Singapore

Gold isn't an investment the way most folks see it. A hundred shares of Coca-Cola is an investment. An income-producing rental property is an investment. Gold is "real money" and thus is a crisis hedge.

In these tough times, as the global financial industry is going through turbulent times, the Asian banking and financial services industry, relatively less impacted, is learning from the lessons and preparing for the times to come.

What is Basel II / Basel III / Basel Quattro?

The explosive growth of wealth populations in emerging markets presents both eye-watering opportunities and challenges for wealth management professionals. In Asia, the need to address challenges faced is most critical, as it is predicted to be in the early stages of a 150 year wealth cycle.

In today’s competitive, cost-conscious and profit-driven economy, Asian banks must continually focus on optimising their distribution channels in a way that allows them to move customers into higher-value relationships.

But flexibility to be different between one jurisdiction to another should also be allowed in Islamic finance just as it is allowed in conventional finance.

Fitch says Singapore banks can fully absorb asset-quality shocks through their earnings alone, thereby leaving a limited impairment risk on capital.

The latest version of the automated teller machine can also issue debit cards.

United Overseas Bank Ltd posted 12 percent rise in quarterly profit due to higher loan margins and fees.

Singapore's sovereign-wealth fund Temasek Holdings has invested more in China’s largest bank at the expense of two other Big Four banks.

For many Asian companies the creation of the annual plan or budget is a major event that consumes significant time and resource across the organisation, particularly in finance.

Two Singaporean banks lead Bloomberg Markets’ second annual ranking of the world’s strongest banks.

Virtually every industry today is considering migrating to the cloud. More so, considering the potential benefits and its impact on the way technology is delivered to the end user.

Asia’s small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are thriving, benefiting from strong economic growth throughout the region. But in an increasingly interconnected world, they are not immune to problems elsewhere, such as the Euro crisis.

If so, what can both banks expect from the takeover?

Thanks to the banks’ high capital standards, close regulatory supervision and strong funding franchises.