Singapore bank shares retreat sharply after hitting record highs

Shares of OCBC bank held steady today after dropping since Wednesday. This, after a Citi report downgraded OCBC to "sell" from "neutral". Meanwhile, the share prices of Singapore's other two major banks, DBS and UOB, continued to fall. One analyst said the report affected the broader sector because while the concerns raised were directed at OCBC, they could ultimately be applied to all the banks. OCBC closed the same as yesterday at S$29. DBS fell by 0.66% to S$73.36 while UOB dipped 0.72% to end at S$39.96. Another analyst also pointed out that the recent declines should be viewed against the strong gains Singapore bank shares recorded this year.