IPOH, Oct 29 (Bernama) -- SME Bank has approved loans totalling RM1.3 billion as of September this year, a 62 per cent increase over the same period last year, said managing director Datuk Mohd Radzif Mohd Yunus.

"Efforts by SME Bank staff over the last one year and nine months have transformed the bank's financial position, and we have posted a RM63 million profit in six months.

"We expect the figure to increase by the end of the year which is only three months away," he said at a press conference after the launch of the 1Malaysia Computer Centre by Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah here Saturday.

Mohd Radzif said SME Bank is now in a better position after posting losses in 2009 and 2010.

The bank will also launch several new products in 2012 to help entrepreneurs obtain credit to expand their business, he said.

Meanwhlie, Ahmad Husni, who is also Tambun MP, said SME Bank plays a big role in the country's economic growth, contributing over 30 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product.

He said the bank's contribution to small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) is siginificant in the Economic Transformation Programme's initiatives to turn the country into a developed nation by 2020.

"To support the development of SME Bank, the government will guarantee the RM3 billion bond issued by the bank," he added.

-- BERNAMA