RHB Bank aims for 8-10% of home financing applications to come from RHB My Home App

KUALA LUMPUR: RHB Bank Bhd which is cautiously optimistic over loan growth next year, is eyeing at least 8-10% of home financing applications through its newly launched mobile app, RHB MyHome App in the first year of operation.
The app is the first of its kind in the country.
“(We are) cautiously optimistic over loan growth ... we will be able to do slightly better than industry but overall we expect industry rate to be moderate compared to this year,” said group managing director Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli after the launching ceremony today.
He said key drivers to loans growth will be the small and medium enterprise (SME) and mortgage segments.
Between January and October this year, RHB has seen a loan growth of 15% for the mortgage segment, ahead of industry’s rate of 9%.
The total loan size for the mortgage segment, of about RM45 billion, accounted for 25% of the banking group’s total loans portfolio. It also saw an approval rate of 76% for the segment within the first 10 months of the year.
In line with that, the group is expecting a slightly higher percentage of growth for the segment.
The MyHome App is expected to contribute to a slight increase in loan growth for the mortgage segment.
Khairussaleh said the idea is to work with property players in the future, to boost traction for the app.
The app, which mainly caters to purchasers of properties under construction, primary homes and properties for sub-sale, enables customers to apply for home financing, submit documents and check their application status. Applications through the app are processed within 48 hours.
The MyHomeApp is available for download on GooglePlay and the Apple App stores.
Together with the MyHomeApp, RHB also launched Banking-At-Your-Doorstep. This service caters to its RHB Smart Account and RHB Smart Account-I holders and enables them to apply for debit cards online which will be delivered and authenticated at their doorstep.
RHB anticipates more than 50,000 RHB Smart Account/RHB Smart Account-I to be opened in 2018, of which it is expecting 30% applicants to opt for the banking-at-your-doorstep service.
Currently, only available in the Klang Valley, RHB is also looking to expand the banking-at-your-doorstep service to new locations by the first quarter of next year.
Starting off with eight riders, the group is also aiming to expand its team to 40.
The RHB Smart Account/ RHB Smart Account-i which was launched on March 1, are online deposit accounts which offers customers attractive returns of 3% per annum + 1% Bonus Pay-outs when they save, pay bills online, spend and invest with RHB.
The launches are part of the group’s digital transformation initiatives.
While embarking on efforts to step up its digital offerings, Khairussaleh said, RHB group’s brick and mortar branches will remain as key distribution channels, catering to different customer segments and offering a wide range of services.
“It’s just that the services we do at a particular branch may evolve. We believe that branches will not go away,” he said, in explaining the continued need for brick and mortar branches.