\n<\/p>\n
DBS is most exposed to IDR and INR, whilst the ringgit cushions OCBC and UOB.<\/strong><\/p>\n Banks in Singapore<\/a> face foreign currency risks tied to the Middle East conflict as the Indian rupee<\/a> (INR) and Indonesian rupiah<\/a> (IDR) weaken whilst the Malaysian ringgit<\/a> (MYR) appreciates.<\/p>\n Amongst Singapore\u2019s big three banks, DBS<\/a> is most affected by exposure to IDR and INR, according to UOB Kay Hian (UOBKH). Its exposure accounted for 7.4% of its total income in 2025.<\/p>\n OCBC<\/a> and UOB<\/a> also both have exposures to the IDR, accounting for 7.2% and 4.6% of their total income in 2025, respectively.<\/p>\n This weakness is partially offset by their Malaysia exposure, which accounted for 12.7% and 12%, respectively, of OCBC\u2019s and UOB\u2019s total income last year.<\/p>\n The Singapore dollar (SGD) strengthened 0.7% against the US dollar (USD) in the first five months of 2026. This reflects Singapore\u2019s strong fiscal standing and the resiliency of its financial system, said UOBKH analyst Jonathan Koh.<\/p>\n In contrast, the IDR and the INR have been the worst affected, depreciating 7.4% and 6%, respectively, against the SGD over the same period.<\/p>\n The Malaysian ringgit (MYR) appreciated 1.6% against the SGD in the 5M 2026 period.<\/p>\n Indirect beneficiaries<\/strong> These inflows support balance sheet liquidity, fee-based income\u2014especially in wealth management\u2014and trading activities, said Koh.<\/p>\n \u201cHeightened geopolitical uncertainties have reinforced Singapore\u2019s safe-haven appeal, driving deposit growth and wealth management inflows into local banks, particularly from Middle East-based clients reallocating assets away from perceived riskier jurisdictions in the Gulf region, such as Dubai,\u201d Koh wrote in a report on 10 June 2026.<\/p>\n The banks benefit indirectly from conflicts in the Middle East as global investors and high-net-worth individuals seek stability and asset protection in politically neutral, well-regulated financial hubs, Koh added.<\/p>\n Singapore\u2019s bank are attractive yield plays given the current low-interest rate environment in the country, Koh said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe sustainability of their dividend payout is supported by resilient earnings, strong capital adequacy and discipline in capital management,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n DBS is most exposed to IDR and INR, whilst the ringgit cushions OCBC and UOB. Banks in Singapore face foreign currency risks tied to the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":61062,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=61061"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61061\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/61062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=61061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=61061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=61061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Singapore banks are benefitting indirectly from the Middle East conflicts, which is driving deposit growth and wealth management inflows into local banks, according to UOBKH.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
Read Full Article At Source <\/a>
\n