CIMB Group Holdings Bhd was formed from the merging of several banks over a period of time. Its genesis can be traced back to 1924 with the establishment of Bian Chiang Bank in Kuching by local businessman Wee Kheng Chiang, who was also the founder of UOB Bank. Bian Chiang Bank was renamed Bank of Commerce Berhad in 1979.

In 1986 Bank of Commerce became the controlling shareholder of Pertanian Baring Sanwa Multinational Berhad (PBS), a company controlled by Bank Pertanian and managed by Baring Brothers, and which provided corporate finance and advisory to multinationals. PBS changed its name to Commerce International Merchant Bankers Berhad (CIMB), which listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange in 2003. Note that this CIMB is not the same as the current CIMB Group Holdings Bhd that eventually took over the listing status of the group.

In 1991 Bank of Commerce acquired United Asian Bank (established in 1972 by a merger of the Malaysian operations of three Indian-owned banks) and grew its branch network substantially. The listed holding company was then renamed Commerce-Asset Holdings Berhad (Commerce-Asset).

Subsequently through a series of mergers and acquisitions, Commerce-Asset absorbed a number of prominent banks which included:

1. Ban Hin Lee Bank (BHLB), Penang’s first local bank established in 1935 by Yeap Chor Ee to facilitate trading and merchant activities. BHLB expanded into real estate financing and funds management and listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange in 1991.

2. Southern Bank Berhad (SBB), which had acquired BHLB but was itself acquired by CIMB Group in 2006 under the stewardship of then CEO and major shareholder Tan Sri Tan Teong Hean. SBB had also acquired Perdana Finance Berhad and Cempaka Finance Berhad in 2000 as part of the Malaysia government’s bank consolidation initiatives.

3. Bank Bumiputra Malaysia Berhad, incorporated in 1965 to facilitate Bumiputra participation in the economy. It had merged with Bank of Commerce in 1999 to become Bumiputra-Commerce Bank Berhad.

How did all this happen?

In 2005, Commerce-Asset announced a decision to create a universal bank by combining its commercial and investment banks, resulting in the acquisition of Bumiputra-Commerce Bank Berhad by CIMB. As part of the exercise, Commerce-Asset was renamed Bumiputra-Commerce Holdings.

Through a strategic consolidation that culminated in a merger of Bumiputra-Commerce Bank, Commerce International Merchant Bankers (CIMB), and Southern Bank in 2006, a unified universal bank was formed under the CIMB brand. A major rebranding process was undertaken and Bumiputra-Commerce Holdings became CIMB Group Holdings Berhad in 2009, marking the group’s transition to a full-fledged bank covering retail, corporate and investment banking.