Trade finance to be wild card for banks in 2015

Banks' cross-border exposures are healthy on the whole, says MAS, but warns of the risks of higher exposure

Published Thu, Dec 4, 2014 · 09:50 PM

Singapore

THE burgeoning trade finance business will be a wild card for Singapore banks next year, amid a weakening economic prognosis for the region and a warning by the central bank of the risks of higher cross-border exposure on the overall banking system.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), in its financial stability review last week, noted that the banking system has evolved since 2008 from being a net lender to advanced economies to being a conduit of funds to emerging Asia.

"This role has grown in recent years, with deposits from Europe, the Americas and developed Asia increasingly being channelled to emerging Asia,"…