KUALA LUMPUR: Raja Teh Maimunah Raja Abdul Aziz, currently the chief executive officer (CEO) of Hong Leong Islamic Bank Bhd (HLISB) is set to join AmBank Group upper management team come next year.

Raja Teh, who was previously the Global Head of Islamic Market at Bursa Malaysia prior to joining HLISB in 2011, is currently on garden leave pending her official last day at HLISB which is on Feb 3 next year.

Sources close to the award winning Islamic finance banker said she is leaving to pursue her interest in financial technology (fintech), a field which she has been ardent and vocal supporter.

In fact, Raja Teh have often times been credited as the face of HLISB transformation story, from being a lesser known foreign bank operating in Malaysia to one of the players to blaze the way on fintech revolution in Malaysia.

The AmBank Group meanwhile, has been vocal on wanting to win over the competition by leveraging on technology to become country's top four banks by 2020, and thus, it may appear that Raja Teh is being brought in to head the group's digital transformation.

Raja Teh did not respond when contacted, however, Datuk Sulaiman Abdul Tahir, group CEO of AmBank Group confirmed that she will be joining the group when queried by Business Times.

"She is joining us, but not as part of digital transformation," said Sulaiman without divulging further.

Sources close to AmBank Group said Raja Teh will be joining the group at the start of the group's financial year, which will be on April 1, 2017.

It should be noted that AmBank Group had invested RM500 million this calendar year in completing a new core banking system early this year, with a portion of that being invested into BackBase, a highly valuable and agile system.

"I am skipping desktop banking and going for mobile because it (mobile) is so convenient," said Sulaiman Mohd Tahir in an interview with Business Times back in November.

"It is about leveraging on what we have by strengthening the bank and making sure we cover the gaps. Then we can be competitive. Technology is an opportunity to get there faster."

AmBank Islamic Bhd is currently being led by Cambridge University-educated Eqhwan Mokhzanee Muhammad since April 1 2015.