By Chester Tay

Malaysia's Public Bank Bhd said first quarter net profit fell 5.7% due to lower interest rates.

Net profit for the January-March quarter was 1.33 billion ringgit ($305.8 million), the bank said Friday. Net interest income declined 0.5% to MYR1.84 billion.

Public Bank said loans growth is expected to be moderate in 2020 because of challenging economic conditions stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

However, the bank expects to sustain its market position in domestic residential property financing and vehicle hire purchase financing. 



  Write to Chester Tay at chester.tay@wsj.com