14 March 2024
Money in the Market: Why are funds buying more of ASEAN bank’s AT1s?
Last year’s wipeout of Credit Suisse bonds sparked panic among rich Asian investors who had loaded up on the risky bank debt. But now, additional tier 1 bonds are seeing a resurgence in Asia. So why are funds buying more of Asean banks’ dollar AT1s? Who were the top 10 investors in Asean banks’ dollar AT1s in February? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Rena Kwok, Credit Analyst, Asian Financials, Bloomberg Intelligence, to find out more.

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30 January 2024
Money in the Market: Why our local banks' net capital-bond supply looks negative for 2024
Singapore banks’ net capital-bond supply, which includes AT1s and T2 bonds, is expected to be negative this year. And this is possibly due to low refinancing needs and sluggish loan growth potential. So as potential rate cuts are bringing focus back to our local bank’s potential bonds issuance this year, how might the bank’s low funding needs limit their capital bond supply in 2024? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Rena Kwok, Credit Analyst, Asian Financials, Bloomberg Intelligence, to find out more.

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24 November 2023
Money in the Market: Will ASEAN banks see higher risks and higher losses in 2024?
High loan repricing, global geopolitical tensions, and continuous high interest rates are all weighing on confidence. And as ASEAN banks face a cloudier economic outlook, more headwinds may be in store in the coming year.
On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Rena Kwok, Credit Analyst, Asian Financials, Bloomberg Intelligence to find out the 2024 outlook for ASEAN banks.

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6 October 2023
Money in the Market: What's the probability of default for Singapore banks' loan portfolios?
Amid growing macro risks and elevated interest rates, Singapore lenders face the probability of default across mortgages, unsecured retail and SMEs. But amongst our local banks - which bank’s default risk loan profile proves to be a bright spot? And who’s lagging behind? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Rena Kwok, Credit Analyst, Asian Financials, Bloomberg Intelligence, to find out more.

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7 July 2023
Money in the Market: How will Basel IV affect our local banks?
Basel IV will be a game changer for banks. The regulation, a finalisation of Basel III, will overhaul global bank capital requirements, including reforms to the standardised approach for credit risk. But what exactly is Basel IV? And how will this affect our local banks here in Singapore? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Rena Kwok, Credit Analyst of Asian Financials at Bloomberg Intelligence, to find out more.

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8 June 2023
Money in the Market: Is there a cause for concern about liquidity risks for Singapore banks?
Turmoil in the global banking industry, and the consequence of aggressive monetary tightening, have led many to question whether we're on the verge of yet another financial crisis.
And it’s added to volatility in the credit default swaps market as well.
So how were the credit default swaps of our Singapore banks affected? And what’s the outlook for the CDS for the second half of the year?
On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Rena Kwok, Credit Analyst, Asian Financials, Bloomberg Intelligence to find out more.

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21 April 2023
Money in the Market: Will Asian banks issue AT1s after the recent banking chaos?
AT1s are designed to absorb losses when banks collapse.
But in the recent banking turmoil, there was a total wipeout of Credit Suisse’s notes, triggering a volatility in the market with few banks willing or able to sell new notes.
Now - will Asian bank continue to issue AT1s after this banking chaos?
And will Singapore's banks likely to issue AT1s this year?
On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Rena Kwok, Credit Analyst, Asian Financials, Bloomberg Intelligence to find out more.

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9 February 2023
Why It Matters: Is Singapore’s outsized credit card debt a ticking bomb to watch?
Singapore's credit card spending of S$20 billion in Q3 2022 is the highest since 2010's level at about S$4 billion.
Will this credit card spending trend continue in 2023 and what could it mean for the broader banking sector asset quality amid a weaker growth outlook and rising recession fears?
Rena Kwok, Credit Analyst, Asian Financials, Bloomberg Intelligence shares her insights on the latest report.

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26 January 2023
Market View: Outlook for Singapore’s banking sector and Singapore banks’ dollar Tier 2 bonds in 2023, Higher interest rates on Thailand’s household debt and mortgage default rates, Possibility of Thai borrowers turning to unsecured retail products
The credit market is in focus today as tightening monetary conditions and trade tensions continue to dampen global market activity.
We’ll start from home in Singapore. Earlier, market reports suggested that Singapore’s three largest banks could see a possible increase in bad loans and softer loan growth this year, but which are the risks to watch and which bank will be best-placed to weather the economic slowdown?
Further away, JP Morgan is expecting to see Thailand’s interest rates peak this quarter at 1.75 per cent, but how would this impact the country’s banking sector amid elevated levels of household debt? And to what extent would higher interest rates make borrowers turn to unsecured retail products?
On Market View, Prime Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Rena Kwok, Credit Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.

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10 November 2022
Market View: South Korean insurer Heungkuk Life Insurance's flip flop move, South Korean bond rout, Thailand's banking sector outlook
South Korean and Thai credit markets are at the heart of our discussion today. Speaking of South Korea, the country has been scrambling to prevent a credit market meltdown from sparking broader contagion, after local corporate bonds suffered one of the most rapid sell-offs in the past three months.
More recently, South Korean insurer Heungkuk Life Insurance said it’ll delay the buying back of perpetual bonds,citing unfavourable market conditions and the US Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance.
That move triggered a perpetual bond rout in Asia. While Heungkuk Life has decided to reverse its earlier move to exercise a call option on its perpetual notes, we want to find out the outlook for South Korea’s bond markets.
Closer to home, investors continue to watch Thailand’s banking sector even as the country recovers from the troughs of the pandemic. But why is this the case?
On Market View, Prime Time's finance presenter spoke with, Rena Kwok, Credit Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence for more.

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30 September 2022
Market View: Impact of property cooling measures on Singapore banks, rate hikes on Asian banks, performance of digital vs. traditional banks in South Korea
Credit markets and the performance of banks in Asia are on our list today after recent jumbo rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve rattled markets and hurt demand for homes and mortgages. Just look at Hong Kong - the city’s home prices, for one, fell 2.3% in August from a month ago, the lowest in over three years. In Singapore, major banks such as UOB and DBS Bank have temporarily ceased their fixed rate home loans for now to review their rates. Plus - cooling measures announced by the local government last night.

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31 August 2022
Money and Me: How likely and to what extent could Singapore Banks suffer credit losses?
What does the potential headwind of "higher-for-longer inflation" mean for Singapore banks across their entire portfolio? Michelle Martin finds out with Rena Kwok, Credit Analyst, Bloomberg intelligence

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8 February 2022
Market View: Unpacking OCBC and Singapore Banks' Approaches to Managing Surplus Capital
Bloomberg Intelligence issued a report on how Singapore's banks manage their surplus capital, and in particular OCBC's relatively more conservative approach and if it highlights any potential weaknesses for Singapore's second largest lender. JP Ong spoke to Rena Kwok, Credit Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, about their findings a week before Singapore's banks release their latest earnings.

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3 November 2021
Across the ASEAN: Reviewing Asset Quality Trends for UOB and OCBC
UOB and OCBC released quarterly earnings that impressed for the most part, but how good is the asset quality for these lenders, as well as credit cost trends facing the 2 banks? Rena Kwok, Credit Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, joined us on Across the ASEAN to recap the report cards for UOB and OCBC, and also talk about potential exposure for Singapore's lenders to housing property risks in China. She also shared her recent research on banks in the Philippines and Thailand.

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