Best Banking Stocks on Bursa Malaysia 2026: Maybank, Public Bank & HLB Compared
· 6 min
Data as of 29 October 2026. Every number below comes from the Divvy dataset; nothing is estimated.
Banking is the centre of gravity on Bursa Malaysia. Seven of the twenty largest companies on the exchange are banks, and the eight listed banks together are RM 396.6 billion of market value. If you own "the Malaysian market", you own banks.
This page compares the three largest of them on the figures a dataset can actually settle. It deliberately does not rank them: the price already contains everyone's opinion, and what is missing from this snapshot — loan growth, asset quality, capital ratios — is where the real differences live.
The three, on the numbers
| Maybank | Public Bank | Hong Leong Bank | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | RM 120.95b | RM 91.81b | RM 43.39b |
| Price-to-earnings | 13.0× | 13.2× | 10.4× |
| Trailing dividend yield | 5.91% | 4.46% | 4.45% |
| 12-month declared DPS | RM 0.64 across 2 payments | RM 0.23 across 2 payments | RM 1.10 across 2 payments |
| Divvy score | 65 | 66 | 67 |
12-month DPS sums declared amounts with an ex-date between 29 October 2025 and 29 October 2026. The stored yield and the payment total are measured over slightly different windows, so they do not reconcile exactly.
The first thing the table kills is a common assumption: Hong Leong is not the "expensive" one. It trades at 10.4× earnings against Maybank's 13.0× and Public Bank's 13.2×, and its score is the highest of the three (67). The premium-quality narrative that attaches to Public Bank is not visible in its multiple here — it is priced at the same level as the largest bank on the exchange while yielding less.
What each one is, in the market's terms
Maybank — 1155.KL
RM 120.95 billion, the largest company on Bursa Malaysia and the highest yield of the three at 5.91%. It declared 64 sen across two payments in the twelve months, and its score of 65 is the lowest of the three — which is what a sector template does to a bank whose scale leaves less room on the ratios the score rewards.
The trade-off is plain: the biggest, most liquid name, the most income of the three, and the least room to surprise.
Public Bank — 1295.KL
RM 91.81 billion at 13.2× earnings — the highest multiple of the three and the smallest declared payout, 23 sen over two payments. Its score of 66 sits between the other two.
The trade-off: you pay the most per ringgit of earnings for the least distributed of the three. That is only defensible if its earnings grow faster than theirs, which this snapshot cannot show you.
Hong Leong Bank — 5819.KL
RM 43.39 billion, the cheapest of the three at 10.4× and the only one that declared more than a ringgit per share (RM 1.10 across two payments). Its yield is 4.45% because the share price is high relative to that payout, not because the payout is small.
The trade-off: the smallest of the three by market value, the cheapest on earnings, and the highest score of the trio (67).
What the dataset cannot settle
Three things decide a bank's future and none of them is in this snapshot:
- Loan growth. A bank growing its book 8% a year compounds earnings; one growing 3% does not. Both can sit at 11× earnings on the same day.
- Asset quality. Impaired-loan ratios and provisioning policy separate a cheap bank from a value trap, and they are reported quarterly, not carried in a price feed.
- Capital. The dividend is bounded by the capital a bank must hold, so the payout you see is a regulatory decision as much as a profit-sharing one.
Any claim that one of these three is "the best bank stock" without those three inputs is a claim about the past wearing the clothes of a forecast.
How to compare them yourself
- The Divvy score measures reported profitability, valuation, balance sheet and income against each stock's sector template. It does not measure momentum, sentiment or management — a score of 65 is not a verdict.
- Side-by-side charts live in the compare tool.
- Declared ex-dates and pay dates across the market are on the dividend calendar.
- All eight listed banks, on the same measures, are in Bursa Malaysia bank stocks.
The bottom line
On this data the three are closer than the usual narrative suggests: two trade at the same multiple and one at a discount; one yields nearly six percent while two yield about four and a half; their scores differ by two points. The differences that decide the next ten years — growth, credit quality, capital — are exactly the ones a price table leaves out.
Divvy reports published financials from a dated snapshot. Nothing here is a recommendation or investment advice. Start with the beginner's guide if you are new, or the dividend yield leaders if income is the priority.