The counterpoint is that banks are interest-rate-sensitive investments. Risk-free rates affect banks’ share prices through various investment models. Sora and other benchmark rates affect banks’ net interest income, securities book and indirectly, their net asset value.
The three local banks, DBS Group Holdings, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) and United Overseas Bank (UOB) together attracted $77 billion of net new money during the course of 2025 into their wealth management units, including their private banks. Of this, DBS attracted $39 billion, OCBC $27 billion and UOB $11 billion. Singapore is seen as a safe haven, and the SGD is viewed increasingly as a haven currency in conjunction with the Swiss franc.
In 2025, the SGD strengthened against major currencies amid the Trump administration’s volatile use of tariffs to pressure allies and adversaries. Against this background, the local banks are likely to remain beneficiaries of further capital inflow into Singapore, both operationally from customers and as investments for global investors, given their institutional appeal.
