Credit quality of Singapore firms largely unchanged over the past year: SCCB

THE credit quality of Singapore firms has remained largely unchanged over the past year, the Singapore Commercial Credit Bureau (SCCB) said on Tuesday.

The bureau, which operates a database of local enterprises and their credit history, said most maintained unchanged credit ratings, or financial strength and risk indicators.

For 2016, the proportion of firms which experienced an unchanged financial strength and risk standing increased from 48.64 per cent in 2015 to 58.55 per cent in 2016 and 63.88 per cent in 2015 to 67.95 per cent in 2016, respectively.

The proportion of firms which experienced an improvement in financial strength has dropped visibly from 40.43 per cent in 2015 to 31.19 per cent in 2016, while those which saw an improved risk standing has fallen from 15.01 per cent in 2015 to 13.64 per cent in 2016.

The proportion of firms which experienced a deterioration in risk standing has dropped from 21.11 per cent in 2015 to 18.41 per cent in 2016, while those which saw a decline in financial strength has dipped slightly from 10.93 per cent in 2015 to 10.26 per cent in 2016.