- US Banks see big shareholder payouts supported by lighter regulation and lower capital requirements
- Asia banks are similarly returning capital via dividends and buybacks
- Key factors to watch are those which offset NII contraction as the Fed’s rate cut cycle begins
- Prefer US firms with compelling restructuring story, riding on revenue growth and share buybacks
- Prefer Asia banks with clear visibility in dividends as dividends could see cuts as earnings decline
US Banks see big shareholder payouts, while dividend yields continue to be attractive for Asia Banks. Major US Banks, including JP Morgan (JPM), Citibank (Citi), Bank of America (BAC), Wells Fargo (WFC), Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley have raised their upcoming 3Q25 dividend payouts by 7-33%. This is in view of the less onerous regulatory environment under a new administration and lower capital requirements following the 2025 stress tests. As a result, US Banks have accelerated share buyback programmes of USD20-50bn on the back of excess capital. In Asia, banks such as Hang Seng Bank, DBS, OCBC, UOB have launched up to USD2.4bn of share buyback programmes of various magnitudes on the back of strong capital buffers to return excess capital to shareholders, on top of increasing dividends through FY24. In contrast, China banks are unlikely to further improve their dividend payout, as they require capital to further support the real economy. We see their dividend yields returning to 5-6%, which are still attractive.
Monetary policy shifts and asset quality in focus. As the Fed delivered its first 25 bps cut in September while hinting at further easing, pressure on net interest income (NII) has intensified. For large US Banks, we expect stable q/q earnings growth on the back of rising NII as deposits, loan growth and market activities pick up. Additionally, we see a largely benign credit environment alongside firmer economic projections. For SG and HK Banks, lower benchmark rates will weigh on NII but should be partially offset by stronger non-interest income. Asset quality risks remain, particularly for HK Banks with exposure to oversupplied office and retail property (CRE) where expected credit loss (ECLs) are likely to remain elevated through 2H25. We remain watchful over SG Banks’ exposures to US and HK CRE. Meanwhile, CH banks continue to see net interest margin (NIM) pressure, though the trend is stabilising. Retail loan’s asset quality is the key area to watch, while risks in CH CRE have been largely digested.
Remain highly selective in banking stocks across the region. US Banks are expected to see continued strong revenue growth while CH, HK, and SG Banks are likely to brace for impact from lower NII. However, we believe attractive dividend yields of 4-10% across Asian names to continue to support their share prices, buffering any downside. Thus, we prefer US firms with their compelling restructuring story, riding on revenue growth and share buybacks, and selective Asia banks with clear visibility in dividends. We continue to monitor banks with dividends tied to earnings as declining NII may pose risks to earnings decline.
Figure 1: Selected banks’ dividend yields for FY26
Source: Refinitiv, DBS
Download the PDF to read the full report.
Topic
DISCLAIMERS AND IMPORTANT NOTES
This information herein is published by DBS Bank Ltd. (“DBS Bank”) and is for information only. This publication is intended for DBS Bank and its subsidiaries or affiliates (collectively “DBS”) and clients to whom it has been delivered and may not be reproduced, transmitted or communicated to any other person without the prior written permission of DBS Bank.
This publication is not and does not constitute or form part of any offer, recommendation, invitation or solicitation to you to subscribe to or to enter into any transaction as described, nor is it calculated to invite or permit the making of offers to the public to subscribe to or enter into any transaction for cash or other consideration and should not be viewed as such.
The information herein may be incomplete or condensed and it may not include a number of terms and provisions nor does it identify or define all or any of the risks associated to any actual transaction. Any terms, conditions and opinions contained herein may have been obtained from various sources and neither DBS nor any of their respective directors or employees (collectively the “DBS Group”) make any warranty, expressed or implied, as to its accuracy or completeness and thus assume no responsibility of it. The information herein may be subject to further revision, verification and updating and DBS Group undertakes no responsibility thereof.
All figures and amounts stated are for illustration purposes only and shall not bind DBS Group. DBS Group does not act as an adviser and assumes no fiduciary responsibility or liability for any consequences, financial or otherwise, arising from any arrangement or entrance into any transaction in reliance on the information contained herein. The information herein does not have regard to the investment objectives, financial situation and particular needs of any specific person. In order to build your own independent analysis of any transaction and its consequences, you should consult your own independent financial, accounting, tax, legal or other competent professional advisors as you deem appropriate to ensure that any assessment you make is suitable for you in light of your own financial, accounting, tax, and legal constraints and objectives without relying in any way on DBS Group or any position which DBS Group might have expressed in this document or orally to you in the discussion.
Companies within the DBS Group or the directors or employees of the DBS Group or persons/entities connected to them may have positions in and may affect transactions in the underlying product(s) mentioned. Companies within the DBS Group may have alliances or other contractual agreements with the provider(s) of the underlying product(s) to market or sell its product(s). Where companies within the DBS Group are the product provider, such company may be receiving fees from the investors. In addition, companies within the DBS Group may also perform or seek to perform broking, investment banking and other banking or financial services to the companies or affiliates mentioned herein.
This publication may include quotation, comments or analysis. Any such quotation, comments or analysis have been prepared on assumptions and parameters that reflect our good faith, judgement or selection and therefore no warranty is given as to its accuracy, completeness or reasonableness. All information, estimates, forecasts and opinions included in this document or orally to you in the discussion constitute our judgement as of the date indicated and may be subject to change without notice. Changes in market conditions or in any assumptions may have material impact on any estimates or opinion stated.
Prices and availability of financial instruments are subject to change without notice. Any information relating to past performance, or any future forecast based on past performance or other assumptions, is not necessarily a reliable indicator of future results. Future results may not meet our/ your expectations due to a variety of economic, market and other factors.
This publication has not been reviewed or authorised by any regulatory authority in Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai International Financial Centre, United Kingdom or elsewhere. There is no planned schedule or frequency for updating research publication relating to any issuer.
If this publication has been distributed by electronic transmission, such as e-mail, then such transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. The sender therefore does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the contents of the Information, which may arise as a result of electronic transmission. If verification is required, please request for a hard-copy version.
The investment product(s) mentioned herein is/are not the only product(s) that is/are aligned with the views stated in the research report(s) and may not be the most preferred or suitable product for you. There are other investment product(s) available in the market which may better suit your investment profile, objectives and financial situation.
This publication is not directed to, or intended for distribution to or use by, any person or entity who is a citizen or resident of or located in any locality, state, country or other jurisdiction where such distribution, publication, availability or use would be contrary to law or regulation.
Country Specific Disclaimer
This publication is distributed by DBS Bank Ltd (Company Regn. No. 196800306E) ("DBS") which is an Exempt Financial Adviser as defined in the Financial Advisers Act and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (the "MAS").
This publication is provided to you as an “Accredited Investor” (defined under the Securities and Futures Act of Singapore and the Securities and Futures (Classes of Investors) Regulations 2018) or an “Institutional Investor” (defined under the Securities and Futures Act of Singapore and the Securities and Futures (Classes of Investors) Regulations 2018) for your private use only and may not be passed on or disclosed to any person nor copied or reproduced in any manner.