Public Bank Shares Down 2.13 Pct At Midday

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 (Bernama) -- Public Bank Bhd’s share price slid 2.13 per cent at midday despite reporting a higher net profit for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026 (2Q FY2026) yesterday.

At 12.03 pm, its share price eased by 11 sen to RM5.04, with 1.67 million shares traded.

Public Bank recorded a higher net profit of RM1.82 billion in the 2Q 2026 versus RM1.76 billion in the same quarter a year ago. 

Its revenue also increased to RM7.61 billion from RM7.35 billion previously.

Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd (HLIB) said in a research note today that with the current momentum, its FY2026 loan growth could exceed its four to five per cent target, underpinned by resilient small and medium enterprise ending and a healthy approval pipeline.

“The net interest margin, however, remains the key earnings headwind, with further mild compression expected over the next two quarters amid intense deposit competition and gradual loan yield repricing.

“In our view, funding optimisation initiatives should provide some cushion, while management continues to guide for mid-single-digit NIM compression in FY2026,” it said.

HLIB has recalibrated its NIM and provision assumptions for FY2026. It has lower its FY2026 projection by six per cent and by 0.2 per cent for FYs 2027-2028.

It has maintained a “Hold” call with target price of RM4.90.

-- BERNAMA