Daily Briefing: O&G bad loans strike bank profits; HDB residents decide on colour schemes

And here are 5 questions every propery investor wants answered.

A series of non-performing loans due to a flailing oil and gas industry have struck Singapore's three local banks as they face squeezed profits. They are facing higher impairment charges and weaker interest margins in the 3rd quarter of the year. According to Bloomberg, DBS is facing S$255mil in impairment charges. OCBC is also expected to submit its second-in-a-row quarterly profit decline, while UOB could post a 10% dip. Click here to read the full story.

More HDB residents are taking part in voting for color schemes for their blocks, town councils in Singapore revealed. More than half the residents opted for a black-and-white motif inspired by the Tudor period to replace the traditional red brick design that had covered the buildings for more than 20 years. Now, the 30 HDB blocks in the neighbourhood are gradually being repainted. Read more here.

There are five burning questions every property investor wants answered. For starters, they want to know what experts are seeing in the rental market. According to the URA, the vacancy rate of private residential properties is between 10 to 12%. Check out the full story here.