Teh Hong Piow a giant within the banking fraternity - Former BNM governor

"He contributed a lot to the banking industry in terms of expanding products and services and expanding access to credit for the economy," he told Bernama following news of Teh's passing today.

In a statement earlier, Public Bank said Teh, who founded the bank in 1965, passed away at 10.20 am today.

Teh was appointed chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director since its commencement of business operations on Aug 6, 1966.

He dedicated his life to building the bank into a strong banking group in Malaysia.

Teh relinquished his CEO position and was re-designated as non-executive chairman on July 1, 2002. He retired as non-executive chairman on Dec 31, 2018.

He was named chairman emeritus and adviser of Public Bank on Jan 1, 2019, and remained as a non-executive director on the board of Public Bank, it said.

Separately, AMMB Holdings Bhd group CEO Datuk Sulaiman Mohd Tahir said the passing of Teh marked the end of an illustrious career of one of the nation's key icons in the banking and financial sector.

"He was indeed one of the pioneers who blazed a trail and set the benchmark for this field. On behalf of the AmBank Group, our deepest condolences to Tan Sri Teh's family and the entire Public Bank Group," he said in a statement.