SME Bank Revises Its BFR Following OPR Adjustment

Following the revision of the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) by BNM recently, SME Bank is revising its Base Financing Rate (BFR) upwards by 25 basis points to 6.45% effective 1 June 2022.

SME Bank Group President / Chief Executive Officer, (Dr.) Aria Putera Ismail said, “The last time the Bank revised its BFR was on 17 July 2020 and it was at 6.20%. The financing tenure of the customers remains unchanged while the instalment amount shall be revised accordingly.”

(Dr.) Aria commented, “Support to the SMEs remains strong as the country recorded significant growth in working capital financing disbursements at 21.2% in Q1 2022. At SME Bank, we are taking a proactive approach to mitigate the impact of the OPR revision on SMEs. We are making available existing tailored financing assistance as well as the financing programs announced during the Budget 2022 such as the RM100 million Young Entrepreneur Fund 2.0, the RM200 million IBS Promotion Fund 2.0 and the RM200 million SME Recapitalisation Fund.”

Chief Business Officer of SME Bank, Nurbayu Kasim Chang said, “SME Bank’s market share amongst the DFIs in supporting the SMEs is significant at 43.2%. This indicates that the approach taken by SME Bank in providing both the financial and beyond financial supports to the SMEs are effective and meeting the needs of the entrepreneurs.”

Nurbayu added, “SME Bank's Jom Xcess 2022 program, which offers access to financing and SME development programs in six regions nationwide, will begin its tour in Kedah on 1 June 2022 and it will continue until November 2022 in major cities of the country. Jom Xcess 2021 which was held in a hybrid mode had benefited more than 2,800 participants and to date, the Bank has approved financing amounting to RM43.24 million from the 2021 Jom Xcess program.”

SME Bank will be sharing more details on the Jom Xcess 2022 series on its social media platforms. Entrepreneurs are encouraged to follow the platforms and keep abreast on the latest developments. Visit SME Bank’s official website at www.smebank.com.my or alternatively, call SME Bank’s Customer Contact Centre at 03–26037700 for assistance.