
UOB sheds light on Greater China loans
Short-term loans dominate its portfolio.
Among Singapore’s largest banks, United Overseas Bank (UOB) currently trails behind its peers when it comes to exposure to the Greater China market.
A report by UOB Kay Hian delved into UOB’s Greater China loans, about half of which involves short-term lending in the interbank market.
Majority or 70% of the exposure to banks relates to the top 5 domestic banks, while the non-bank exposures are spread across manufacturing, real estate and housing loans.
UOB Kay Hian stressed that the bank has established an early alert process to lessen its risk of non-performing loans.
Companies identified with weak credit standing are reviewed on a monthly basis in meetings chaired by CEO of UOB China.
Its management then looks at the root cause of the weakness and monitors customers’ action plan to turn business around.
UOB China currently has 17 branches covering 11 cities. Shanghai and Beijing are key focus areas with 5 and 3 branches respectively.
Going forward, management intends to set up branches in Shandong and Yunnan (Kunming) provinces as well.