ASEAN banks' fat interest margins wane as Fed rate cuts loom

SINGAPORE -- Banks in the 10-member ASEAN bloc may be seeing the last of beefy earnings from loans in the current higher financing era as lower interest rates loom.

The U.S. Federal Reserve has signaled rate cuts in the coming months on less inflation worries, gradually making money cheaper to borrow. For ASEAN's biggest banks, most of which are based in Singapore, growth in income from loans could slow over the coming months.