KFH probing previous contracts, transactions

By Habhajan Singh

Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Bhd new boss, who came on board just under two months ago, has directed more than a dozen staff to go on leave pending internal investigations into 'transactions and contractual arrangements that have been undertaken over the years'.

In an email response to queries from The Malaysian Reserve, KFH Malaysia CEO Jamelah Jamaluddin said the bank is "taking a proactive approach and conducting a due diligence status audit, in light of the different and more challenging economic environment".

She added: "This is aimed at obtaining an accurate picture of certain transactions and contractual arrangements that have been undertaken over the years. Some employees have taken leave to help facilitate the exercise and the Bank will be guided by pragmatism and act accordingly as per the recommendations of the audit team conducting the due diligence status audit."

In a communication with staff on March 19, it is understood that Jamelah had asked a number of staff, including at least one head of department, to go on leave to enable the Kuwait-based Islamic banking unit to conduct its internal investigations.

Exactly a week later, on Friday, RAM Rating Services Bhd had issued a note putting the bank on what it calls a 'negative rating watch' in connection to the "on-going due diligence status audit, which required senior credit personnel to be on leave pending the completion of this exercise."

"This event heightens concerns on the potential for further deterioration in the Bank’s asset quality and credit fundamentals," the local rating agency said.

On Friday, RAM Ratings said it had met with the senior management of KFH Malaysia to seek further clarification on the matter. The rating agency was made to understand that an "internal reorganisation exercise has been put in place to strengthen the Bank’s credit team and processes, with the intention of improving asset quality."

People familiar with the bank told The Malaysian Reserve that the latest management move is putting a strain on staff morale, with word on the ground that more suspensions could follow.

Jamelah returned to KFH Malaysia as the new boss effective Feb 9 after a stint of just over two years at RHB Islamic Bank Bhd. She was the KFH Malaysia deputy CEO, a position now held by Ab Jabar Ab Rahman, when she left to helm RHB Islamic in August 2007.

Ab Jabar was designated acting CEO when Datuk Salman K Younis left as KFH Malaysia MD/CEO on June 1, 2009. Salman, who spearheaded the establishment of KFH Malaysia in 2005, was asked to return to head office in Kuwait "to assume wider responsibilities", but continued to act as a director of the Kuwaiti bank's unit in Malaysia.

However, the latest KFH Malaysia website no longer carries his name as a director of the board, which is chaired by Shaheen Alghanem. Alghanem joined the board in March 2007 and was appointed as chairman five months later. The other Kuwaiti on board is Abdul Wahab Al-Rushood.

The three other directors, all Malaysians, are Islamic finance lawyer Mohamed Ismail Mohamed Shariff, former Mesdaq Bhd executive chairman Khairil Anuar Abdullah and former Island & Peninsular Bhd MD Dr Radzuan Abdul Rahman.

On the management side, some of the key executives at KFH Malaysia, according to information from its website, are Annis Sheikh Mohamed who heads its corporate and investment banking, Mohamed Iqbal Mohamed Iqbal (international business and treasury), Nawaf Menayekh (international distribution), Siti Mariam Mohd Desa (real estate advisory), Maimunah Alias (commercial banking), Wong Kee Poh (retail and consumer banking), Amin Siru Abdul Rahman (credit risk management) and James Chong Wai Choy (risk management).

On the financial front, the latest KFH Malaysia results available are for the first nine months for 2009, which shows it posted a net profit of RM4.62 million on the back of RM364.92 million in operating revenue, at the group level.

In a note for the financial results, KFH Malaysia had noted that notwithstanding the ‘more difficult operating environment, the Group and the Bank will continue to focus on its business growth strategies through new and competitive product offerings, products cross selling as well as exploring new business opportunities within the region and the Middle East, while remaining vigilant on the impact of the global economic crisis to its businesses and profitability’.

(This story appeared in The Malaysian Reserve on 29 March 2010. The Malaysian Reserve is a daily business/finance newspaper published out of Kuala Lumpur, with a sectoral page on Islamic finance on Mondays, edited by Habhajan Singh)