OCBC is Cautious of the Credit Environment Ahead

Amid growth concerns worldwide and a looming transition back to normal interest rates in the U.S., the boss of Singapore’s Oversea-Chinese Banking (OCBC) is cautious of the credit environment ahead.

“Over the past two to four years, the credit environment has been so good that it is almost abnormal. So as we go back to a more normal credit environment, it is going to be tougher than last year,” group CEO Samuel Tsien told CNBC’s “Managing Asia.”

A recovery in the world’s largest economy is paving the way for a lift-off in U.S. interest rates, which many analysts expect to take place in September. With the three-month Singapore interbank offered rate, or SIBOR, closely linked to the U.S. Federal funds rate, that liftoff will likely pull the city-state’s lending rates higher as well. The Sibor hit a 6-year high of above 1 percent in March and was at 0.8788 per cent on Thursday.

CNBC

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.