Singapore banking trio’s exposures to Credit Suisse are insignificant: MAS

THE trio of Singapore banks’ exposures to Credit Suisse are insignificant, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said on Thursday (Mar 16), in response to media queries on the local fallout of the embattled Swiss lender’s crisis.

The Singapore central bank said DBS, OCBC and UOB are well-capitalised, and conduct regular stress tests against credit and other risks.

Their “liquidity positions are healthy, underpinned by a stable and diversified funding base”, it added as it reiterated that Singapore’s banking system remains “sound and resilient”.

The statement came as Credit Suisse’s shares plunged more than 30 per cent at one point on Wednesday when panic gripped global banking stocks with the collapse of California’s Silicon Valley Bank.

As for Credit Suisse’s operations in Singapore, MAS noted that the bank operates a branch here, but its main activities are private banking and investment banking. It does not serve retail customers, it said.

MAS added that it has been in contact with Credit Suisse’s parent supervisory authority, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma), while it continues to closely monitor developments.

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Meanwhile, MAS referenced a joint statement by Finma and Swiss National Bank (SNB) on Wednesday, which affirmed that Credit Suisse continues to meet the higher capital and liquidity requirements applicable to systemically important Swiss banks.

The statement also noted SNB’s ready state to provide liquidity to the bank, MAS added.