Public Bank’s 1Q25 profit rose 5.6% YoY supported by stronger NOII. However, NIM contracted, prompting a downward revision to FY25 NIM guidance. Despite this headwind, management reaffirmed its 13% ROE target for the year, underpinned by expectations of decent loan growth, higher NOII from LPI cross selling efforts and bancassurance, along with potential management overlay writebacks. With results meeting our estimates, profit forecasts are unchanged. That said, we retain our BUY call and GGM-TP of RM5.10 (implying 1.55x FY26 P/B); we still favour Public as a defensive pick to navigate market volatility.