An earnings downgrade cycle begins for CIMB and Maybank

But Public Bank's outlook remains intact.

According to CLSA, an earnings downgrade cycle has started for CIMB and Maybank whereas Public Bank's outlook remains intact. Public Bank's earnings were broadly unchanged on the back of 1Q13 and 2Q13 results.

Here's more from CLSA:

We continue to believe that corporate demand will improve in 2H!3 which will support loan growth and noninterest income but we are below 13CL targets at CIMB and Maybank.

We are also more cautious than peers. Although there could be a J-curve in terms of domestic corporate demand once public investment steps up, we prefer to see tangible evidence of this shift before we pencil it into our forecasts.