Economics

Asia’s Banks Must Brace for Worsening Storm, McKinsey Says

  • Slowing growth, fintech competition cloud outlook for lenders
  • Banks likely to consolidate and some will disappear: report
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The days of a “free lunch’’ are over for Asia’s banks, which face an intensifying threat from slowing economic growth and competition with technology firms, according to McKinsey & Co.

After years of rapid expansion, banks in the region are now seeing their revenue and profit growth slow and global market share shrink, the New York-based consultancy wrote in a report. Tighter margins, declining asset quality and rising capital costs are putting pressure on lenders to partner or merge to boost productivity and scale.