Economic health and financial inclusion aim to make banking services more accessible and affordable, while also opening up opportunities for entrepreneurship and broader economic participation. We collaborate with stakeholders across our core markets to enhance financial access, promote financial literacy, strengthen consumer protection, and improve distribution channels. This strategic approach aligns with CIMB’s commitment to advancing economic inclusion and ensuring our services contribute positively to the wider community.

Commitment to Economic Inclusion and Health

As a responsible corporate and financial intermediary, we conduct periodic in-depth impact analysis on our businesses and portfolios across our markets to identify our most significant impact areas. Arising from this, we have prioritised Economic Inclusion and Health as matter of priority and established our strategic commitment in our Group Sustainability Policy to continuously expand and tailor financial services for underserved and vulnerable groups across our markets. Our commitment includes both financial and non-financial interventions to promote equitable access, protect client well-being, and support sustainable financial behaviours. This commitment is monitored and reported annually and is overseen by our sustainability teams and the Board of Directors.

We take the following approach in our efforts:

a) Prioritising Economic Inclusion and Financial Health of Vulnerable Populations

We seek to provide access to finance across the geographies where we operate, including low-income and lower-middle-income countries, as well as to underprivileged and underserved communities, where feasible and aligned with our respective business strategies. In doing so, we aim to help ensure that underserved populations and businesses receive the necessary financial support for meaningful and sustainable development. We are committed to disclosing our contributions to these markets, including the proportion of financial products, services, and capital channelled to support these economies.

We disclose the distribution of our retail customers by income group to provide greater transparency.

Income Group	Definition	Proportion of Customers*
Top 20 customers (top 20% of customers by individual income)	Individual income RM10,960 and above	7.8%
Middle 40 customers (41-80^th percentile of customers by individual income)	Individual income between RM4850 - RM 10,959	16.6%
Bottom 40 customers (bottom 40% of customers by individual income)	Individual income below RM4850	75.6%

Income Group

Definition

Proportion of Customers*

Top 20 customers (top 20% of customers by individual income)

Individual income RM10,960 and above

7.8%

Middle 40 customers (41-80^th percentile of customers by individual income)

Individual income between RM4850 - RM 10,959

16.6%

Bottom 40 customers

(bottom 40% of customers by individual income)

Individual income below RM4850

75.6%

*Active individual customers of CIMB Malaysia with income data from year 2020 onwards.

b) Protecting Vulnerable Clients

To protect the rights and financial wellbeing of our targeted vulnerable groups, we have internal policies, procedures and safeguards in place when assessing potential borrowers in order to prevent over indebtedness. We also conduct training programmes to strengthen our employees’ understanding of vulnerable groups to ensure communications and information about products and services are easily legible and comprehensible, and to ensure appropriate sales techniques and respectful treatment of these groups. CIMB Group also has complaint mechanisms easily accessible to our vulnerable customers, so that we can respond to their feedback promptly and continuously improve the quality of our services.

We strive for a Just Transition in addressing climate change — greening the economy in a way that is as fair and inclusive as possible to everyone concerned, creating decent work opportunities, and enabling financial inclusion for underprivileged communities, tailoring our approach in alignment with local needs, capacities, and business priorities. This involves maximising the social and economic opportunities of climate action, while minimising and carefully managing any challenges in partnership with our stakeholders — including through effective social dialogue among all with impacted groups, ensuring responsible divestment strategies, and maintaining respect for fundamental labour principles and rights.

c) Providing Suitable Financial Products and Services

We are committed to innovate to expand our range of financial products and services to better align with the needs of the targeted underserved groups based on market research. This analysis helps us to better understand, address and tailor delivery methods based on the needs and preferences of our targeted vulnerable groups, including those with physical disabilities, the elderly and those facing financial hardship.

d) Collaboration and Non-Financial Support

We also actively engage with social welfare organisations, Higher Education Institutions and other industry players to expand the reach of inclusive financial services and offers non-financial support for specific underserved groups.

e) Monitoring and Reporting Progress

Governance oversight of our Economic Inclusion and Financial Health policies and commitment resides with our Board Group Sustainability Committee, which reports progress to the Board of Directors. Senior management and sustainability leads are accountable for driving execution, tracking key performance indicators, and ensuring integration into core business practices We monitor and report on our progress towards meeting our targets on an annual basis at the management and board level.

Our Targets

Having identified economic inclusion and health as an area of priority, we carried out an in-depth analysis of our operations and portfolio to identify where we could make the most meaningful impact. Based on these insights, we have established strategic goals aimed at enhancing access and support particularly for vulnerable groups. Our progress towards these goals will be tracked and reported annually, overseen by our sustainability teams, as well as management and Board.

As we analysed the economic inclusion and financial health data in each of our key markets, we found that the needs and priorities of the vulnerable groups differ by country. Our target-setting process began in Malaysia, where we have the largest customer base. Based on the results of our analysis, we have decided to focus on the bottom 40% income (B40) earners, defined as those with household income of less than RM4,850 per month, because they usually face significant economic vulnerability. For example, the median Employee Provident Fund (EPF) savings of B40 individuals is RM1,063, which is far less than the RM240,000 estimated to be required for an adequate retirement.

To address these challenges, CIMB has launched a targeted initiative in Malaysia, where we aim to provide customers in the vulnerable segments with greater access to wealth-building and insurance products, to empower them with solutions that build their credit history, improve their financial management skills and reduce reliance on high-cost financing sources. Through financial literacy and digital literacy training initiatives, we aim to help customers better understand financial products and risks of banking in a digital world, empowering them to make better informed decisions.

To track our progress in meeting our goal of promoting financial health and inclusion within the communities we serve, we have set a target to increase the number of our existing customers in the vulnerable segment, who also hold solutions aimed at improving their long-term financial health. We exclude products that may lead to negative impacts, such as credit cards and personal loans.

Facilitating Economic Inclusion

With a presence in a region where many remain unbanked or underbanked, CIMB is committed to playing a pivotal role in expanding financial access and inclusion, where feasible and aligned with our respective business strategies. By forging strategic partnerships and continuously innovating our services, we strive to deliver solutions that address the unique challenges faced by underserved communities, bringing them closer to essential financial services and opportunities.

Improving Accessibility

Enabling Disabled Access

We placed wheelchairs in 160 branches across Malaysia to make it easier for customers to access services at our branches. We have also improved the account opening and debit card application process for customers who are print-disabled, blind, or visually impaired. Our processes and terms and conditions have been revamped to allow visually impaired customers to complete their applications using their own mobile devices, without requiring a witness. Additionally, we have started absorbing the RM10 stamp duty charges for these customers.

Developing Inclusive Products

Enabling Access to Wealth Building Products

At CIMB, we aim to enhance economic inclusion by providing underserved communities access to wealth-building opportunities. Our Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) financing in Malaysia underscores this commitment. ASB is a unit-trust fund managed by Permodalan Nasional Berhad, with the objective to generate long-term, consistent and competitive returns whilst ensuring the preservation of capital at minimal risk tolerance level. This product specifically targets the needs of the underserved B40 community, representing the bottom 40% of income earners in Malaysia.

This ASB financing initiative provides financing designed to help these underserved groups invest in ASB trust funds without collateral at a low interest with a maximum cap. This helps the community generate more investment savings via the power of compounding and disciplined savings, thus fostering wealth building and promoting economic inclusion. In 2024, CIMB extended RM1 billion in ASB financing to 18,513 B40 customers.

Supporting Women Entrepreneurs

Giro Kartini is a current account product tailored specifically for women entrepreneurs in Indonesia with lower income backgrounds. Women entrepreneurs, especially in emerging markets such as Indonesia, often face barriers to financial services due to gender disparities and socioeconomic factors.

This initiative not only provides financial support but also promotes financial literacy and entrepreneurial skills among women, a key underserved group. This product offers preferential rates such as lower account fees, transaction fee refunds, as well as capacity-building support for women entrepreneurs. Additionally, for every Giro Kartini account opened, CIMB Niaga donates Rp25,000 to support traditional weaving training for women with disabilities in Sulawesi, further promoting gender equality and economic empowerment.

As of 2024, Giro Kartini has around 627 active account holders, with close to RM142 million in account balances.

Deploying Digital Banking to Reach the Underserved

Despite being one of the fastest-growing economies in Southeast Asia, the Philippines' banking penetration rate ranks among the lowest in the region. Rural areas often suffer from limited banking access. Limited banking access remains a challenge in rural areas, where many are excluded from traditional financial services due to minimum balance requirements and monthly fees. Digital banking offers a practical solution by improving accessibility and encouraging greater adoption among the unbanked population.

Our efforts to expand banking access have been widely recognised, culminating in our ranking as the #1 Bank in the Philippines in Forbes’ World’s Best Banks 2023 List. This recognition highlights our success in providing essential financial services to previously unbanked and underbanked populations, fitting the criteria for increasing access to financial services for underserved groups. This initiative includes checking accounts and loans designed to meet the needs of underserved clients, with zero account fees charged, no minimum balance or initial deposit requirements.

Since its inception, CIMB Bank has been committed to promote economic inclusion in the Philippines enabling our 8.7 million customers to live their life purpose including providing access to formal credit to 3.8 million customers. In addition to this, in 2024, CIMB launched CIMB Kababayan, designed specifically for overseas Filipino workers, who can open a CIMB savings accounts on the CIMB mobile app in less than 10 minutes and enjoy high interest rates up to 15% with no minimum maintaining balance requirement, pay bills, and enjoy free Instapay transfers. In 2024, CIMB extended financing to 1.6 million customers, facilitating 296 million transactions across both deposit and lending services—underscoring our commitment to driving inclusive financial growth at scale.

Enabling Economic Inclusion

iTEKAD Rider Entrepreneurship Programme 1.0

Launched in 2021, this innovative initiative blends social finance elements to provide seed capital, microfinancing, and structured training in collaboration with implementation partners.

The Rider programme aims to provide participants with job opportunities as food delivery riders with Foodpanda Malaysia, supplemented by quality training from Taylor’s Community on entrepreneurship. This programme provides structured training including financial management, technical skills and emotional wellbeing. Upon successful completion of their one-year work placement with Foodpanda Malaysia, the riders will have the option of continuing their employment with Foodpanda Malaysia or becoming full-fledged entrepreneurs.

CIMB Islamic has invested RM3.8 million into the programme, positively impacting around 204 participants. In 2024, the programme expanded its reach, offering training, guidance, and seed funding to 112 new participants, which included a motorcycle grant and a one-year employment opportunity with Foodpanda, a food delivery partner.

CIMB MicroBizReady

MicroBizReady aims to create a sustainable entrepreneurship programme that benefits the micro-community. The programme focuses on teaching participants digitalization strategies, financial management literacy, business pitching technique and addressing emotional well-being. This holistic approach not only enhances economic inclusion but also supports the long-term sustainability and success of micro-enterprises.

Developed in partnership with Taylor’s Education Group and fully funded by CIMB Foundation, the Malaysian programme has assisted more than 500 participants across 13 cohorts since its inception. In 2024, MicroBizReady extended its reach to the Klang Valley, Northern and Southern regions of Malaysia, offering business owners an opportunity to attend a four day physical boot camp.

Promoting Financial Literacy

Be$MART

Launched in 2016, Be$MART targets youth, particularly those studying in public universities and colleges across Malaysia in providing financial literacy training. Over 21,000 students have benefited from the programme since its inception. Be$MART aims to equip students with essential financial knowledge to manage their finances effectively as they graduate and enter the workforce. The programme covers a broad spectrum of financial topics, including budgeting, saving, investing, managing debt, financial protection, and fraud awareness.

By providing comprehensive financial literacy training, Be$MART helps these underserved youth make informed financial decisions, contributing to their long-term financial well-being. The approach emphasises real-world scenarios, making financial concepts easily comprehensible. In 2024, we reached 2,069 students under the programme.

Ayo Menabung dan Berbagi and Tour de Bank

The Ayo Menabung dan Berbagi (AMDB) and Tour de Bank (TDB) programmes aim to improve financial literacy among schoolchildren across Indonesia. TDB introduces basic banking concepts and the importance of saving to elementary students, while AMDB focuses on financial planning for middle and high school students. In 2024, the programmes reached 9,466 students from 118 schools across 27 cities nationwide.

CIMB Niaga has extended financial management training to educators, reaching 79 teachers from 31 schools through online sessions. Beyond school-based programmes, CIMB Niaga also introduced BE$MART, a financial literacy initiative for university students, which engaged 93 participants from 29 universities in 2024.

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