Singapore bonds and US Treasury yields: what MAS told Parliament on 7 October 2026

TL;DR

On Wednesday 7 October 2026, Chee Hong Tat — deputy chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Minister for National Development — told Parliament that Singapore is closely monitoring developments in the US and other major markets, because they feed through to borrowing costs and interest rates at home. His bottom line was that if US rates rise, Singapore's costs would be affected, but that the country's strong fiscal position and the confidence investors have in its bond market mean the overall position is sound. He put the prevailing 10-year SGS yield at 2.5%, against a 10-year average of about 2.2%, and said the discount of 10-year SGS to 10-year US Treasuries had widened from about 170 basis points in January 2025 to about 250 basis points in September 2026. Three-month compounded SORA is around 1.2%, below its 10-year average of 1.5%, and Singapore-dollar corporate bond issuance has reached about S$28 billion year to date, on track to exceed 2025. Below: what each number actually measures, why the gap to US Treasuries exists, and where to verify it yourself. This is general information, not personal financial advice — talk to a licensed adviser before making decisions.

What Chee Hong Tat actually said, and what prompted it

The remarks came in a parliamentary reply to a question about how sustained increases in US Treasury yields would affect Singapore. Three points carry most of the weight.

Transmission is real, not hypothetical. Chee said the government is closely monitoring the US and other major markets because they affect borrowing costs and interest rates in Singapore.
Singapore's rates track major economies loosely, and have risen less than those in other jurisdictions.
Demand for Singapore Government Securities rests on fiscal fundamentals and investor confidence, not on the level of US yields alone.

He added that broader domestic credit conditions remain conducive, with credit growth firm, credit quality sound and banks well capitalised. MAS stress tests have also found that businesses and households are generally still in a sound financial position to manage higher borrowing costs. On official foreign reserves, he said the portfolio is diversified across different asset classes and currencies, with access to different sources of liquidity if individual markets are stressed, so a gradual increase in yields remains manageable.

The numbers, and what each one measures

10-year SGS yield: 2.5%, against a 10-year average of about 2.2%. Note the direction — this is slightly above its own decade average, which is why the framing was that borrowing costs remain broadly in line with historical levels rather than unusually cheap.
SGS–UST gap: the discount of the 10-year SGS to the 10-year US Treasury widened to about 250 basis points in September 2026, from about 170 basis points in January 2025. Singapore's 10-year yield sits well below its US equivalent, and the gap has grown.
Short end, as background: reporting from April 2026 noted Singapore's two-year yields had fallen below their US counterparts by as much as 243 basis points in March. That is earlier-year context, not part of this week's statement.
Cash rate anchor: three-month compounded SORA around 1.2%, versus a 10-year average of 1.5%.
Corporate supply: about S$28 billion of SGD corporate bond issuance year to date, described as very well-received and on track to surpass 2025.

Why the SGS–UST spread exists at all

The gap is not an anomaly; it reflects two different policy regimes. MAS uses the exchange rate, rather than interest rates, as its main policy tool. Market commentary earlier in 2026 attributed the outperformance of local securities to a firmer SGD policy stance anchoring confidence in SGD assets, ample liquidity and haven flows, at a time when US Treasuries were being weighed down by a higher-for-longer rate outlook. A June 2026 market note expected SGS yields to stay range-bound and largely track UST movements, with steady demand at recent MAS bill auctions; that is an analyst expectation, not an MAS statement.

What follows for an investor is a currency decision as much as a rates decision. That reading is interpretation, not a call.

Government versus corporate SGD bonds

Chee separated the two markets. SGS demand rests on sovereign fundamentals; corporate issuance is a supply-and-appetite story, and he described SGD corporate paper as very well-received despite heightened volatility in global markets, with about S$28 billion issued year to date and 2025's total in reach.

The distinction that matters to a retail reader is that these are different risks. Strong issuance tells you that borrowers can get deals done and investors are taking the paper — it does not price any individual issue for you. Minimum investment sizes, access routes and tax treatment differ by instrument and issuer, and none of those details appear in the parliamentary reply; check the offering documents and the relevant venue's rules rather than assuming.

One adjacent item for business borrowers: the government raised its risk-sharing proportion for eligible Enterprise Financing Scheme loans from 50% to 70% in September, to improve access to working capital and project financing.

Households: the 4% assessment floor, TDSR/MSR and the HDB–CPF peg

Two safeguards were named directly:

The total debt-servicing ratio (TDSR) and mortgage-servicing ratio (MSR) frameworks, which MAS describes as safeguards against households overextending themselves on housing loans.
A 4% affordability test: banks assess whether borrowers can afford a housing loan at an interest rate of 4%, even when prevailing mortgage rates are low. Chee's framing was that this leaves some buffer against increases in interest rates.

On top of that, the Housing & Development Board's mortgage loan is pegged to the Central Provident Fund Ordinary Account interest rate, which he said provides greater stability against movements in market mortgage rates.

For loans priced off SORA, the mechanics are worth knowing. SORA is the volume-weighted average rate of borrowing transactions in the unsecured overnight interbank SGD cash market in Singapore between 8am and 6.15pm, and has been published by MAS since 1 July 2005; MAS also publishes 1-month, 3-month and 6-month compounded SORA. Home loans referencing SORA are priced at the prevailing base rate plus a fixed spread. A 1-month SORA loan is reviewed monthly, a 3-month SORA loan every three months, so the 1-month peg moves earlier in both directions — up sooner when rates rise, down sooner when they fall.

Chee's own caution was about resilience rather than timing: he urged borrowers to maintain adequate liquidity buffers and to account for the possibility of further interest rate increases.

Where to verify each figure yourself

10-year SGS yield and other tenors: MAS's SGS Prices and Yields – Benchmark Issues page on its e-services site lists benchmark bond yields and prices from the 2-year out to the 50-year.
SORA and compounded SORA: published by MAS and available at no charge; the Association of Banks in Singapore's About SORA page describes the rate and its calculation methodology, with SORA for a given business day published by 9am the next business day.
Corporate issuance: the S$28 billion year-to-date figure was given in Parliament on 7 October 2026. There is no single public ticker for it, so treat market commentary as secondary to official statistics.
Your own mortgage rate: your bank's rate sheet is the only place your spread appears. The benchmark is public; the spread is negotiated.

What to watch next

None of this is a forecast, but the sequence is predictable. MAS monetary policy statements set the SGD policy stance that market commentary has linked to local bond resilience. SGS auction results and cut-off yields show whether sovereign demand is holding. SORA fixings drive floating-rate loan repricing. Corporate issuance data will show whether 2026 actually clears 2025.

Questions readers ask

Did MAS say Singapore bond yields will keep outperforming US Treasuries?

No. Chee said Singapore is closely monitoring the US and other major markets and that strong fiscal fundamentals and investor confidence should continue to support SGS demand. He did not forecast yields, spreads or the SGD.

Is 2.5% high or low for the 10-year SGS?

Slightly high against its own history: the prevailing 10-year SGS yield of 2.5% compares with a 10-year average of about 2.2%. His characterisation was that borrowing costs remain broadly in line with historical levels.

Why is 3-month compounded SORA below its 10-year average?

Chee cited the figure — around 1.2% versus a 10-year average of 1.5% — as evidence that broader domestic credit conditions remain conducive. He did not attribute a specific cause.

What is the 4% floor on housing loans?

It is an affordability test, not a rate you pay. Banks assess whether a borrower can afford a housing loan at an interest rate of 4%, even when prevailing mortgage rates are low, alongside the TDSR and MSR frameworks.

How is the HDB loan insulated from market mortgage rates?

The HDB mortgage loan is pegged to the CPF Ordinary Account interest rate, which provides greater stability against movements in market mortgage rates. For the prevailing HDB loan rate and CPF OA rate, check HDB and CPF directly — those figures were not given in the reply.

Does any of this tell me what to buy?

No. The remarks describe conditions, not recommendations, and this article is general information rather than personal financial advice.

How this was sourced

This piece is built on: Chee Hong Tat's parliamentary reply of 7 October 2026, as reported by The Business Times on 7 October 2026; Singapore Business Review's 8 October 2026 write-up of the same reply; MAS's SGS Prices and Yields – Benchmark Issues reference page; the Association of Banks in Singapore's About SORA page; a mortgage-rate reference page describing SORA home-loan mechanics; and two earlier market reports used only as background — Yahoo Finance, 15 April 2026, and POEMS' Daily Morning Note of 8 June 2026. No buy or sell call is made anywhere in this article.