Affin Holdings Bhd's pre-tax profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2017 rose to RM161.5 million from RM152.7 million in the same period last year.

Revenue increased to RM509.6 million from RM426.9 million previously, it said in a filing to Bursa Malaysia Friday.

In a separate statement, the group said this was achieved on the back of improved operating income, Islamic banking income and net interest income.

Moving forward, Affin's commercial banking business will place emphasis on growing its fee-based income, specifically from its digital banking, unit trust and credit card segments.

"We are focused on our strategic plan to strengthen our Islamic financing portfolio, in order for it to contribute up to 40 per cent of the overall group by 2020.

"In terms of loans, household and SME loans will be key drivers for the business, with targeted growth of six to seven per cent," the group said.

Affin said its asset quality remained strong and it was committed to maintaining proactive measures of prudent underwriting standards, active recovery efforts and effective management of costs and resources.

"In line with this, we are also looking at increasing our level of deposits in order to strengthen our liquidity and funding profile," it said.

The group's investment banking business is also expected to benefit from improved market sentiment, with the economic activity expected to improve in 2017.

"Given that there are still opportunities for the life insurance segment, we continue to seek new avenues for expansion to grow this business, with a focus on the mass affluent market.

"We will continue to explore and strengthen our multi-distribution channels, along with enhancing our suite of product and services in order to widen our reach to meet varying consumer needs," it said. - BERNAMA