Bank Negara Malaysia has thrown its weight behind a new RM10 billion guarantee scheme designed to widen financing access for small and medium enterprises that fall outside conventional credit assessments. The scheme, developed jointly with Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia, was announced by BNM Governor Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour at the 31st CGC Awards.
Key Facts At A Glance
- Scheme size: RM10 billion
- Developed by Bank Negara Malaysia and Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia (CGC)
- Announced by BNM Governor Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour at the 31st CGC Awards
- Target borrowers: microenterprises, startups, and firms in sustainability, innovation, strategic sectors, food security, and external resilience
- Designed for younger firms with limited credit history and asset light companies with little collateral
- CGC has facilitated more than RM103 billion in guarantees and financing for over 544,000 SMEs since its founding
- BNM is also coordinating with CGC and Syarikat Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan (SJPP) to strengthen the broader credit guarantee framework
- The World Bank is providing technical support on coordination, targeting, and data use
A Guarantee Aimed At The Credit Gap
The BNM-CGC Guarantee Scheme is structured to let financial institutions share risk on loans to SMEs that would otherwise struggle to qualify under standard underwriting criteria. Rather than lowering credit standards, the guarantee allows banks to extend financing to viable but under-collateralized businesses while institutions retain their existing risk management responsibilities.
The scheme’s target segments include microenterprises and startups, along with companies investing in sustainability, innovation, strategic sectors, food security, and external resilience. Abdul Rasheed framed the initiative as addressing a structural gap: businesses that are creditworthy in practice but underserved by conventional assessment models built around collateral and long credit histories.
Broader Push On Alternative Data
Abdul Rasheed also urged lenders to widen the data they use when evaluating SME borrowers, pointing to cash flows, transaction records, electronic invoices, payment behavior, and supply chain data as inputs that could supplement or replace traditional collateral-based assessments. This mirrors a regional trend in which regulators and lenders are turning to alternative data sources to extend credit to thinner-file borrowers.
The guarantee scheme sits within a wider effort by BNM to strengthen Malaysia’s credit guarantee infrastructure, working alongside CGC and SJPP, with the World Bank providing technical assistance on how the various guarantee programs are coordinated and targeted.
Track Record
CGC’s involvement builds on a long operating history: the corporation has facilitated more than RM103 billion in guarantees and financing for over 544,000 SMEs since its establishment, giving the new scheme an established institutional base to scale from.
Publicly available information on the scheme’s specific eligibility criteria, guarantee coverage ratios, and rollout timeline remains limited beyond what was disclosed at the CGC Awards announcement.