Powering the Vision of Tomorrow Qorus-Infosys Finacle Banking Innovation Awards 2025

2.0 The Strategic Imperative: Navigating a Shifting Financial Landscape The contemporary financial services sector presents both formidable challenges and compelling opportunities. In response, AmBank Group has identified the urgent need to navigate this shifting landscape with a clear strategic vision.

2.1 Intensifying Market Dynamics: Competition is fierce, driven by a combination of traditional banks, agile fintech disruptors, and the relentless pace of technological change, bringing both opportunity and the risk of obsolescence. Simultaneously, evolving regulatory requirements demand enhanced compliance, while rising cybersecurity threats compel more sophisticated defences.

2.2 Evolving Customer Expectations: Today's customers demand seamless omnichannel experiences that intuitively blend physical and digital interactions. There is a clear expectation for hyper-personalised products and services, instant, frictionless transactions, and the highest standards for data privacy and security.

2.3 The Opportunity for Data-Driven Digital Transformation AmBank Group recognises that these challenges represent significant opportunities for institutions capable of technological transformation. The true opportunity lies in harnessing the power of Fintech and Data to move beyond incremental improvements, focusing instead on creating end-to-end efficiencies that translate into seamless and personalised customer experiences across all segments. Meeting these evolving customer needs requires a deep understanding of their preferences and behaviours, facilitated by straight-through processing and actionable data insights. Financial institutions that can effectively leverage technology to understand, anticipate, and fulfil customer needs will gain substantial competitive advantages in market share, customer loyalty, and operational efficiency.

4.0 Flagship Initiatives and Platforms

4.1 New Direct Digital Channel for Investors • Developed specifically for institutional and retail investors. • Integrates seamlessly within AmBank's Integrated Wealth Solution. • Provides personalised investment recommendations and portfolio management tools. • Enables self-service capabilities while maintaining advisor relationship options.

4.2 SME Merchant Data Monetisation Platform • Leverages the Data Lake and advanced analytics capabilities. • Developed in collaboration with business banking and peer-to-peer financing partners. • Transforms transactional data into actionable business intelligence. • Creates new revenue streams while enhancing Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) customer value propositions. 4.3 Supply Chain Financing Ecosystem • Co-designed with wholesale banking, solution partners, anchor corporate customers, and supply chain participants. • Accelerates trade transactions through blockchain-enabled verification and approval processes. • Reduces financing gaps for suppliers while optimizing working capital for buyers. • Integrates seamlessly with existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems for frictionless adoption.

4.4 Credit Paper Automation Solution • Developed through proof of value completed with Wholesale Banking and Group Risk teams • Utilizes the Data Lake and AI algorithms co-developed with a technology partner • Achieved potential time gain of approximately 60% • Maintains bank ownership of intellectual property for competitive advantage

5.0 Implementation and Execution AmBank Group's implementation strategy combines disciplined governance with agile execution methodologies: 5.1 Strategic Alignment Framework Our execution approach is guided by the target enterprise architecture, ensuring that all initiatives contribute to the bank's long-term technical vision while addressing immediate business needs. The "Best of Whole" principle underpins technology selection, favouring comprehensive integrated solutions over disparate best-of-breed options that would create future integration challenges.

5.2 Collaborative Co-Creation Model The bank employs a distinctive co-creation approach with strategic partners: • Joint Solution Development: Rather than traditional vendor relationships, we establish true partnerships where both parties contribute expertise and resources toward shared objectives. • Intellectual Property Ownership: Unlike typical vendor arrangements, AmBank maintains ownership or co-ownership of intellectual property developed through partnerships, creating sustainable competitive advantages. • Risk-Sharing Structures: Partnership agreements include shared risk and reward mechanisms, ensuring alignment of interests throughout development and implementation.

5.3 Talent Development Strategy AmBank recognizes that technology transformation requires corresponding talent transformation: • Strategic Upskilling Programs: Comprehensive training initiatives focused on cloud technologies, data science, AI, and cybersecurity enable existing staff to contribute to innovation initiatives. • External Talent Acquisition: Partnerships with leading technology and fintech players locally and abroad create pathways for specialized talent to join the organisation. • Innovation Culture Development: Initiatives such as hackathons and digital/fintech days are employed to solve real-life problems while fostering a culture of creativity and collaborative problem-solving.

5.4 Phased Implementation Approach Major initiatives follow a structured implementation methodology: • Proof of Value Phase: Focused, limited-scope implementations demonstrate concept viability and potential business impact before significant resources are committed. • Controlled Expansion: Successful proof of value projects transition to limited production deployments with selected customer segments or business units. • Enterprise Scaling: Proven solutions are systematically scaled across the organisation with standardized processes and governance frameworks. This disciplined yet flexible approach to implementation enables AmBank to balance innovation with operational stability, ensuring that new solutions deliver measurable business value while maintaining system integrity.

6.0 Impact and Results AmBank Group's technology transformation strategy is yielding significant and measurable results across multiple dimensions: 6.1 Operational Efficiency Gains • Credit Paper Automation: Achieved potential time gain of approximately 60%, reducing processing time from weeks to days • Cloud Infrastructure Transformation: Initial cloud migrations have reduced system provisioning time while improving resource utilisation • Process Digitalisation: Paperless initiatives have eliminated over millions of pages annually while reducing processing errors a lot 6.2 Customer Experience Enhancement • New Direct Digital Channel: Increased investor engagement, where customers reporting higher satisfaction with investment management capabilities • Omnichannel Integration: Reduced customer journey abandonment rates through seamless cross-channel experiences • Self-Service Adoption: Major migration of routine transactions to digital channels, freeing branch staff to focus on complex customer needs

6.3 Summary of Business and Financial Growth Profitability and Performance • Net Interest Income (NII) grew 8.0% YoY to RM3,569.6 million, with a 15-basis point (bps) expansion in Net Interest Margin (NIM) to 1.94% • Non-Interest Income (NoII) grew 1.3% YoY to RM1,359.4 million, with continuing operations income up 5.3% YoY. A broad-based growth in fee income was achieved across Business Banking, Retail Wealth Management, Funds, Stockbroking, Private Banking and Equity Capital Markets, and from Insurance. This was partially offset by lower trading gains from Group Treasury and Markets (GTM). • Reported net income grew 6.1% YoY to RM4,928.9 million with Continuing Operations’1 net income growing 7.3% YoY • Expenses increased 7.1% YoY to RM2,197.8 million, with Cost-to-Income (CTI) ratio of 44.6% • Profit Before Taxation (PBT) increased 14.2% YoY to RM2,587.3 million. With the absence of one-off charges of RM520.2 million in FY24, FY25 reported a PBT growth of 48.2%. Continuing Operations’1 PBT grew 52.7% YoY • Reported Profit Before Provisions (PBP) grew 5.2% YoY to RM2,731.1 million. Continuing Operations’1 PBP grew 7.4% YoY • Reported Profit After Taxation and Minority Interests (PATMI) improved 7.1% YoY to RM2,001.2 million. Continuing Operations’1 PATMI grew 8.6% YoY

Balance Sheet Strength and Risk Management • Gross loans, advances and financing increased 3.5% YoY to RM138.9 billion, driven by Business Banking and Wholesale Banking growth of 12.4% and 6.8% YoY respectively • Customer deposits were marginally lower at RM141.5 billion. Time deposits grew 1.0% YoY to RM90.5 billion. Current account and savings account (CASA) balances fell 3.3% YoY to RM51.0 billion, giving a CASA mix of 36.0% • Net impairment charges were lower at RM143.9 million (FY24: RM769.7 million), mainly attributable to improved ECL flow rates and writeback of forward-looking provision • Gross impaired loans (GIL) ratio was lower at 1.54%, with loan loss coverage (LLC) ratio (including regulatory reserves) of 103.6% • Liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) for all entities was above 140% • Post dividend, the Group’s3 CET1 stood at 14.82%, with a TCR of 17.49%

Shareholder Returns and Value • Return on Equity (ROE) at 10.0% while Return on Assets (ROA) improved to 1.02% • Basic Earnings Per Share (EPS) rose 7.2% YoY to 60.56 sen per share while net assets per share (NA) added 36 sen to RM6.24 • Final dividend of 19.9 sen per share was declared, bringing total dividend for FY25 to 30.2 sen per share, a 34% YoY increase and translating to a dividend payout ratio of 50%

6.4 Transformation of Data-Driven Decision Making The establishment of the Group Data and AI COE has transformed how business decisions are made: • Group Customer Information File Dashboard: Provides a single customer view across touchpoints, enabling personalised engagement strategies and improved cross-selling effectiveness • Predictive Analytics Models: Improved customer retention through early identification of at-risk relationships • AI-Enhanced Risk Management: Reduced false positives in fraud detection while improving actual fraud detection rates

These measurable outcomes demonstrate that AmBank's technology strategy delivers concrete business value while positioning the institution for sustained competitive advantage in an evolving financial landscape.

7.0 Strategic Alignment and Future Potential AmBank Group's technology vision is intrinsically linked to the overarching Winning Together Strategy WT29, serving as a critical enabler for the bank's broader business objectives: 7.1 Alignment with Cost-to-Income Ratio Target The technology transformation directly supports the ambitious target of achieving a 40% Cost-to-Income (CTI) ratio through: • Operational Efficiency Gains: Automation and digitalisation reduce manual processing costs while improving transaction throughput • Revenue Enhancement: Data-driven insights enable more effective cross-selling and customer acquisition • Infrastructure Optimization: Cloud adoption reduces capital expenditure while improving resource utilisation • Process Streamlining: End-to-end digital processes eliminate redundant steps and reduce error correction costs 7.2 Customer Experience Differentiation Technology initiatives enhance AmBank's competitive positioning through: • Personalisation at Scale: Data intelligence enables customized experiences without proportional cost increases • Frictionless Journeys: Integrated channels and straight-through processing remove customer pain points • Proactive Service Models: Predictive analytics enable anticipatory service interventions before issues arise • Digital Self-Service: Enhanced digital capabilities empower customers while reducing service costs

7.3 Future Innovation Capacity The established technology foundation creates a platform for continued innovation: • Scalable Architecture: The "Best of Whole" approach creates a flexible technology core that can rapidly incorporate new capabilities • Data Readiness: The comprehensive Data Lake and analytics framework enable rapid deployment of new AI/ML use cases • Partner Ecosystem: Established co-creation models facilitate faster innovation through selective partnership • Talent Development: Continued investment in technology skills builds internal capacity for sustained innovation 7.4 Exploration of Emerging Technology AmBank has identified key areas for future technology adoption: • Advanced AI Applications: Exploring natural language processing for customer service and sentiment analysis • Distributed Ledger Solutions: Evaluating blockchain applications beyond supply chain for settlement and identity verification • Quantum-Resistant Security: Developing preparations for post-quantum cryptography to ensure long-term security posture • Embedded Banking Capabilities: Creating finance-as-a-service offerings for integration into non-financial platforms While adopting a cautiously optimistic approach to emerging technologies, AmBank Group has strategically positioned itself for continued innovation: • AI Use Cases for 2025: AI-based Policies Agent and Data Protection Agent to assist in policies management and ensure data privacy • Test Automation Framework: Developing AI-driven test case generation and automated quality assurance processes • Open Banking Readiness: Established API framework supporting future ecosystem expansion and third-party integration This strategic alignment ensures that technology investments directly contribute to AmBank 's business objectives while building the capabilities needed for future market leadership in an increasingly digital financial ecosystem.

8.0 Originality and Universality AmBank Group's approach to technology transformation combines distinctive elements with broadly applicable principles: 8.1 Distinctive Strategic Elements • "Best of Whole" Integration Philosophy: Rather than pursuing the common "best-of-breed" approach that creates integration challenges, AmBank prioritises comprehensive, integrated platforms that deliver cohesive functionality. This distinctive stance reduces the technical debt and integration complexities that plague many financial institutions. • Intellectual Property Development Focus: Unlike many banks that rely predominantly on vendor solutions, AmBank's commitment to in-house innovation and IP ownership, as demonstrated in the credit paper automation initiative, creates unique competitive advantages while building institutional knowledge. • Co-Creation Partnership Model: The bank's approach to partnership transcends traditional vendor relationships, establishing true collaborative development that shares both risks and rewards. This model accelerates innovation while maintaining strategic control of key technologies. • Balanced Eastern/Western Cloud Strategy: Rather than exclusively adopting Western cloud providers, AmBank's dual-cloud approach provides flexibility, regulatory compliance options, and negotiating leverage that many institutions lack.

8.2 Universally Applicable Principles While AmBank's specific implementation is tailored to its context, the underlying principles offer valuable insights for other financial institutions: • Customer-Centricity as Technology Driver: Placing customer needs at the centre of technology decisions ensures investments deliver meaningful experience improvements rather than technology for its own sake. • Data as Strategic Asset: The focus on transforming data into actionable insights demonstrates how financial institutions can leverage their information advantages in an increasingly competitive landscape. • Talent Transformation Parallel to Technology: The recognition that digital transformation requires corresponding human capability development illustrates the importance of people in successful technology initiatives. • Risk-Based Security Prioritisation: The cybersecurity approach demonstrates how institutions can allocate security resources based on risk assessment rather than attempting uniform protection levels across all assets. These principles provide a framework that other institutions can adapt to their specific circumstances, market positions, and regulatory environments while pursuing their own digital transformation journeys.

9. Supporting Materials 1. AmBank Wining Together strategy : https://ambankgroup.sharepoint.com/WT29/SitePages/Home.aspx

2. Strategic collaboration with 42 Malaysia : 42 Malaysia and AmBank Group collaborate, RM3 mil to drive innovation and tech talent

3. AMMB Holdings Berhad Annual Report 2024: FY2024