“Credit cards are key for lenders' fee-income growth in 2024, possibly benefiting UOB the most and supporting profits just as loan demand turns sluggish,” writes Kwok.
According to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Rena Kwok, Singapore banks' credit card operations will “maintain [a] robust asset quality” in the second half of this year, despite prolonged high interest rates.
In the 1Q2024, charge-off rates were below the 10-year mean, with bad debt slightly above average. As such loans comprise only about 1% of an average household's net worth in Singapore, this is an indicator of low debt levels in the nation.
