Meanwhile, the banks’ current account and savings account (CASA) balance dipped slightly to 19.2% of total deposits, or $335 billion, compared to 20.0% in January. Thum cites “a continued move towards fixed deposits due to the high interest rate environment”.
The Singapore Overnight Rate Average (SORA) may be at a record high, but loan growth has been sluggish at Singapore’s three banks, notes PhillipCapital Research analyst Glenn Thum.
Singapore domestic loans dipped 3.10% y-o-y in February to $804 billion, below Thum’s estimates. “This was below our estimate of mid-single digit growth for 2023 as the rise in interest rates started to be more fully felt by consumers,” notes Thum in PhillipCapital’s monthly note on Singapore's banks.
