Singapore banks may face squeeze in net interest margins amid muted loan growth, high demand for FDs

SINGAPORE banks could be in for tougher times as loan growth moderates and Singapore’s savers continue piling into higher-interest fixed deposit products, analysts said.

Recently released statistics from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) showed that the overall non-bank loan-to-deposit ratio had fallen to 73.3 per cent in February 2023, from 81.2 per cent in February 2022.

In July 2021, the loan-to-deposit ratio was 85 per cent. Comparable statistics are not available for earlier periods following changes in MAS classifications. Non-bank loans and deposits are those of individuals and non-bank companies or other institutions.