The novel coronavirus outbreak, which has so far killed over 1,100 people in China, can hit economies of the Asia-Pacific region if it prolongs, and the impact will be more pronounced on banks with poor profitability and asset quality, rating agency Moody's has said. Many parts of China are in a shutdown mode after the virus outbreak last month.

The World Health Organisation has described the epidemic as very serious and has issued a global alarm. Already many industries have been hit across the world as China is the single-largest source market for the world economy today. Moody's in a note on Wednesday warned that the larger impact on regional economies will be visible through poor bank profitability and worsening asset quality because of the impact the hit on travel and tourism, consumption, commodity prices and supply chain disruptions will have on banks.