Malaysia’s banking sector has just wrapped up its second-quarter 2026 earnings season, offering fresh insights into how the country’s largest lenders are navigating current operating conditions. Chin Jin Han, Research Analyst at Affin Hwang Investment Bank, joins BFM’s Market Watch to break down key earnings drivers, emerging operational pressures, and where the true risks lie for the remainder of the year.



Image Credit: Shutterstock

Malaysia’s banking sector has just wrapped up its second-quarter 2026 earnings season, offering fresh insights into how the country’s largest lenders are navigating current operating conditions. Chin Jin Han, Research Analyst at Affin Hwang Investment Bank, joins BFM’s Market Watch to break down key earnings drivers, emerging operational pressures, and where the true risks lie for the remainder of the year.Image Credit: Shutterstock

Dovish or hawkish? Over or underweight? Bull or Bear? Investor paralysis? We speak to leading local and foreign analyst to find out how the different asset classes and markets will react to the latest news, results and even geopolitical events.

Dovish or hawkish? Over or underweight? Bull or Bear? Investor paralysis? We speak to leading local and foreign analyst to find out how the different asset classes and markets will react to the latest news, results and even geopolitical events.

Market Watch

Inside Malaysian Banks' Q2 Earnings

Kevin Warsh has used his first Jackson Hole address as Fed Chair to put the fight against inflation firmly back at the centre of monetary policy, raising expectations that another rate hike could come as soon as September. Meanwhile, renewed US-Iran tensions are pushing energy prices higher, Treasury yields remain elevated and the Japanese yen is once again under pressure. With US equities coming off a strong August, can markets continue climbing as investors confront the prospect of higher-for-longer interest rates?

Kevin Warsh has used his first Jackson Hole address as Fed Chair to put the fight against inflation firmly back at the centre of monetary policy, raising expectations that another rate hike could come as soon as September. Meanwhile, renewed US-Iran tensions are pushing energy prices higher, Treasury yields remain elevated and the Japanese yen is once again under pressure. With US equities coming off a strong August, can markets continue climbing as investors confront the prospect of higher-for-longer interest rates?

Warsh Puts Rate Hikes Back In Play

The ringgit has firmed against the US dollar in recent weeks, from around RM4.09 in mid-August to roughly RM4.03 — but how much of that is a Malaysia story, and how much is simply a softer greenback ahead of Jackson Hole? Against the yuan the picture reverses: the ringgit has slipped since May, with one ringgit now buying about 1.67 yuan, down from 1.73 — and China is still our largest trading partner. We look at what could carry this appreciation into September and what might reverse it quickly, how the ringgit is tracking against the Singapore and Australian dollars, and whether it has earned the label of Asian outperformer. We also touch on the yen after this month's joint US-Japan intervention, and which Asian currencies have the most upside from here. We speak to Stephen Chiu, Chief Emerging Markets FX Strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence.


Image Credit: Shutterstock

The ringgit has firmed against the US dollar in recent weeks, from around RM4.09 in mid-August to roughly RM4.03 — but how much of that is a Malaysia story, and how much is simply a softer greenback ahead of Jackson Hole? Against the yuan the picture reverses: the ringgit has slipped since May, with one ringgit now buying about 1.67 yuan, down from 1.73 — and China is still our largest trading partner. We look at what could carry this appreciation into September and what might reverse it quickly, how the ringgit is tracking against the Singapore and Australian dollars, and whether it has earned the label of Asian outperformer. We also touch on the yen after this month's joint US-Japan intervention, and which Asian currencies have the most upside from here. We speak to Stephen Chiu, Chief Emerging Markets FX Strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence. Image Credit: Shutterstock

The Ringgit's Rally Isn't Really About Malaysia

We look at what yesterday's jobless claims say about the US labour market, and what to listen for when Kevin Warsh delivers his first Jackson Hole keynote as Fed chair tonight. With Treasury yields easing and the dollar near its weakest since May, we ask whether the worst of the bond turmoil has passed, whether the Fed's next move could be a hike rather than a cut, and how investors should be hedging against a devaluing dollar. We speak to Laurent Lequeu, Independent Market Analyst and Writer of The Macro Butler Newsletter.


Image Credit: Shutterstock

We look at what yesterday's jobless claims say about the US labour market, and what to listen for when Kevin Warsh delivers his first Jackson Hole keynote as Fed chair tonight. With Treasury yields easing and the dollar near its weakest since May, we ask whether the worst of the bond turmoil has passed, whether the Fed's next move could be a hike rather than a cut, and how investors should be hedging against a devaluing dollar. We speak to Laurent Lequeu, Independent Market Analyst and Writer of The Macro Butler Newsletter. Image Credit: Shutterstock

Inside Malaysian Banks' Q2 Earnings

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