DBS, other ASEAN banks ride U.S. rate hikes to stronger earnings

Southeast Asia's largest banks expect higher returns from lending

Fitch Ratings said in a report last month that Singapore banks are poised to benefit from the rise in global interest rates as economic recovery continues across the lenders' key markets. © Reuters

DYLAN LOH and APORNRATH PHOONPHONGPHIPHAT, Nikkei staff writers

August 5, 2022 16:55 JST

SINGAPORE -- Banks in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are expecting higher returns from their lending businesses in the current rising interest rate environment, as soaring inflation prompts tightening from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The U.S. central bank last week raised its benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points, or three quarters of a percentage point, for the second consecutive month as it intensified its fight against the country's biggest price rises in 40 years.