Foreign banks are back. Are Singapore banks doing enough?

FOR the past decade it has been quite a breeze for Singapore's three banks to expand in the region and cement further their dominant position at home as international banks shrank their Asian operations in order to rebuild their capital following the Global Financial Crisis.

Starting with DBS, and later OCBC Bank and United Overseas Bank, the three expanded their trade finance business and built up transaction banking operations that offer cash management services to multinationals, earning lucrative fee income along the way. For 2017, DBS said cash management income hit S$1.12 billion, 2.5 times the S$453 million in 2013.

So a spate of recent news pointing to a resurgence by foreign banks in Singapore should make our local bankers sit up. Some may also have noticed that not a few of the foreign rivals are being led by recent arrivals - the point being that fresh CEOs are usually energetic and anxious to make their mark.