Banking, Corporate Finance and M&A, Featured Work, From the Vault, Politics, Singapore - Wednesday, May 1, 2002 12:00 - 0 Comments

So who won? Singapore banking turns nasty. Asiamoney, May 2002

SO WHO WON?

 As the dust settles on Singapore’s surprisingly acrimonious bout of banking consolidation, who has come out of the process unscathed and enhanced? Not DBS, with a failed bid and a public relations mess; not really UOB or OUB either, until complex integration issues are resolved. OCBC had the smoothest ride, but its acquisition of Keppel will not transform the bank, and it becomes the smallest of three competitors. No, the unquestioned winners fall into two camps: Singapore itself, with a more sensible banking environment, and the international investment banks who will pick up the fees. By Chris Wright.

After all the bids, counterbids, recriminations and apologies, Singapore’s new-look banking sector has finally found its shape. It’s not quite the two-bank duopoly that Singapore’s government had had in mind, but it is a less crowded market, and it looks like this: UOB/OUB, versus DBS, versus OCBC/Keppel.

The process of getting there provides us with many interesting lessons, not just about the new leaders of Singapore banking, but about the way M&A activity will be conducted in Singapore. And that matters a great deal, because the city-state is going to be one of the key drivers of M&A in this region. Continue…

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