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Maybank began on 31 May 1960, three years after Malaya’s independence, when Malayan Banking Berhad was registered. Its driving figure was Tan Sri Khoo Teck Puat, a Singapore-born banker who had worked his way up at OCBC before leaving with several former colleagues to build a local bank in a market still shaped by British and foreign institutions. On 12 September 1960, the first branch opened on Jalan H.S. Lee in Kuala Lumpur. By late November, Maybank had opened its first foreign branch in Brunei, followed by Singapore.

Growth was rapid. In less than three years, Maybank opened more than 150 branches across the country. In 1962, it was listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, and in 1964, it formed Mayban Trustees Bhd. The first major crisis came in 1969, when weak loan quality and management problems led Bank Negara Malaysia to take control, pushing Khoo Teck Puat out of daily operations. The bank survived under tighter supervision.

In 1973, Maybank established Asian and Euro-American Merchant Bankers, later known as Maybank Investment Bank. It computerized its operations in 1978, installed Malaysia’s first bank ATMs in 1981, launched phone banking in 1992, and introduced Maybank2u.com in 2000 as Malaysia’s first full internet banking platform. Regional expansion followed, with Indonesia in 1995, Maybank Philippines in 1997, and insurance assets later grouped under Etiqa.

In 2008, Maybank established Maybank Islamic Berhad and acquired 97.5% of Bank Internasional Indonesia, 20% of Pakistan’s MCB Bank, and 15% of Vietnam’s An Binh Bank. In 2009, it raised 6 billion ringgit through a rights issue. In July 2011, it acquired Singapore’s Kim Eng Holdings, creating Maybank Kim Eng and competing with DBS Vickers and CIMB Securities.