Chart of the Day: Banks' asset quality worsens across categories

It worsened to levels not seen since 2009.

According to Maybank KimEng, banks' classified exposures in the past quarters have been worsening.

"Total percentage of exposures classified as special mention, substandard, doubtful and loss categories worsen to levels not seen since disclosure started in 2009," Maybank said.

Aside from the oil and gas sector, Singapore banks are also cautious of their SME book, as default risks are likely to trend higher amid a sluggish economy and rising interest rate environment.

Meanwhile, Maybank noted that Singapore's overall unemployment rose to 2.2% as of December. It pointed out that if job losses become pervasive, this will hurt mortgage portfolios.