Fitch Revises Hong Kong, Mainland China Banking Sector Outlook to Neutral

Fitch Ratings raised its outlook for the Hong Kong and mainland China banking sectors to “neutral” from “deteriorating.” according to Ming Pao, Fitch said Hong Kong banks have benefited from cross-border wealth management and active capital market activity that attracted fund inflows, supporting strong profitability and helping to mitigate asset quality risks such as those linked to commercial real estate (CRE). Fitch said bank ratings across the Asia-Pacific region are broadly stable, but it downgraded the banking sector outlook for Thailand and the Philippines to “deteriorating.”