Asia Pacific banks may have to raise their loan loss provisions further in the near-term as the Iran conflict darkens economic prospects in the region heavily reliant on Middle Eastern oil, analysts said. Banks in countries including Australia, Singapore, and India flagged possible credit hits of hundreds of millions of dollars each as they reported their March quarter earnings, blaming the indirect cost of the conflict. The surging credit loss provisions come at a time when the lenders are also facing the prospects of higher-for-longer oil prices, supply chain and trade disruptions, rising interest rates and weaker corporate balance sheets. While higher loss provisions would not make a big dent in the short term given strong capital buffers, analysts warn that prolonged energy market disruptions could result in actual credit losses and pile pressure on banks to replenish balance sheets.