Al Rajhi Banking & Investment Corporation (Malaysia) Bhd (ARBM) announces the departure of its Chief Executive Officer, Arsalaan (Oz) Ahmed. In the announcement, it stated that his decision was to step down to focus on his “personal ambition in the fintech and social finance space” expressing his passion towards open banking and embedded finance.

Oz spearheaded the launch of ARBM’s digital bank, Rize. Launched in December 2022 the app is growing in popularity thanks in part to its attractive interest rate. 

The digital bank Rize garnered several awards including the Financial Technology Award in the Retail Banking Category in the Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards 2023 and the Virtual Bank of the Year for Malaysia Award in the Asian Banking and Finance Retail Banking Awards 2023.

Oz was the youngest CEO of an Islamic bank in Malaysia when he was first appointed as CEO of a fully-fledged Islamic bank in 2016. He was 36 years old then.

“It is with a heavy heart that I say farewell to the Bank. It has been a great honour serving as CEO and I would like to take this opportunity to thank ARBM, and the Al Rajhi Bank Group, for the trust accorded to me these past few years. Working with such an exceptional team to accomplish our goals has been one of the most remarkable experiences of my career, particularly after delivering leading innovation that sets a standard for both conventional and Islamic finance in digital banking,”

said Oz.

“A visionary who is passionate about Islamic banking, sustainability, and digital innovation, Oz has been leading ARBM’s transformation to become a respected futuristic financial services provider exemplified by the launch of Rize, the Bank’s key strategic channel to drive the digital agenda. On behalf of the ARBM family, I would like to express our deepest appreciation to Oz for his engagement and leadership in advancing the Bank as we grow to be a significant contender in both the digital and Islamic banking space,”

said John Roger Winfield, Chairman of ARBM.