Bad debt patches show up in Singapore banks' Q4 results

Singapore

AS the three Singapore banking groups posted their fourth-quarter results this week, the market's focus was on where the lenders stood in terms of bad debt charges and their commodity exposure amid the plunge in prices.

The three banks flagged isolated cases of stress, and in different regional markets that, taken together, upped their specific allowances from a year ago. The trio have also been setting aside a fatter cushion overall for tougher credit conditions ahead.