Why DBS, OCBC, UOB and Insurance Stocks Dropped When U.S. Rate-Hike Expectations JumpedWhy DBS, OCBC, UOB and Insurance Stocks Dropped When U.S. Rate-Hike Expectations Jumped The recent pullback in Singapore banks such as DBS, OCBC and UOB, together with weakness in some insurance companies, can be understood through one important financial-market relationship: When market interest rates rise, the prices of existing bonds usually fall. This is particularly important for financial institutions because banks and insurers can hold large fixed-income portfolios, including government and corporate bonds. However, it is important to make one correction: it would be too broad to say that most of DBS, OCBC and UOB’s investments are simply long-term U.S. Treasury bonds. Their balance sheets are muc