Tan Sri Tay Ah Lek did not just top the ranking of the highest-paid bank CEOs in Malaysia in 2025.
Public Bank‘s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) finished well ahead of everyone else, with RM64.76 million in total disclosed remuneration.
Maybank President and Group CEO Khairussaleh Ramli followed at RM15.19 million.
Third place was much tighter, with CIMB Group CEO Novan Amirudin receiving RM11.74 million, only RM571,000 more than Hong Leong Bank‘s Kevin Lam who sits fourth, but we’re not diving into that as this list covers the top 3 highest-paid bank CEOs in Malaysia for the year 2025.
But there is one wrinkle when comparing bank CEO pay.
Malaysian banks do not all present remuneration in exactly the same way. Some separate salary and bonus, while others include benefits-in-kind, vested shares or several pay components under one line.
To keep the ranking consistent, I’ve used the total remuneration received or disclosed for each CEO in the bank’s FY2025 reporting, including vested remuneration where the bank counts it in the annual total.
How Malaysia’s Highest-Paid Bank CEOs Compare
The table breaks down total disclosed pay, and the salary portion where available, for Malaysia’s three best-paid bank chief executives in 2025.
Last Updated: 23 July 2026.
No. 1: Tay Ah Lek, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Public Bank
Tay has occupied Public Bank’s top executive role since July 2002, making him one of the country’s longest-serving bank chiefs.
Public Bank’s FY2025 annual report puts his total group remuneration at RM64.757 million, so there is no need to rely on an external estimate.
His RM22.12 million salary was only part of it. Public Bank also disclosed RM28.83 million in bonus, RM11.73 million in other emoluments, alongside fees and benefits-in-kind. Another RM1.71 million came from subsidiary companies.
The subsidiary figure is worth noting because Tay holds several roles across the wider Public Bank Group.
Even so, RM63.04 million of his RM64.76 million remuneration came from Public Bank itself, so his other directorships account for only a small part of the overall package.
Public Bank reported RM7.22 billion in net profit attributable to shareholders for 2025 and a cost-to-income ratio of 34.9%.
The distance to second place is sizeable. Tay’s disclosed remuneration was about 4.3 times Khairussaleh’s at Maybank.
No. 2: Khairussaleh Ramli, President and Group Chief Executive Officer, Maybank
Khairussaleh has led Maybank since May 2022, and his 2025 remuneration came to RM15.188 million.
His package looks quite different from Tay’s.
Maybank disclosed a salary of RM3.44 million and a RM6.75 million bonus, together with RM2.07 million in other emoluments, RM107,378 in benefits-in-kind and RM2.82 million from shares vested under its Employees’ Share Grant Plan.
In other words, the basic salary accounted for only around 23% of his total remuneration.
Maybank simultaneously delivered record net profit of RM10.51 billion in 2025, up from RM10.09 billion a year earlier.
It remained Malaysia’s largest banking group by total assets, at RM1.05 trillion.
No. 3: Novan Amirudin, Group Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, CIMB
CIMB makes third place a little more interesting because its annual report provides two figures for Novan Amirudin.
His remuneration award for FY2025 was RM9.49 million, comprising fixed and variable remuneration.
Another RM2.26 million in deferred variable remuneration from earlier long-term incentive awards vested or was exercised during 2025.
CIMB therefore reports total remuneration received for 2025 of RM11.743 million.
Using the received figure also keeps the methodology aligned with Maybank, whose RM15.19 million total includes RM2.82 million in shares that vested during FY2025.
CIMB reported record net profit of RM7.86 billion for the year, up 1.7% from FY2024.
Novan only just takes third place. His disclosed remuneration was RM571,000 above Kevin Lam’s at Hong Leong Bank.
Who Just Missed the Top Three?
Hong Leong Bank’s Kevin Lam received RM11.172 million for the year ended 30 June 2025.
The bank reports RM8.634 million under a combined category covering salary, bonuses, allowances and retirement-plan contributions, plus RM2.538 million in benefits-in-kind.
Lam, who became Group Managing Director and CEO in July 2023, oversaw a year in which Hong Leong Bank’s profit after tax increased 1.8% to RM4.27 billion and its cost-to-income ratio improved to 38.7%.
RHB Bank Group Managing Director and CEO, Mohd Rashid Mohamad came next at RM9.284 million, followed closely by AmBank Group CEO Jamie Ling at RM9.195 million.
The figures also show why “CEO salary” and “CEO pay” are not quite the same thing.
Depending on the bank, the reported total may include bonuses, benefits-in-kind, retirement contributions and long-term incentives that were awarded in an earlier year but vested in 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) On The Highest-Paid Bank CEOs in Malaysia
1. Who was the highest-paid bank CEO in Malaysia in 2025?
Tay Ah Lek of Public Bank was the highest-paid CEO among the Malaysian listed banks covered by this ranking, with total disclosed group remuneration of RM64.76 million for FY2025.
2. Why was Tay Ah Lek paid so much more than other bank CEOs?
Public Bank does not attribute the gap to one specific reason. Its annual report shows RM22.12 million in salary, RM28.83 million in bonus and RM11.73 million in other emoluments. Only RM1.71 million of his RM64.76 million total came from subsidiaries, so his other Public Bank Group roles do not explain most of the difference.
3. How much did Maybank CEO Khairussaleh Ramli earn in 2025?
Maybank disclosed total FY2025 remuneration of RM15.19 million for Khairussaleh Ramli, including RM3.44 million in salary and RM6.75 million in bonus.
4. Who were the five highest-paid Malaysian bank CEOs in 2025?
Based on the comparable public disclosures reviewed, the top five wereL
- Tay Ah Lek of Public Bank at RM64.76 million
- Khairussaleh Ramli of Maybank at RM15.19 million
- Novan Amirudin of CIMB at RM11.74 million
- Kevin Lam of Hong Leong Bank at RM11.17 million
- Mohd Rashid Mohamad of RHB Bank at RM9.28 million.
5. Does a bank CEO’s total remuneration mean salary?
No. Salary is only one part of the total. Depending on the bank, disclosed remuneration can also include bonuses, allowances, benefits-in-kind, retirement contributions and vested share awards. Hong Leong Bank, for example, does not separately disclose Kevin Lam’s salary from his bonus in its FY2025 remuneration table.
6. Are Malaysian bank CEO pay packages publicly disclosed?
Listed banks publish executive remuneration through their annual, financial or corporate governance reports, although the level and format of the breakdown can differ. Named director remuneration has long formed part of Bursa Malaysia’s annual-report disclosure framework.
Editorial note:
The ranking uses primary FY2025 disclosures from the banks wherever available.
Total remuneration is not perfectly comparable across banks because each institution classifies salary, variable pay, benefits and long-term incentives differently.
Fiscal year ends also vary between banks.
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Malaysia based on an image by Pherak Chamrien via Pexels.
