Nazir washes hand of shit made in CIMB

Hmmm ... wonder who can I blame for shit I am leaving behind?

The last posting made on Dato Nazir Tun Abdul Razak was May 10th. It was a bit too early to say he is using 1MDB to divert attention from CIMB problem. So expectedly one commentator said it is not relevant because 1MDB problem is way bigger.

CIMB has a bigger portfolio than 1MDB i.e. bigger risk. It's exposure is to more variety of risks than 1MDB's related to two businesses - property and energy.

But, lets leave it at that. The commentator is not wrong.

While there are certain aspect of 1MDB need defending, it is not halaalan toyyiba. There are many issues. Nevertheless, it need proofs and not based on unqualified opinion to accuse of multi-billion embezzlement.

Fabricated e-mail does not constitute proof. So a business media challenging bloggers to sue is a joke. Unless they are willing to fork the legal fee to sue them, what locus standi do the bloggers have? Bodoh ... [Read the Unspinners here].

This posting is not about 1MDB but mainly highlighting the problems of CIMB that Nazir is trying to wash his hands by diverting attention elsewhere. Must request commentators to stick to the subject. Too many trolls thinking they are angels are picking fight and doing diversions.

The May 10th posting picked up the cue from the news of CIMB are doing a retrenchment or the fancy words these days are Mutual Separation Scheme or Voluntary Separation Scheme.

Rakyat Post reported here that there will be 2,000 more culling. Sounds like JE-infested pigs getting culled. How demeaning? Few days earlier, they were BS'ing in The Star here about MSS to aid efficiency. WTF is that?

At the end, the employee loses his or her job but Nazir gets to keep his RM12 million a year salary plus bonuses. Maybe more, since made himself Chairman.

In an earlier news, CIMB abandoned their merger plan with MBSB and RHB Capital. One reason Nazir would only do so is when something bad is in the immediate horizon. He did say that condition was bad.

The merger could have been a great idea to divert attention and "hide" any worms from crawling out of the apple. It was in second half 2014 and was too close to hide anything away, thus he had to bite the bullet.

He also delisted CIMB from the Thai stock exchange and stopped it's dual listing status in February 2014.

Typical of aristocrat, they can be decent, prim and proper, but as the aristocrat character in the movie, Bridget Jones Diary said, "We #uck too."

If in Japan, Nazir should be committing harakiri or sepaku, but instead of quiting and taking responsibility as true gentleman would do, Nazir brought in Dato Tengku Zafrul from Maybank Investment Banking to be new CEO and raised his position up to be Chairman.

Didn't the GLC did away with Chairman having executive role?

Nazir's shit

Zafrul had to clean Nazir's shit that his face can't be shown in full by The Star

Zafrul became acting Group CEO in August 2014 and later confirmed but he is merely a decorated COO to replace Dato' Charon Wardini Mokhzani, which Nazir consented to go to Khazanah Nasional.

The Group CEO position was only a carrot to bring him over because he didn't have as much power as Nazir had as Group CEO. Nazir will be chairmen of an executive committee of the board on strategic matters.

The shit he made is left for Zafrul to clean up!!!

Spoilt brat MOF-aspirant in between Tun Abdul Razak and Toh Puan Rahah

Nazir left for Khazanah to be appointed Director on September 1st, 2014 [read here]. The talk in the high circle and among financial people is that Nazir wanted to be the Minister of Finance and was urging his mother to force Najib to accept him.

That would have been the ultimate shit washing. 

Just 10 days, after our May 10th posting, media reported CIMB profit down by 45% for first Quarter 2015. An extract from TMI, below:

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, Southeast Asia's fifth-biggest bank, forecast more pain in its biggest markets due to a slowing economy after reporting a 45.6% drop in first-quarter net profit.

CIMB, Malaysia's second largest bank by assets, is navigating through slowing economic growth and depreciating currencies in the region this year after having aggressively expanded its presence in Southeast Asia over the past decade.

It has embarked on a cost-cutting exercise this year, which is expected to increase its expenses in the short term.

The Sundaily explained that CIMB spent more than RM200 million for restructuring:

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd's net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015 slumped 45.59% to RM580.12 million from RM1.07 billion in the previous corresponding period, mainly due to exceptional restructuring expenses of RM202 million.

Excluding that, CIMB's earnings would have dropped 26.6% on the back of higher corporate loan provisions from its Indonesian operations.

In The Star report, Zafrul mentioned something about their FY 2014:

“We have started 2015 on a better note after a difficult end to 2014. Our core banking operations are performing well, especially the consumer and commercial banking segments,” CIMB group chief executive Tengku Datuk Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said in a statement.

Taken out of 2014 annual report, CIMB reported lower profit, on the back off raising loans and :

The sliding earning had been there for a while. Below from the 2013 annual report:

In case someone say we are not being fair and getting personal, see summary of FY 2014 and analyse sendiri. It is always better than taking opinion of coffeeshop talk.

Note loan impairment of RM1.522 billion for FY2014 as compared to RM0.66 billion FY2013. And, things ain't better in Q1 2015 as highlight in an analyst briefing recently:

If loan impairment remains at that rate, the sum will be bigger for 2015.

CIMB's profitability could  slide down further for FY 2015 should economic condition in Malaysia described by Dato Abdul Wahid Omar in the last Economic Wrap as just "sustainable" turned for the worse.

Audit diversion

Hey ... we are not BS'ing when we say Nazir could be trying to divert attention from CIMB problem by taking on 1MDB.

Any coffeeshop political analyst could appreciate unless they are that type that can't back their claim with facts and figure but need to cover their inadequacy by arguing it does not matter.

It is not a surprise that Nazir is still at it and making a petty issue over 1MDB's FY ending March 2015 audit to say our governance has dropped. [Read MMO here]

Being an aristocrat fed with expensive silverware, he may not have worked himself up the ladder from sufficiently the bottom. So he fail to understand the simple pratical reason that there can only be one auditor at a time to audit a company.

After Auditor General auditors, BNM auditors will be moving on. MACC is also at bay. When will the meeting room be free for Deloitte to begin auditing?

Wattaheck! AG is auditing to also determine the most current financial position and commitment. Deloitte annual audit will be mere formality. That is all to it.

Gawd where did we hear that clever killer to end all argument?  

It was 13 years ago that we were talking with a fellow Board member in an investment company after Nazir made his pitch. He was a GM of an institutional investor. The other ex-senior civil servants members were impressed with him but not the proposal. Both of us strongly disagree and vehemently opposed to take his proposal.

GM commented that Nazir is scholastically clever and went to distinguish Universities but at the end, he will move up by riding on his family connection.

Most of his mega deals as stockbroker, Merchant Banker and Investment Banker involves GLCs, government institutional investor and family friends. With his Indonesian and Thai foray not doing as expected, could he be just a blueblood juara kampong?

Not only Nazir is taking 1MDB as a cheap diversion, his good buddy Tan Sri Tony Fernandez seemed to be doing the same.

This posting is already lengthy otherwise we love to proof that his Air Asia is also ailing. That is the reason he is riding on MAS Recovery Plan to save himself like he used too on the the earlier collaboration. [Read here or Wee Choo Keong's blog]. 

On the subject of 1MDB, this blogger admit to being defensive against slander made against 1MDB for wrongful fact, manipulation of fact and argument, and fabricating of documents. But never it was to say all are OK with 1MDB.

There are issues of governance, bad decision making, maybe mismanagement, and presence of some questionable Mickey Mouse doing insider trading and flipping commission. And that need to be proven.

Mismanagement and bad decision could arise out of stupidity but stupidity is not a crime. Wrongful accusation can be. RPK used to charged for criminal defamation.

So those widely talked about to have the information and proofs should be honest and responsible enough to come forward. Otherwise, it is mere finding fault with the answers to justify political power game.

Worse still, it is despicable to collaborate by channeling false information to covert operation portals.