Newly appointed chief executive officer of AEON Credit Service (M) Bhd's digital bank Raja Teh Maimunah Raja Abdul Aziz (Photo by Sam Fong/The Edge)

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 30): The AEON Consortium — comprising AEON Credit Service (M) Bhd, AEON Financial Service Co Ltd (AFS) and MoneyLion Inc (MLI) — has announced the appointment of Raja Teh Maimunah Raja Abdul Aziz as the chief executive officer (CEO) of its digital bank that is expected to launch by end of 2023.

The Edge reported in October that the former managing director of wholesale banking at AMMB Holdings Bhd (AmBank) was set to join AEON, after market talks about her possible move to the digital bank made rounds since June.

In a statement on Wednesday (Nov 30), AEON Credit Service MD Daisuke Maeda said he is pleased to welcome Raja Teh Maimunah, who will start at the digital bank effective Thursday (Dec 1).

"We are confident that her leadership skills, coupled with extensive banking experience especially in Islamic finance, and her passion for digital banking, [that] she together with the team will be able to build the next Malaysia's digital banking landscape," Maeda said.

Besides AmBank, Raja Teh Maimunah has held various positions in the past, including as CEO and MD of Hong Leong Islamic Bank as well as chief operating officer of digital innovation and transaction banking of Hong Leong Group.

She also served at Malaysia's national asset management and debt recovery agency Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Bhd during the 1998's Asian financial crisis.

Additionally, Raja Teh Maimunah is a Chartered Banker and a Chartered Professional in Islamic Finance. She sits on the board of Retirement Fund (Inc) (KWAP) and its board risk and integrity committees as well as the board of trustees of Amanah Warisan Negara.

AEON Consortium was one of the five consortiums to have been awarded a digital bank licence by the Ministry of Finance and Bank Negara Malaysia in April 2021.

Main Market-listed consumer finance company AEON Credit Service and its parent company AFS are expected to each have a 45% stake in the bank, while fintech firm and technology partner MLI will hold the remaining 10%.

The other consortiums that clinched the digital bank licence were RHB Bank Bhd and Axiata Group Bhd's unit Boost Holdings Sdn Bhd; a consortium led by GXS Bank Pte Ltd, which is owned by Grab Holdings Ltd, and Kuok Brothers Sdn Bhd; a consortium led by Singapore's Sea Ltd and YTL Digital Capital Sdn Bhd (a subsidiary of YTL Corp); and a consortium led by KAF Investment Bank Sdn Bhd.

AEON Credit Service's share price slipped four sen or 0.31% to RM12.86 on Wednesday, bringing it a market capitalisation of RM3.28 billion. Year-to-date, it has dropped 94 sen or 6.81% from RM13.80.