CIMB Islamic named Islamic Bank of the Year – Asia, and Most Innovative Murabaha at The Banker Islamic Banking Awards 2026

16 June 2026

Recognition for customer-centric propositions reinforces the Bank’s leadership in Islamic innovation across Asia

Kuala Lumpur : CIMB Islamic Bank Berhad (“CIMB Islamic” or “the Bank”) has strengthened its position as a leading regional Islamic financial institution, securing two prestigious accolades at the 2026 The Banker Islamic Banking Awards namely Islamic Bank of the Year – Asia and Most Innovative Murabaha, cementing CIMB’s leadership across key markets in Asia via Islamic banking innovation enabling capital markets excellence, customer-centric financial solutions and sustainable finance across the region. 

The recognition for Islamic Bank of the Year underscores CIMB Islamic’s differentiated and holistic Islamic banking proposition across retail, commercial, wholesale and investment banking. The Bank continued to demonstrate strong market leadership through innovative Shariah-compliant solutions, SME-focused financing, Islamic debt capital markets excellence and sustainability-driven offerings.

Ahmad Shahriman Mohd Shariff, Chief Executive Officer of CIMB Islamic, said, “We are honoured to be recognised with these awards which reaffirm our expertise in delivering innovative Shariah-compliant solutions to our clients and customers to enhance CIMB’s leadership across Asia.

I am particularly pleased this year to see our customer-centric propositions for individuals, SMEs and corporates being recognised.  This includes our market-first DURIAN-I which rewards customers for saving sustainably, our FlexiCash-i product to enable micro-SMEs to receive initial financing for their evolving businesses.  I am also pleased that focus on clients, ESG and development of Islamic capital markets toward growth in strategic sectors was represented, particularly the Most Innovative Murabaha award.

Being named Islamic Bank of the Year – Asia reflects the strength of our diversified Islamic banking franchise across retail and investment banking, underpinned by our continued commitment to innovation, customer-centricity and sustainable value creation.

Aligned with our Forward30 strategy, we will continue to strengthen our leadership in Islamic finance across all segments and remain committed to advancing inclusive growth and creating meaningful impact for our customers, communities and the broader economy, in line with the principles of value-based intermediation."

On the retail front, the Bank continues to expand its suite of digitally enabled, sustainability-focused financial solutions including continued focus on the Daily Unrestricted Investment Account-i (“DURIAN-i”), a market-first retail investment account featuring sustainability-linked underlying investments.

CIMB Islamic continued to expand access to innovative and customer-centric Islamic financial solutions. In 2025, the bank provided over RM1.75 billion in financing to more than 900 SMEs in high-growth sectors. Building on this momentum, the Bank introduced Flexi-Cash-i, a market-first flexible working capital financing solution featuring a “pay-as-you-earn” repayment structure, enabling small and medium-sized enterprises (“SME”) to better align repayments with their cash flow cycles and strengthen financial resilience.

CIMB Islamic emerged as the largest Global Sukuk arranger among ASEAN-based banks for the 16^th consecutive year, while retaining its leadership position as the largest Malaysian Ringgit Sukuk arranger for more than a decade as well as the largest ESG Sukuk arranger in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand since 2015. The Bank continues to reinforce its commitment to sustainable finance through numerous successful execution of high-profile landmark transactions including PNB Merdeka Ventures Sdn Bhd’s RM6.0 billion Sustainability Merdeka Sukuk Wakalah, the largest sukuk transaction in the Ringgit market last year, as well as SD Guthrie Berhad’s RM2.1 billion Sustainability-Linked Senior Sukuk Wakalah, the largest sustainability-linked Sukuk issuance in Malaysia to date.

Under the Most Innovative Murabaha award, CIMB Islamic was recognised for its role in WG Data Hub Sdn. Bhd.’s RM15.0 billion Term Loan Facility. The transaction marked as one of the largest jumbo syndicated financings for a data centre development in Southeast Asia and the largest green Islamic syndicated financing facility in Malaysia, structured under the Murabahah principle.

Meanwhile, CIMB Islamic continued to incorporate sustainability and social impact across its retail offerings. EcoSave Savings Account-i (“EcoSave-i”), Malaysia’s only sustainability-linked Islamic savings account, integrates banking with environmental impact by channeling up to 0.2% of its average portfolio balance annually to fund environmental initiatives. As of December 2025, it has contributed RM14.9 million across 22 projects in nine states, supporting conservation, biodiversity protection, river restoration and environmental education.