THE Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is expected to have a 0.5%-4% impact on the profit forecasts of Malaysian banks this year, said The Asian Banker in its report, Impact of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) on Asian Banks.
Its research manager, Titien Ahmad, said this was because the sector was highly sensitive to an economic downturn. The spectacular growth among Malaysian banks last year was fuelled by consumer lending, which would be sluggish this year given the slow economy, she noted.