Singapore banks kept at 'negative' by Maybank

SINGAPORE (May 30): Maybank Kim Eng is keeping its “negative” rating on the local banking sector due to slowing slowing topline growth, rising non-performing loans and capital constraints.

To recap, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced the results for June’s Singapore Savings Bonds (SSB) last Friday, revealing that the take-up rate has fallen to 7.3% this month, with YTD issuances amounting to a mere $164 million.

In a Monday report, analyst Ng Li Hiang says that the low demand for SSBs may be attributed to lower average returns resulting from declining Singapore government securities bond yields. Another reason could be competitive fixed deposit (FD) rates offered by banks in Singapore.

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