StoneBench, a Singapore-based advisory and editorial studio, has launched “Fragmentation Finance,” a research hub exploring how geopolitical tensions are reshaping financial dynamics across Asia. As tensions in the Middle East and US-China competition alter global capital flows, Asian financial institutions are increasingly integrating geopolitical risks into their treasury and credit decisions.
The research identifies five key structural changes affecting the region. These include the shift of geopolitical risk from periodic reviews to banks’ balance sheets, the acceleration of local currency settlements, and the migration of capital to perceived safe jurisdictions, with Asian hubs benefiting significantly. Additionally, climate risk is being factored into credit decisions, although high oil prices are pushing the region back towards coal. Southeast Asia is poised to benefit structurally due to its neutrality, demographics, and involvement in multiple trade corridors.
The hub’s centrepiece, a whitepaper titled “In the Eye of the Storm,” examines the impact of geopolitical developments on shipping, insurance, capital reallocation, wealth migration, and the energy transition. It provides insights for asset managers, banks, and policymakers on capital flow absorption and geopolitical risk mapping.
Siddharth Poddar, founder of StoneBench, stated, “Fragmentation Finance is where StoneBench’s own thinking meets the work we do for clients. We have spent years helping firms in Asia make sense of global megatrends.”
