As CIMB Group celebrates its 100-year legacy in 2024, the bank navigates a rapidly evolving digital banking landscape. While the centenary is a symbolic milestone, the real story lies in CIMB’s attempt to redefine itself through technology.

The bank concluded its five-year Forward23+ strategy in 2024, aiming to stabilize its core operations, improve cost efficiency, and accelerate digital transformation. With the new Forward30 strategic plan launched in March 2025, CIMB is doubling down on digital and AI-led initiatives.

Financial performance

1. Operating income grew by 6.1% YoY to USD 5.06 billion (RM22.30 billion), up from USD 4.76 billion (RM21.01 billion) in 2023.

2. Net profit grew by 10.8% to USD 1.75 billion (RM7.73 billion), an increase from USD 1.58 billion (RM6.98 billion).

3. Return on Equity (ROE) improved to 11.2%, up from 10.7%.

4. Cost-to-Income Ratio (CIR) dropped to 46.7%, showing tighter cost discipline.

5. Customer deposits rose to USD 116.17 billion (RM512.3 billion) from USD 112.86 billion (RM497.7 billion), and gross loans rose to USD 102.56 billion (RM452.3 billion) from USD 100 billion (RM440.9 billion).

6. Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio stood firm at 14.6%.

These figures suggest CIMB is financially stable and managing costs well. The macro environment in 2024, marked by monetary easing in key ASEAN markets and geopolitical friction, put pressure on net interest margins, especially in countries like Thailand and Indonesia. CIMB held its NIM flat at 2.21%, but this was more about managing risk than expanding market share.

Technology investments

CIMB has openly acknowledged past weaknesses in its digital infrastructure. 2024 saw the bank allocate over USD 181.41 million (RM800 million) towards technology upgrades, focusing on platform resiliency, security, and user experience across its core systems.

These investments are not just a capital deployment exercise; they are a response to prior digital service failures and customer experience gaps. CIMB’s leadership has framed this as a “resiliency transformation”, aimed at fixing backend infrastructure while modernising front-end platforms.

Some key changes include:

1. Enhanced cybersecurity frameworks, including anomaly detection and fraud prevention tools powered by data analytics.

2. Upgrades to regional platforms to improve uptime, mobile responsiveness, and cross-border integration.

3. Continued development of self-service tools and automation across digital customer journeys, especially in retail and SME segments.

Mobile and digital banking

Perhaps the most visible output of CIMB’s digital spend in 2024 was the rollout of its enhanced mobile banking platforms:

CIMB OCTO App

A significant upgrade from previous versions, the new CIMB OCTO app aims to improve the mobile banking experience for retail users.

1. Features include a revamped UI/UX, more intuitive navigation, and malware monitoring capabilities that can detect remote screen hijacking, a growing threat in mobile banking.

2. OCTO also supports multi-device login, biometric authentication, and layered transaction security protocols.

3. The app shows a clear intent to address CIMB’s historical digital pain points, but its competitive differentiation remains unclear in a crowded space with Maybank MAE, RHB Mobile, and fintech players offering more advanced budgeting or lifestyle integrations.

OCTOBiz

Targeted at SMEs, OCTOBiz bundles transactional banking with cash flow management and analytics.

1. It integrates invoicing, e-payment, and financing tools in a single interface.

2. The product is positioned as a “digital CFO” for small businesses, though execution and user adoption metrics have not been detailed in the report.

These platforms reflect CIMB’s pivot toward segment-specific digital solutions, rather than generic one-size-fits-all apps. Still, the long-term stickiness of these platforms remains a question, particularly in markets like Indonesia and Thailand, where fintech alternatives are rapidly scaling.

AI and data analytics

CIMB shows growing interest in AI, ML, and advanced analytics, especially in risk and operational contexts. However, most of the actual use cases remain non-customer-facing and are embedded in internal processes:

1. Fraud detection and risk monitoring - AI models are being deployed to detect transaction anomalies in real time. These tools reportedly reduce response times and false positives, but again, the scope and impact are not quantified.

2. Operational analytics - CIMB is leveraging predictive analytics to improve internal process efficiency, such as cash flow forecasting and asset-liability management.

3. Customer insights - AI is being used for customer segmentation and product recommendation engines, but these applications appear to be in early stages compared to banks experimenting with hyper-personalisation or AI-driven wealth management.

Digital culture and talent

CIMB has made internal culture a strategic priority, which it refers to as “hardwiring the EPICC values” (Enabling Talent, Passion, Integrity, Collaboration, Customer Centricity) across the organisation. This cultural shift is particularly relevant for enabling digital transformation.

1. Over USD 22.68 million (RM100 million) was spent annually on employee development programs.

2. Initiatives like The Complete Banker (TCB) programme now include mandatory regional rotations, exposing high-potential talent to digital and operational challenges across ASEAN.

3. Mobility programs supported over 1,000 internal role shifts in Malaysia and more than 100 cross-border assignments, practically building digital fluency.

However, changing culture at scale remains a slow and complex process. CIMB still operates in diverse regulatory and market environments, and the pace of digital adoption will inevitably vary across countries and business lines.

Forward30: What does the future hold?

The Forward30 strategy, launched in March 2025, takes the baton from Forward23+ with an emphasis on:

1. Simplifying customer experiences across retail, SME, and corporate segments.

2. Accelerating tech modernisation, including migration of legacy systems and platform unification.

3. Improving time-to-market for digital products and enhancing cross-border digital offerings.

4. Protecting against emerging digital threats, especially phishing and AI-driven fraud tactics.

The report strikes a pragmatic tone, acknowledging that GenAI poses both opportunities and new forms of risk. For now, CIMB appears more focused on digital stability and operational integrity than cutting-edge experimentation.

Conclusion

CIMB’s digital journey is clearly in motion, but it’s equally clear that the bank is playing catch-up in several areas. The large technology investments are necessary, not optional. The new mobile apps are improvements, but not breakthroughs. And while AI is starting to play a role behind the scenes, the bank hasn’t yet put forward a compelling vision for how it will use emerging technologies to differentiate its customer experience.

The next few years will test whether Forward30 can be more than just an internal transformation plan and deliver visible, meaningful innovation to CIMB’s 28 million customers across ASEAN. As the regional banking landscape becomes more tech-driven and customer expectations shift, execution, not ambition, will be the real differentiator.