It is difficult for Spore banks to expand geographically as most countries expect reciprocity.
But bank biz in Spore is limited by economic size and demographics
So Spore will not be that attractive to foreign banks albeit it is a regional financial centre. In any case, most international banks already have a presence here. Loans are a core biz of the 3 Spore banks but net interest margins are compressing. Whilst some growth may be possible in other sectors like wealth mgt, they are not likely to completely offset the lower revenues from interest earnings. Thus growth looks muted and there is no gttee that current dividend yields can be sustained. SEA in contrast has more growth potential, both geographicaly and in the fin tech area.