Singapore banks keep guard against rate cuts, market volatility in Q2, but expect to remain strong

SINGAPORE banks continue to shore up against market volatility and impending rate cuts, even as their earnings remain ahead of expectations.

All three local banks – DBS, OCBC and UOB – reported strong second-quarter net profits, and guided for this strength to remain for the rest of 2024.

But with rising macroeconomic uncertainty and interest rate cuts likely to happen at the end of the year, they also took on various measures to reduce their interest rate sensitivity, lower funding costs, and ensure enough capital.