KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 — Aria Putera Ismail has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Small Medium Enterprise Development Bank Malaysia Bhd (SME Bank) effective today.

Aria, who was Maybank Shariah Indonesia (MSI) President Director and Chief Executive Officer prior to this, had more than 18 years of experience in the banking and investment industry, the bank said in a statement.

"He specialises in achieving financial goals and providing shariah-compliant solutions, deal negotiations and product innovations across jurisdictions to improve profitability and transactional efficiency,” it added.

At MSI, he was responsible for the re-strategising shariah banking plan for the group in Indonesia, including talent development, product innovation and new markets.

He was also Director (Global Markets Islamic) of Maybank Islamic Bhd, the largest Islamic bank in Asia-Pacific.

Aria holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration, majoring in Islamic Banking and Finance, from the International Islamic University of Malaysia and a Bachelor’s degree (Hons) in Finance and a Diploma in Investment Analysis from Universiti Teknologi MARA.

Driven by his passion in financial technology and innovations in banking and financing, he was expected to take SME Bank to a higher level of achievement in nurturing and developing the small and medium enterprises, the bank said. — Bernama