Three Malaysian banks have announced plans to merge, which will create the regional fourth-biggest commercial bank, which will also be a large Islamic bank. CIMB Group Holdings, RHB Capital and Malaysia Building Society said they had submitted the merger proposal to the country’s central bank. CIMB, the country’s No. 2 bank, and its smaller rival RHB, ranked fourth, will merge via a share swap. The two banks’ Islamic units will then acquire Malaysia Building Society to form a mega Islamic bank. If approved, the combined entity would pass Malayan Banking as the country’s biggest commercial bank. It will be the fourth largest in the region after three Singapore banks – DBS Group, Overseas Chinese Banking Corp and United Overseas Bank. The banks said they hope to sign an agreement by early 2015 and complete the deal by mid-year.