Singapore banks may deliver special Q4 dividends along with margin growth: analysts

SINGAPORE’S trio of local banks should continue to post solid growth in net interest margins (NIMs) for the fourth quarter of 2022, thanks to the high interest rate environment.

Rate hikes by the Federal Reserve throughout 2022 have driven up the cost of borrowing and boosted the NIMs of banks.

The rate of NIM expansion has likely started to moderate, analysts said. Nevertheless, the banks’ high capital levels and above-regulation provisioning coverage mean an upside surprise in dividends.