# Status of Digital Banking and Financial Expansion in Singapore

**Published:** 2026-06-11T20:57:43.631Z  
**Topic:** Singapore bank DBS to offer tokenized gold to retail customers  
**Sentiment:** neutral  
**Publisher:** TrendWatcher — https://www.trendwatcher.in/article/181179fc-6692-4723-b119-6c7ab20341db

While Singapore’s digital banks face significant financial losses, the region’s broader financial sector continues to see international investment growth.

The digital banking sector in Singapore remains in a period of significant financial strain, with the country’s three licensed digital banks reporting a combined loss of S$358.75 million in 2024 [1]. Despite the challenging performance of these standalone digital institutions, other firms with a presence in Singapore, such as the logistics investment firm Realterm, continue to expand their international footprints as part of broader corporate growth strategies [2].

**Key takeaways**
* Singapore’s three digital banks—GXS, MariBank, and Trust Bank—recorded a collective loss of S$358.75 million in 2024 [1].
* GXS, one of the three digital banks, does not anticipate reaching a breakeven point until late 2026 [1].
* The Monetary Authority of Singapore has stated it has no current plans to issue additional digital banking licenses [1].
* Outside of the banking sector, the logistics firm Realterm has established a footprint in Singapore as part of a strategy that has tripled its assets to $14 billion since 2019 [2].

## Challenges in the Digital Banking Market
The financial performance of Singapore’s digital banks stands in stark contrast to the earnings of the country's three incumbent banking giants, which collectively earned approximately S$25 billion in 2024 [1]. Individual losses among the digital cohort were substantial: GXS reported a loss of approximately S$145 million, Trust Bank lost about S$93 million, and MariBank recorded a loss of roughly S$51 million [1]. 

Across Southeast Asia, the digital banking model has proven difficult to sustain. Regional data suggests that profitability is often elusive, with many firms relying on promotional deposit rates that fail to build a permanent foundation for lending [1]. While some digital banks in Indonesia achieved profitability in 2025, analysts note that these results were often bolstered by one-time factors, such as rate cuts and the release of loan provisions, rather than sustainable lending economics [1]. The prevailing trend across Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore indicates that standalone digital banks struggle to compete with established institutions that possess deeper, more efficient networks [1].

## Broader Corporate Expansion
While the digital banking sector faces a difficult path to profitability, other sectors in Singapore are seeing different trajectories. Realterm, a multinational transportation and logistics real estate firm, has successfully expanded its operations into Singapore as part of a global growth initiative [2]. Under the leadership of CEO Bob Fordi, the firm has grown its assets from $4.5 billion in 2019 to $14 billion, focusing on industrial outdoor storage and air cargo logistics [2]. This expansion highlights a trend of international firms utilizing Singapore as a key node in their global infrastructure and investment networks [2].

## Why it matters
The current state of digital banking in Singapore serves as a cautionary example for the region, where regulators have begun to limit new licenses due to the persistent difficulty of achieving profitability [1]. For the existing digital banks, the focus remains on long-term viability and the challenge of converting transactional accounts into profitable lending relationships [1]. Meanwhile, the success of firms like Realterm underscores that while the digital banking model faces a "long, expensive climb," other segments of the economy continue to attract significant capital and expansion efforts [1, 2].

## Sources
1. Forbes — [Thailand’s Virtual Banks Launch Into A Model That Barely Pays](https://www.forbes.com/sites/zennonkapron/2026/06/10/thailands-virtual-banks-launch-into-a-model-that-barely-pays/)
2. Commercial Observer — [Realterm CEO Bob Fordi Wants to Grow His $14B IOS Giant](https://commercialobserver.com/2026/06/realterm-ceo-bob-fordi-ios-investments/)

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Cite as: TrendWatcher, "Status of Digital Banking and Financial Expansion in Singapore", https://www.trendwatcher.in/article/181179fc-6692-4723-b119-6c7ab20341db