(Adds detail on advisory roles, background on RHB)     SINGAPORE/KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 (Reuters) - Malaysia's state Employees Provident Fund and RHB Capital  
   RHBC.KL
    have hired investment banks to advise on the country's biggest banking merger, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.     Last week Malaysia's second-biggest bank, CIMB Group  
   CIMB.KL
   , said it has entered into exclusive merger talks with RHB and Malaysia Building Society Bhd  
   MBSS.KL
    that could create a mega Islamic bank.  
   ID:nL4N0PL09R
        EPF, which is playing a key role in the merger talks with stakes in the three banks, hired Deutsche Bank  
   DBKGn.DE
   , while RHB hired Credit Suisse  
   CGSN.VX
   , the sources said.     EPF owns about 41 percent of RHB, 65 percent of Malaysia Building Society and 14.5 percent of CIMB.     EPF was previously working with Goldman Sachs  
   GS.N
    to consider various options for its stake in RHB, Reuters previously reported.  Goldman Sachs declined to comment.     For Deutsche, the EPF mandate comes close on the heels of a plum mandate from state fund 1MDB's planned $3 billion plus IPO. The German bank has been gaining ground in Malaysia after it hired former Goldman Sachs' banker Yusof Yaacob as head of corporate banking and securities earlier this year.  
   ID:nL4N0PE31V
        The sources declined to be identified because the information is not public.     EPF and RHB officials were not available to comment, while Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse declined to comment.   (Reporting by Saeed Azhar and Yantoultra Ngui; Editing by Matt Driskill)  ((saeed.azhar@thomsonreuters.com)(+65 64035664)(Reuters Messaging: saeed.azhar.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))  Keywords: MALAYSIA EPF/MANDATE