How will the EU crisis affect Asian banks in 2012?

Macquarie Securities' Ismael Pili and HSBC’s Noel Quinn reveal their outlook for the Asian market in 2012.

ABF: According to a financial analyst, the market is not sustainable going to 2012, and growth is expected to moderate. What's your take on this?

HSBC: Noel Quinn, Group General Manager Regional Head of Commercial Banking
Without a doubt, it will be a challenging 2012 even for Asia. While Asia has proven to be resilient and is expected to continue to deliver respectable levels of GDP growth, the region is not immune to the impact of prolonged uncertainty in the developed world. However we believe that intra-regional trade and robust domestic demand will provide a buffer against the global slowdown and unlike the West, Asia has the capability to implement stimulus policies in case of a sharper than expected slowdown.

Macquarie Securities: Ismael Pili, Head of Financials Research, Asia
Asian growth will be affected by the degree that Europe and the US slows. Asia though will do its part to foster growth. China is looking to be more accommodative, Indonesia has aggressively cut its benchmark rates to a historical low (of 6.25%), and Singapore has postured towards loosening with their currency stance. We see scope for other countries to follow suit. We think central bankers' focus is growth; inflation was last year's story.

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