Automated teller machines of those 3 Singapore-listed banks: OCBC, DBS and UOB.Munshi Ahmed | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesShares of Singapore’s top three banks tumbled in early trade Thursday following the nation’s financial regulator requested creditors to cap dividends annually in light of their financial downturn, thanks in part to the coronavirus pandemic.DBS Group Holdings and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp — Singapore’s two biggest banks — suffered losses of more than 3% in the previous closing. Their smaller peer, United Overseas Bank, dropped by over 2%.The three banks account for approximately one-third of their benchmark Straits Times Index, which dipped around 1.6% on Thursday.The country’s financial regulator and fundamental bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, on Wednesday urged banks to cap their annual gains per share this year to 60% of the year’s sum. Additionally, it stated lenders can provide investors the choice of receiving the dividends in the kind of additional shares rather than cash.Investors have to remember the strong capital places … the habitual prudence of their fundamental bank and also that the 60% cap isn’t quite as intense as constraints in another jurisdictions.Krishna Guhaequity analyst in JefferiesThe statement by MAS followed comparable — and relatively more strict — moves from other financial institutions around the world. The Bank of England urged banks to waste money this season, while Australia’s fiscal watchdog urged banks and insurers pay less than half of the profits to investors for the remainder of 2020.Singapore’s regulator said the dividend limitations are a pre-emptive measure. It included that stress tests revealed local banks stay resilient under “adverse conditions consistent with a severe and protracted public health crisis.The state is just one of those worst-hit in Southeast Asia from the coronavirus. As of Wednesday, Singapore reported over 51,500 instances and 27 deaths, based on its wellbeing ministry.Its market is predicted to shrink by between 4% and 7% this year — that are the nation’s worst downturn since its freedom in 1965.”MAS wants to ensure the banks’ capital buffers remain ample the face of significant doubts beforehand, so they can maintain lending to the market,” stated Ravi Menon, managing director of MAS.Krishna Guha, equity analyst at Jefferies, said in a Thursday note the dividend cap is very likely to weigh on investor sentiment.”That said, investors have to remember the strong capital places … their customary prudence of the fundamental bank and also that the 60% cap isn’t quite as intense as constraints in various other authorities,” he explained.
