Chart of the Day: Asian currency unit beats domestic banks in loan growth

ACU loans grew 14% in February and are now driving overall loan growth.

This chart from Maybank Kim Eng shows that Asian currency unit (ACU) loans (+14% in February) are now driving overall loan growth, as domestic banking units' (DBU) loan growth slows (+3.7%). DBU and ACU combined, total loans are growing almost +9%, which is a three-year high.

Business loans (+9.5%) have been leading growth, but consumer loans (+5.8%) are also showing a visible upturn.

"We expect consumer loans to grow more strongly in the coming years, as the en bloc property sales translate into higher new launches," said analyst Chua Hak Bin.

Moreover, finance & insurance services likely continued growing strongly in Q1, boosted by healthier loans growth and trading activities. 

Trading volumes also continued to post robust growth with the turnover on SGX securities (+27%) and derivatives (+50%) volume accelerating in January to February.