Singapore banks won't get rid of oil slick yet

Around 18% of OCBC's on-balance-sheet loans to the offshore firms have gone sour.

Oil is still causing Singapore banks to lose their footing. The banking giants posted another spike in nonperforming loans because of souring advances to energy companies. Given the rate of deterioration, it may be wishful thinking to predict the worst is behind them, a report from Bloomberg said.

UOB saw its bad loan ratio rose to 1.6% at the end of September from 1.3% a year ago. It described the higher allowance for nonperforming loans as within expectations and said coverage remained strong. Meanwhile, OCBC bad loan ratio climbed 1.2% to 0.9%. Around 18% of its on-balance-sheet loans to the offshore firms have gone sour. Back in June, DBS reported total exposure of S$23 billion to the oil and gas industry.

The people you want to reach are already in this room.

Every quarter, SBR lands on the desks of the founders, CFOs, and directors running Asia's most consequential companies. Every day, they open our newsletter and read our website. It's a room that took twenty years to build — and it's the one most of our partners are trying to get into.

The good news is that the door is open. We work with companies on thought leadership articles, sponsored content, industry summits across Southeast Asia, regional awards programmes, podcasts, and media placements in print and digital. The shape of the right partnership depends on what you're trying to do, which is why we'd rather start with a conversation than send a rate card.

If you have something this room should know about, tell us. We'll tell you honestly whether we can help, and how.

No rate cards until we understand the brief. It's a better use of everyone's time.

Book a meeting

| Or download the media kit (PDF)

240,000 senior readers quarterly in print Top 1,700 Singapore companies reached

7 markets across Southeast Asia