Banking sector growth underpins financial services expansion, with total assets rising steadily amid broad-based gains across segments.

Banking Asset Growth Anchors Sector Performance

The Monetary Authority of Singapore reported that banking sector total assets grew at a compound annual growth rate of 6.8% from 2021 to 2024, underscoring the resilience of Singapore's banking industry amid global economic headwinds. This growth rate outpaced the broader financial sector's average annual expansion of 4.7% over the same period, establishing banking as a primary engine of financial services performance.

The financial services sector as a whole grew 6.8% in 2024, more than doubling the 3.1% growth recorded in 2023, according to MAS data released on July 15, 2025. Deputy Prime Minister and MAS Chairman Gan Kim Yong stated in the central bank's annual report that the sector accounted for approximately 14% of Singapore's gross domestic product. The acceleration in 2024 reflects broad-based expansion across all major sub-sectors, including banking, fund management, insurance, and payments firms.

MAS Managing Director Chia Der Jiun noted at a July 15 media conference that the financial sector's average annual growth rate of 4.7% from 2021 to 2024 keeps the industry firmly on track to meet its Industry Transformation Map (ITM) 2025 target of 4% to 5% growth per annum over 2021-2025. The banking sector's 6.8% CAGR over this period significantly exceeds the overall target range, serving as a key driver of sector-wide performance.

Growth Rate (%)Source: Orionmano Industries

Broad-Based Expansion Across Segments

The banking sector's strong performance is part of a wider, balanced expansion across Singapore's financial services landscape. The insurance industry demonstrated notable growth, with total assets increasing by 3.6% in 2024 to reach S$456.4 billion, up from the prior year. This growth reflects sustained demand for insurance products and services in Singapore's mature market.

The financial sector's average annual growth of 4.7% from 2021 to 2024 represents consistent expansion across multiple sub-segments. Beyond banking and insurance, Singapore continues to strengthen its position as a leading foreign exchange hub in Asia. MAS data indicated that the average daily traded volume for foreign exchange surpassed S$1.5 trillion in 2024, underscoring Singapore's role as a global financial intermediary.

Employment growth in the sector has also exceeded official targets, demonstrating that expansion is translating into real economic opportunity. The average annual net jobs created in the financial sector from 2021 to 2024 stood at 4,400, surpassing the ITM 2025 target of 3,000 to 4,000 net jobs per annum. Importantly, more than 90% of these positions were filled by local workers. MAS Deputy Managing Director for Markets and Development Leong Sing Chiong noted that new roles spanned both technology-related functions and non-tech positions including business, portfolio, and relationship management.

This employment performance reinforces the sector's value as a source of high-quality jobs for Singapore's workforce. The composition of hiring—skewed heavily toward locals—indicates that the financial sector's growth is contributing directly to domestic labor market outcomes, not merely expanding expatriate headcount.

Sector Outlook and Policy Alignment

Singapore's financial sector is on track to meet the ITM 2025 target of 4% to 5% annual growth over the 2021-2025 period, with the 4.7% average through 2024 placing it comfortably within the prescribed range. Similarly, the ITM 2025 employment target of 3,000 to 4,000 net jobs per annum has been exceeded, with actual average annual net job creation of 4,400 over the same timeframe.

However, MAS has signaled caution regarding the sustainability of recent growth rates. The central bank warned that the pace of expansion observed in preceding years is unlikely to persist as the industry faces slower global growth amid tariff uncertainties. This forward-looking caution reflects broader concerns about global trade fragmentation and protectionist measures that could dampen financial flows through Singapore, particularly given the banking system's deep integration with global markets.

The ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office has noted that Singapore's banking system is highly integrated with the global financial system, with external assets and liabilities accounting for more than 50% of banking sector totals. Major local banks—DBS, OCBC, and UOB—maintain significant exposure to ASEAN+3 economies, with nearly 75% of their foreign lending directed to entities in the region. This regional concentration means that any escalation in tariff disputes or slowdown in Asian trade activity would directly affect Singapore's banking sector performance.

Despite these risks, the sector's structural foundations remain solid. The 6.8% CAGR in banking assets over 2021-2024 demonstrates the sector's ability to generate consistent growth even through periods of global monetary tightening and geopolitical uncertainty. As MAS continues to develop the sector's capabilities in emerging growth areas, the banking industry is expected to maintain moderate expansion, though at a pace lower than the recent elevated trajectory.

The alignment between current performance and ITM 2025 targets provides a clear benchmark for measuring the sector's health going forward. With asset growth, job creation, and overall sector expansion all meeting or exceeding policy objectives, Singapore's banking industry enters the second half of the decade from a position of strength—even as external headwinds begin to build.