More pain ahead for finance firms as business optimism wanes

Employment will ease in coming quarters.

Business sentiment in the financial services sector will continue to weaken in coming months, according to the Dun & Bradstreet-Singapore Commercial Credit Bureau (SCCB)’s latest quarterly Business Optimism Index (BOI).

Optimism among financial services providers waned in the latest survey. Finance firms expect sales volume and net profits to be flat in Q4, as opposed to the expectation of sales and profit growth in Q3.

Although inventory levels and employment data are still in the expansionary zone, SCCB expects this indicator to move downwards in coming months.

“We are anticipating a challenging quarter ahead for businesses here as there has been a general decline in optimism levels across most sectors, even in the more optimistic construction and services sectors,” said Dun & Bradstreet CEO Audrey Chia.

In a separate survey, online employment site Monster.com revealed that banks and other financial institutions have become more cautious in expanding their headcount in coming months.

The report said that online job listings in the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector dropped 13% year-on-year in August, the steepest decline recorded in ASEAN.

"The short-term reality is stagnant headcounts and limited hiring activity in the sector," said Sanjay Modi, Managing Director, Monster.com.