared. Digital consolidation Her first visible decision was to consolidate the bank's digital platforms. Bank Islam stopped new registrations for Be U, its standalone cloud-native app, in April and moved customers to its main BIMB Mobile platform from 1 August. She rejected reports that the app had been discontinued. "Be U is not being discontinued, it has successfully completed its role as a digital incubator," she told Fintech News Malaysia, calling the change a move "from experimentation to industrialisation". The six priorities in the second-quarter filing include a five-year core banking framework with greater use of cloud. “Our focus now is on improving profitability, productivity and shareholder returns,” — Raja Teh Maimunah, to The Edge Background She brings three decades of work across Islamic markets and digital banking. Before Bank Islam she was the founding chief executive of AEON Bank (M), which the bank describes as Malaysia's first Islamic digital bank. There she oversaw its cloud-native infrastructure. She was previously managing director of wholesale banking at AmBank Group, chief executive of Hong Leong Islamic Bank, and global head of Islamic markets at Bursa Malaysia. At Bursa she launched Bursa Suq Al-Sila', which Bank Islam describes as the world's first fully Shariah-compliant commodity trading platform. She holds a law degree from the University of East London and was named Islamic Finance Personality of the Year in 2016. Her influence reaches beyond one bank. If Malaysia's pioneering Islamic lender succeeds in pairing Shariah compliance with cloud-native technology, it would offer a template for Islamic banks elsewhere. She has built her career on that combination. What to watch: the launch of Bank Islam's full medium-term strategy and financial targets, which investors are still awaiting. Also watch whether the cost-to-income ratio comes down, and how asset quality holds after impairment allowances more than doubled in the second quarter. She ranks 42nd as the head of a leading Islamic lender at a turning point. She is new in post and has yet to deliver results. Sources Bernama, Bank Islam Appoints Raja Teh Maimunah As GCEO , 6 Feb 2026 The Star, Bank Islam appoints Raja Datin Paduka Teh Maimunah as group CEO , 6 Feb 2026 Bank Islam media release, 6 Feb 2026 The Edge Malaysia, Bank Islam shifts focus from asset growth to returns , Edge Weekly 3–9 Aug 2026 The Edge Malaysia, Bank Islam's 2Q profit rises 10%... , 26 Aug 2026 Fintech News Malaysia, Bank Islam CEO Says 'Be U App' Completed Incubator Role... , 25 May 2026

Why this entry is on the list

She ranks 42nd as the head of a leading Islamic lender at a turning point. She is new in post and has yet to deliver results. Group chief executive since 1 April 2026, she runs a bank with RM106.7bn in total assets and has said its next strategy will move beyond asset growth towards sustainable value creation.