SME Bank has announced that its Group President and CEO, Datuk Wira Aria Putera Ismail, will step down at the end of his tenure to pursue new opportunities.
Datuk Dr. Mohammad Hardee Ibrahim, the current Group Chief Corporate Strategy Officer, will take over from 3 September 2024.
Aria has led SME Bank for the past six years, focusing on redefining the bank’s vision and mission and introducing new core values.
Notably, in 2019, he spearheaded the Two-Year Accelerated Programme, a strategic initiative aimed at improving the bank’s business model, which resulted in a profit before tax of RM213.9 million.
Under his leadership, SME Bank’s gross financing amount grew by 37.6%, from RM6.47 billion in 2018 to RM8.9 billion by the end of 2023, while the Gross Impaired Rate was reduced from 22.9% to 12.5%.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Aria implemented relief programmes benefiting over 5,000 MSMEs with a total financing of RM9.12 billion.
He also introduced initiatives like the “National SME Digital Platform,” which included ScoreXcess and Odela, earning recognition from the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP).
Datuk Dr. Mohammad Hardee, with over 20 years of experience in financial services, has held various roles at SME Bank, including positions in treasury, corporate finance, and business banking.
SME Bank said in a statement,
“SME Bank extends its gratitude to Datuk Wira (Dr.) Aria Putera Ismail for his exceptional leadership and welcomes Datuk Dr. Mohammad Hardee Ibrahim as the Acting Group President/Chief Executive Officer to continue leading the team to new heights and successfully fulfilling SME Bank’s mandates.”
Featured image credit: Edited from Freepik
