CIMB Restructures Singapore Business

The Malaysian bank is letting go of three business heads in Singapore, following a review of its operations.

Changes are afoot at CIMB Singapore, as the bank has moved to ax its consumer, commercial and corporate banking heads: Josandi Thor, Yong Jiunn Run and Lai Ven-Li, citing an internal memo viewed by the portal.

The bank cited the poor performance brought about by the pandemic, which required it to reshape its business portfolios to drive cost efficiency across the bank. The bank said it recently adapted its Forward23 five-year growth plan, launched in 2018, in response to the pandemic.

CIMB Singapore’s posted losses of 939 million ringgit ($229.42 million) for the first half of the year, largely due to impairments.

However, there have been talks of restructuring since the middle of the year and the possibility of wider layoffs.

An observer told the publication that CIMB Singapore CEO Victor Lee, who was appointed earlier this year, was looking to restructure the senior management team and bring in people he had previously worked with.

Given the business pivots moving forward, we have carefully deliberated with group management on the optimal structure to deliver our Forward23+ strategy. This entails streamlining the leadership structure and reducing the CEO’s span of control to focus on key areas impacting the business, Lee said in the email.