CIMB Group Holdings Bhd. is exploring a sale of its business in the Philippines, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The Malaysian lender operates CIMB Bank Philippines, a digital-only bank that listed 10 million customers on its website as of September 2025.
The group is working with a financial adviser on the potential divestment and has contacted prospective buyers to gauge interest, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the process is private. A deal could value the Philippine business at as much as US$200 million. The people said deliberations are ongoing and CIMB may still decide not to sell. A CIMB representative did not respond to Bloomberg’s requests for comment.
Bloomberg reported that the review is part of an effort to streamline operations and focus on bigger markets for growth.
CIMB entered the Philippines in December 2018 and formally launched in Manila on January 29, 2019, as an all-digital, mobile-first bank. It operates under a commercial banking license from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), not a digital banking license.
In December 2024, CIMB Bank Philippines said it would not apply for a digital bank license and would build its digital services under its existing commercial license. It reported nearly nine million customers at the end of November 2024. At the time, six banks held BSP digital bank licenses: Maya Bank, Overseas Filipino Bank, Tonik Digital Bank, UNObank, UnionDigital Bank and GOtyme Bank.
In January 2024, the bank said it offered loans from ₱10,000 to ₱1 million.
CIMB also operates in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, with some operations in China, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. In August, the group reported second-quarter net income of RM1.94 billion (US$475 million) and said it was continuing to “reallocate capital away from underperforming businesses.” In May, it announced the sale of its automotive financing portfolio in Thailand.
CIMB’s shares reached a 15-year high in January and have since fallen 14%, according to Bloomberg. The company’s market value is about US$20.4 billion.
The report did not name any prospective buyers or give a timeline for a decision. It also did not say how a sale would affect the bank’s Philippine customers or its BSP-licensed operations. CIMB has not publicly confirmed the review.
