Malaysia’s banking giant to step down nearly after three decades

Datuk Seri Nazir Razak is stepping down nearly three decades at Malaysian banking giant CIMB at the end of this year.  A statement by CIMB said that his younger brother, Najib Razak would succeed Nazir Razak.

Nazir Razak was quoted in media  saying, “It was always going to be hard to find the perfect moment for me to leave CIMB, which is not too soon, not too late but always with the firm’s best interest in mind.” He further said that his CIMB mission has been completed with the bank’s four-year recalibration plan to turn it into a universal bank for the region.”

He further announced his resignation plans on his Instagram profile stating “I am 52 years young. It is time for me to commit fully to my next mission on the ASEAN stage.” However, he did not elaborate on plans after 29 years at the bank.

According to a Bloomberg report, Nazir may focus on a private equity fund known as Ikhlas Capital which he set up recently.  Nazir had been also working on setting up a regional fund that would seek to raise as much as US$1 billion.

Nazir started his career in 1989 by joining the corporate advisory department of Commerce International Merchant Bankers Berhad. He became Managing Director and Chief Executive of the bank, which by then was known as CIMB, in 1999. His tenure as CEO ended in 2014 after he resigned and took over as chairman. 

ImageCredits: 1MDB