Banks in spotlight

Strict requirements: The Bank Negara logo is seen at its museum and art gallery in Kuala Lumpur. The central bank requires banks to maintain healthy capital and liquidity buffers, and to adopt robust risk management practices, including rigorous stress testing, to ensure that they remain resilient during extreme stress scenarios.

ONCE thought of as a safe and secure bet, banks are increasingly looking vulnerable stemming from the recent crises that hit Western lenders such as Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Credit Suisse AG.

Now another crisis appears to be on the horizon for the global banking sector, no thanks to a US$1.5 trillion (RM6.61 trillion) wall of debt looming for US commercial properties, as reported by Bloomberg this week.