Reuters: Hot Stocks: STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Strong loan growth, banks to benefit

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STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Strong loan growth, banks to benefit Aug 1st 2012, 01:58 Tue Jul 31, 2012 9:58pm EDT Singapore's bank lending rose 1.7 percent in June from May, showing strong growth momentum as loans were driven by manufacturing, general commerce and housing sectors, said Barclays. "We believe the Singapore banks are well on track to meet their low double-digit loan growth targets, taking advantage of their strong funding base enabling them to win regional loan market share," said Barclays. The brokerage said it prefers United Overseas Bank Ltd and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, which it has 'overweight' ratings on, over DBS Group Holdings Ltd , on which it has an 'equal weight' rating. By 0132 GMT, shares of UOB were down 1 percent, OCBC was 0.9 percent lower and DBS lost 0.7 percent. UOB outperformed its two rivals so far this year, rising 29.8 percent, compared to OCBC's 20 percent rise and DBS's 27 percent gains. The benchmark Straits Times Index rose 14 percent in the same period. Barclays is positive on Singapore's banks relative to its regional peers due to their strong liquidity position, proven risk management track record and as they are among the best capitalised in Asia ex-Japan, said Barclays. To read a story, click 0932 (0132 GMT) (Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore; charmian.kok@thomsonreuters.com) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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