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☆ UOB reports first-quarter profit fell less than expected, maintains 2024 growth outlook
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Singapore's United Overseas Bank, or UOB, reported a smaller-than-expected decline in first quarter net profit on Wednesday, squeezed by net interest margins, and maintained its outlook for income growth in 2024. Singapore's United Overseas Bank reported a smaller-than-expected decline in first-quarter net profit on Wednesday, squeezed by net interest margins, and maintained its outlook for income growth in 2024. "Despite heightened geopolitical tensions, our home region of Southeast Asia is relatively resilient," UOB CEO Wee Ee Cheong said in a statement. "We continued to see ongoing shifts in global supply chains and sustained tourism activities," he added. UOB, which is also Southeast Asia's third-largest bank by assets, also maintained its guidance for low single-digit loan growth and double-digit fee growth, according to Wee's presentation slides accompanying the results.

Persons: Wee Ee Cheong Organizations: Singapore's United Overseas Bank Locations: Southeast Asia

☆ Singapore convicts first suspect in record money laundering case
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Clement Tan | In Clemtan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A Porsche 911 Targa vehicle seized by police at a residence of Su Jiafeng, one of the suspects in the S$2.8 billion money-laundering case, in Singapore, on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. Singapore on Tuesday sentenced the first person to plead guilty in the Southeast Asia island-state's biggest money laundering scandal to a 13-month imprisonment. Public prosecutors went ahead with two counts of money laundering after an agreement to consider the remaining nine charges for sentencing. The Singapore police said it has seized around 6 million Singapore dollars ($4.44 million) worth of assets from Su. The value of all assets seized to date now exceeds more than 3 billion Singapore dollars, according to court documents.

Persons: Su Jiafeng, Su Wenqiang, Mercedes, Dior, Su Organizations: Cambodian, Public, Singapore, CNBC, United Overseas Bank Locations: Singapore, Southeast Asia, Philippines

☆ I live in the Philippines but was committed to seeing Taylor Swift in Singapore. I'm spending $1,600 and making a whole trip out of it.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Marielle Descalsota | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Eunice Mecija, a Taylor Swift fan from the Philippines, shared how she budgeted for the Eras Tour in Singapore. AdvertisementThis as-told-to story is based on a conversation with Eunice Mecija, a 24-year-old graphic artist and Taylor Swift fan from the Philippines. I've been a Taylor Swift fan for as long as I can remember. I decided to book a flight from Manila to Kuala Lumpur with AirAsia instead for 14,000 Philippine pesos, or around $250. Mecija has been a fan of Taylor Swift since she was in elementary school.

Persons: Eunice Mecija, Taylor, splurging, —, Taylor Swift, It's, I've, Taylor Swift's, Nicky Loh, I'm, Mecija Organizations: Service, Getty, United Overseas Bank, Singapore ., Singapore Airlines, AirAsia Locations: Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Manila, Southeast Asia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian, Stockholm, Swedish

☆ Singapore's UOB revises down 2024 loan growth, fourth-quarter profit beats forecasts
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A customer uses an ATM at an United Overseas Bank Ltd. (UOB) branch in Singapore, on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023. Singapore's United Overseas Bank, or UOB, on Thursday cut its 2024 loan growth projections to low single-digits from mid-single digits after posting a stronger-than-forecast 22% jump in fourth quarter net profit. UOB maintained its 2024 guidance for double-digit fee growth while projecting total income to see positive growth, according to UOB CEO Wee Ee Cheong's earnings presentation slides. Credit costs for 2024 are expected to be at the lower end of its previous 25 to 30 basis points guidance range. "Global economic outlook remains uncertain in the near term, but Southeast Asia continues to be a bright spot," Wee said in a statement.

Persons: UOB, Wee Ee, Wee Organizations: United Overseas Bank Ltd, Singapore's United Overseas Bank Locations: Singapore, Southeast Asia

☆ Morgan Stanley names global 'alpha' stock ideas for January — and gives one 50% upside
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Amala Balakrishner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Asian markets may have had a rocky 2023, but those looking for pockets of opportunities in the region can look to Morgan Stanley's selection of "alpha" stocks. Another top stock that Morgan Stanley is overweight on is the Singapore-headquartered United Overseas Bank . Here are 10 stocks from Morgan Stanley's full list of top overweight-rated stocks for January. Notable bottom-ranked stocks Morgan Stanley also named its "notable bottom-ranked stock ideas." These factors "should result in a wider discount to peers like Telstra ," the investment bank's analysts wrote.

Persons: Morgan Stanley's, Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Michael Bloom Organizations: Alpha, Asia, SK Telecom, Korea, United Overseas Bank, ASEAN, Morgan, TPG Telecom, Telstra Locations: Asia, Pacific, Japan, Asia Pacific, Korean, Singapore

☆ Speaker Mike Johnson floats confiscating Russian assets to fund Ukraine war aid: 'It would be pure poetry'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Speaker Johnson continues to signal openness to more Ukraine aid, despite past opposition. AdvertisementAdvertisementHouse Speaker Mike Johnson is suggesting that the US should confiscate assets owned by the Russian government to pay for more aid to Ukraine. "It would be pure poetry to fund the Ukrainian war effort with Russian assets," Johnson told the New York Post. AdvertisementAdvertisementDespite consistently voting against Ukraine aid in the past two years as a rank-and-file lawmaker, Johnson has signaled openness to allowing more Ukraine aid to be approved since becoming speaker. That's been encouraging news for supporters of Ukraine aid — and cause for concern among long-time opponents.

Persons: Johnson, He's, —, Mike Johnson, that's, Biden, That's Organizations: Service, New York, Republican, Opportunity, Russian Central Bank, Internal Revenue Service, Democratic, House Republicans, Republicans, Ukraine Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Russia, Israel

DBS, which is also Southeast Asia's largest lender, has already forecast a record full-year profit for the current year. "Net profit (for 2024) to be maintained around record 2023 level," CEO Piyush Gupta said in results presentation materials. The bank's July-September net profit rose to S$2.63 billion ($1.94 billion) from S$2.24 billion a year earlier as total income grew to a record on higher interest margins and fee income. Besides higher global interest rates, Singapore banks have benefitted from strong inflows of wealth drawn in by the city-state's political stability. Smaller peer United Overseas Bank (UOBH.SI) reported in end-October a weaker-than-expected 1% drop in third-quarter net profit.

Persons: Ann Wang, Piyush Gupta, Gupta, Yantoultra Ngui, Josie Kao Organizations: DBS, REUTERS, Bank, Q3 SINGAPORE, LSEG, United Overseas Bank, Chinese Banking Corp, Thomson Locations: Taipei, Taiwan, Singapore

☆ Singapore's largest bank DBS beats forecast, quarterly profit jumps 17%
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Shreyashi Sanyal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Singapore bank also declared a dividend of 48 Singapore cents for each ordinary share for the third quarter. It was higher that analysts' estimates compiled by LSEG, which predicted a quarterly profit estimate of SG$2.5 billion for the July to September quarter. During the quarter, net profit rose to 2.63 billion Singaporean dollars ($1.94 billion) compared to SG$2.24 billion a year ago. Southeast Asia's largest lender DBS Group reported a 17% jump in third-quarter profit on Monday, benefiting from a high-interest rate environment. Smaller rival United Overseas Bank posted a 1% drop in third-quarter net profit in October, missing analysts' expectations.

Persons: Piyush Gupta, Gupta Organizations: LSEG, DBS Group, DBS, United Overseas Bank, Chinese Banking Corporation Locations: Singapore

☆ ICBC ex-VP being probed by China’s anti-graft body
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Manav Tanneeru | Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —Zhang Hongli, a former senior executive at Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), is being probed by China’s top anti-corruption watchdog, in a sign of a continuing crackdown in the country’s financial sector. State-owned ICBC is one of China’s “Big Four” banks and the world’s largest lender by assets, according to S&P Global. Prior to joining ICBC, Zhang worked at Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs, where he held senior management roles. They include three top executives at the highest ranks of China’s financial world, who have either been probed or charged, according to the commission. In October, Li was expelled from the Communist Party and arrested for allegedly taking bribes, according to Xinhua.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN — Zhang Hongli, Zhang, Goldman Sachs, Bao Fan, Bao, Xi, Li Xiaopeng, —, Li, Liu Liange, Liu, “, Wang Bin, Wang Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Industrial, Commercial Bank of China, Central Commission, P, Deutsche Bank, ICBC’s Communist Party, Xinhua, CNN, China, Communist Party, of China, China Life Insurance Locations: China, Hong Kong, ICBC, Xinhua

☆ Singapore bank UOB sees stronger 2024 outlook, third-quarter net profit trails estimate
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The United Overseas Bank (UOB) building is pictured in the Raffles Place financial district in Singapore on August 10, 2023. Singapore's United Overseas Bank , or UOB, expected a stronger outlook for next year including better loan and fees growth, as it reported on Thursday a weaker-than-expected 1% drop in third-quarter net profit from a year earlier. UOB, Singapore's third-largest bank by assets, projected mid single-digit loan growth and double-digit fee growth for its 2024 outlook, versus low-to-mid single-digit loan growth and high single-digit fees growth for this year's outlook. UOB said July-September net profit dropped to S$1.38 billion ($1 billion) from S$1.40 billion a year earlier, mainly on the back of higher allowances for credit and other losses, as well as Citigroup integration costs. The profit was lower than the mean estimate of S$1.46 billion from four analysts polled by LSEG.

Persons: Wee Ee Cheong, UOB's, UOB Organizations: United Overseas Bank, Raffles, Singapore's United Overseas Bank, Citigroup, LSEG Locations: Singapore, Southeast, ASEAN

☆ U.S. and China commercial property markets face headwinds but UOB is optimistic on Southeast Asia
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Commercial real estate markets in the U.S. and China are economic pain points to monitor in a higher-for-longer rate environment, said Singapore's United Overseas Bank. But the bank remains optimistic about one key region. "The U.S. commercial real estate remains a hotspot, especially with the low occupancy rates that we have," Lee Wai Fai, chief financial officer of UOB told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia." "The other hotspots will be China, there [are] worries about the quality and whether they can manage the property uncertainty in China," he added. Lee added the world is heading into a more "uncertain environment" and the impact of higher-for-longer interest rates is starting to filter through the economy.

Persons: Lee Wai Fai, UOB, CNBC's, Lee Organizations: Singapore's United Overseas Bank Locations: U.S, China

Investors were also excited by Tuesday's approval of an additional 1 trillion yuan ($136.76 billion) of sovereign bond issuance. Drawing investors back into China's $10.5 trillion stock market, particularly the foreign buyers that have fled in droves this year, would stem further slides in a market which fell to its lowest since 2019 earlier this week. "China's central government is endorsing the stock market," said Qi Wang, chief investment officer of UOB Kay Hian's wealth management division in Hong Kong. Huijin last bought ETFs during the 2015 stock market crash, and during the money market liquidity crunch in 2013. Still, China's stock markets have to overcome earlier heavy selling from foreigners, burnt by Xi's previous crackdowns on internet companies and other sectors, and its earlier stringent zero-COVID policy.

Persons: China's, Huang Yan, QiuYang, Huang, Pan Gongsheng, Qi Wang, UOB Kay, Huijin, Fabiana Fedeli, Fedeli, Goldman Sachs, Samuel Shen, Ankur Banerjee, Brigid Riley, Vidya Ranganathan Organizations: Central Huijin Investment, Shanghai QiuYang, People's Bank of China, Sino, CSI, Huijin, China Asset Management Co, Singapore's United Overseas Bank, G Investments, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, SINGAPORE, Shanghai, China, Hong Kong, Tokyo

☆ The 'blue dollar' is booming: Argentina's lust for the buck pushed its black-market rate up 60,000% since peso parity ended in 2002
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Anil Varma | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

For decades, the nation has been roiled by hyperinflation, sky-high interest rates, a growing mountain of debt, a string of sovereign defaults, and a cratering exchange rate. Rampant inflation has ravaged Argentina's currency over the years, wiping out much of its value against the dollar and ruining its appeal to consumers. The coveted bucks from the back alleys of Buenos Aires have their own price, even their own name: dólar blue, or the "blue dollar." AdvertisementAdvertisementUp 60,000% and going strongThe dollar's unofficial exchange rate smashed above 1,000 pesos for the first time last week, to hit levels almost three times as high as the official rate. That would almost certainly mean the blue dollar surging to new highs.

Persons: —, It's, Javier Milei, Manuel Cortina Organizations: Service, Spain's Santander Group, Cato Institute, Local, Argentine, Monetary Fund, BBVA Locations: Argentina, Buenos Aires, bluedollar.net, American, Brazil, Argentine, Spanish

After many companies were wrongfooted by the speed and breadth of prohibitions on Russia, banks are drawing up contingency plans in case geopolitical tensions between the West and China escalate, seven finance industry sources said. The U.S. Treasury Department, which runs the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Britain's Foreign Office and Barclays did not respond to requests for comment. Three senior London-based bankers, who declined to be named because they were not authorised to speak publicly, said their boards had discussed the possibility of stronger Western sanctions on China in future. Scenarios from major cyber-attacks through to a military intervention in Taiwan could potentially trigger further prohibitions on China, one lawyer who advises banks said. One of the bankers said sanctions on Russia had "removed naivety" among businesses and prompted the industry to think more deeply about China risks.

Persons: Neil Whiley, Whiley, Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, Leigh Hansson, Reed Smith, Banks, Biden, Sinead Cruise, Stefania Spezzati, Lawrence White, Michelle Price, Catherine Evans Organizations: Banking, UK Finance Bank, British, Reuters, UK Finance, HSBC, Barclays, JPMorgan, U.S . Treasury Department, Office, Communications, Standard Chartered, Standard, London underwriters, Thomson Locations: China, Western, Britain, U.S, Russia, West, Taiwan, Beijing, London, Ukraine, United States, British, Asia, Washington

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo's trip to China last month had promised some economic and trade detente between the two superpowers now at loggerheads. And none of the 222 funds polled expected China economic growth to be any higher next year than this - mirroring a recent Reuters survey of domestic and overseas banks and investors. As these sorts of surveys go, there's an awful lot in there that could spell "peak gloom". Indeed, shorting China equities was deemed the second "most crowded trade" behind long exposure to supercharged Big Tech stocks. Even if the economy turns, political catalysts for a return to China may be slow in coming.

Persons: Aly, Gina Raimondo's, it's, Jamie Dimon, Jay Clayton, Jenny Johnson, Franklin Templeton, Willem Sels, Mike Dolan, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, . Commerce, Bank of, Big Tech, Reuters, Reuters Graphics Reuters, JPMorgan, Investments, The Ontario Teachers, Caisse, Franklin, HSBC Private Banking, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, Shenzhen, China, loggerheads, Wall, Asia, Silicon Valley, Hong Kong, Temasek, Bridgewater, Blackrock, India, Indonesia, Washington, United States

☆ Merch, vinyl, hotels and credit cards: Taylor Swift's Eras Tour helped a bunch of companies – but hurt others
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Taylor Swift's Eras Tour had a significant impact on several public companies this summer. "Knowing how our guests can't get enough of Taylor Swift, we proactively secured an exclusive vinyl offering that Swifties bought in droves." "In July, Taylor Swift launched her Eras Tour merch shop with us experiencing unprecedented volume sales and site visitors on launch day, and we were ready for it." "Folks aren't buying as much patio furniture when they're spending hundreds or thousands of dollars to go to Taylor Swift. Rolling Stones, U2, Madonna, Prince, and this Taylor Swift performance was at a whole different level.

Persons: Taylor, Taylor Swift, Swifties, Christina Hennington, — Harvey Finkelstein, — Boyd Muir, — Leslie Hale, Raymond Martz, Jon Bortz, Wee Ee Cheong, Thomson Leighton, James Conroy, It's, Jonathan Johnson, Tom Schmitt Organizations: Service, AlphaSense, Merchandising, Universal Music, Lodging, Overseas Bank, Bot, Akamai, Forward Locations: Wall, Silicon, Chicago

The quarterly results from OCBC, also Southeast Asia's second largest lender by assets, rounded up a strong earnings season by Singapore banks as DBS Group (DBSM.SI) and United Overseas Bank (UOBH.SI) also delivered double-digit profit growth. Besides higher interest rates, Singapore lenders have also benefited from strong inflows from wealthy customers amid global uncertainty, including U.S.-China geopolitical tensions, because of the city-state's status as a financial safe-haven. Higher interest rates and slower economic growth could raise asset-quality risks for businesses and individual customers, he said, adding weak loan demand could negatively impact net interest income growth momentum once margin expansion peaks. OCBC said April-June net profit climbed to S$1.71 billion ($1.28 billion) from S$1.28 billion a year earlier mainly driven by better income growth and partly offset by higher allowances for non-impaired assets. The figure compared with a mean estimate of a S$1.76 billion profit from four analysts polled by Refinitiv.

Persons: ROE, Thilan Wickramasinghe, OCBC, NIM, Yantoultra Ngui, Tom Hogue, Shri Navaratnam, Jamie Freed Organizations: Chinese Banking Corp, DBS, United Overseas Bank, Maybank Securities, Refinitiv, Thomson Locations: Singapore, SINGAPORE, Asia's, U.S, China, Malaysia

☆ Singapore bank OCBC second-quarter earnings rise; sees rate cuts from 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Yantoultra Ngui | Thomson Reuters | Yantoultra Ngui Is A Southeast Asia Deals Correspondent With Reuters In Singapore | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The quarterly results from OCBC, also Southeast Asia's second largest lender by assets, rounded up a strong earnings season by Singapore banks as DBS Group (DBSM.SI) and United Overseas Bank (UOBH.SI) also delivered double-digit profit growth. Besides higher interest rates, Singapore lenders have also benefited from strong inflows from wealthy customers amid global uncertainty, including U.S.-China geopolitical tensions, because of the city-state's status as a financial safe-haven. The figure compared with a mean estimate of a S$1.76 billion profit from four analysts polled by Refinitiv. The bank projected its full-year net interest margin, a key profitability gauge, to be above 2.2%, return on equity in the range of 14% and low-to-mid single-digit loan growth. ($1 = 1.3410 Singapore dollars)Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui; Editing by Tom Hogue, Shri Navaratnam and Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: ROE, Helen Wong, Thilan Wickramasinghe, OCBC, Wong, Yantoultra Ngui, Tom Hogue, Shri Navaratnam, Jamie Freed Organizations: Chinese Banking Corp, DBS, United Overseas Bank, Maybank Securities, Refinitiv, Thomson Locations: Singapore, SINGAPORE, Asia's, U.S, China, Malaysia

☆ Singapore's UOB expects 'some upside' to interest income after Fed rate hike
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Clement Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Singapore's United Overseas Bank is expecting "some upside" in interest income in the next quarter, after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced a fresh rate hike overnight. Its net interest income for the quarter grew 31% from a year ago — boosted by robust net interest margin that expanded 50 basis points to 2.13% on higher interest rates, the Singapore-based lender said in a statement released early Thursday. Net interest margin, a measure of lending profitability for banks, is the difference between interest earned and interest paid. Overnight on Wall Street, the Fed raised interest rates by 25 basis points, taking its benchmark borrowing costs to a target range of 5.25%-5.5% — the highest level in more than 22 years. The midpoint of that target range would be the highest level for the benchmark rate since early 2001.

Persons: Lee Wai Fai, CNBC's JP Ong Organizations: Singapore's United Overseas Bank, U.S . Federal Reserve Locations: Singapore

The income Luis earns from his Airbnb rental is paid in dollars into a digital account on US payment platform Payoneer, he said. Argentine hosts on Airbnb can receive payments to a local or overseas bank account as well as Payoneer and Paypal, options on one host's account reviewed by Reuters showed and Airbnb confirmed. Airbnb told Reuters in a statement that guidance published on its website advised hosts to register their short-term rental properties with Argentine authorities. Argentine tax authority AFIP said that it "always encourages people to declare" income. The Buenos Aires tourism department told Reuters, however, that just 570 properties were listed on the city's register of short-term rentals in June.

Persons: Luis, Airbnb, Payoneer, AFIP, Ramiro Raposo, AIRBNB, Ariel Yeger, Gaston Levy, Gustavo, Ana Maria Ianni, Ianni, Anna, Catherine Brigida, Adam Jourdan, Suzanne Goldenberg Organizations: Reuters, Argentine, Paypal, Internal Revenue Service, PayPal, AirDNA, Airbnb, Peronist, Thomson Locations: BUENOS AIRES, Airbnb, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Argentine, United States, Senate's

☆ Singapore bank OCBC posts record quarterly profit, upgrades margin guidance
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Yantoultra Ngui | Thomson Reuters | Yantoultra Ngui Is A Southeast Asia Deals Correspondent With Reuters In Singapore | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

OCBC, which is also Southeast Asia's second-biggest bank by assets, said January-March net profit rose 39% to S$1.88 billion ($1.42 billion), beating the mean estimate of S$1.74 billion from five analysts polled by Refinitiv. OCBC reported a total net interest margin, a key gauge of profitability, of 2.30% for the first quarter, up from 1.55% in the same period a year earlier. The bank forecast a full-year net interest margin of about 2.2%, up from 2.1% previously. The first quarter was also strong for Singapore's other major banks, with larger peer DBS Group (DBSM.SI) reporting last week a 43% jump in first quarter net profit that was also a record. Smaller United Overseas Bank (UOBH.SI) posted last month a 74% surge in core net profit.

OCBC, which is also Southeast Asia's second-biggest bank by assets, said January-March net profit rose to a record S$1.88 billion ($1.42 billion) from S$1.36 billion a year earlier. The bank reported a total net interest margin, a key gauge of profitability, of 2.30% for the first quarter, up from 1.55% in the same period a year earlier. OCBC expected full-year net interest margin in the region of 2.2%. The first quarter was also strong for Singapore's other major banks, with larger peer DBS Group (DBSM.SI) reporting last week a 43% jump in first quarter net profit that was also a record. Smaller United Overseas Bank (UOBH.SI) posted last month a 74% surge in core net profit.

DBS, which is also Southeast Asia's largest lender by assets, said January-March net profit rose to S$2.57 billion ($1.92 billion) from S$1.8 billion a year ago, beating a mean estimate of S$2.44 billion from five analysts polled by Refinitiv. Return on equity rose to a new high of 18.6% in the first quarter from 13.1% the same quarter a year earlier, according to its financial statement. Smaller peer United Overseas Bank (UOBH.SI) reported on Thursday a 74% surge in core net profit in the first quarter from a year earlier on the back of strong net interest and non- interest income growth. DBS, which earns most of its profit from Singapore and Hong Kong, declared a dividend of 42 Singapore cents per share for the first quarter. ($1 = 1.3362 Singapore dollars)Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Southeast Asia's largest lender by assets however said its net interest margin likely peaked in the first quarter and there would be a gradual decline. January-March net profit rose to S$2.57 billion ($1.9 billion) from S$1.8 billion a year ago, beating a mean estimate of S$2.44 billion from five analysts polled by Refinitiv. DBS reported a total net interest margin, a key gauge of profitability, of 2.12% for the first quarter, up from 1.46% in the same period a year earlier. DBS expected full-year net interest margin at 2.05% to 2.10%. DBS, which earns most of its profit from Singapore and Hong Kong, declared a dividend of 42 Singapore cents per share for the first quarter.

☆ Singapore lender UOB's Q1 core profit leaps 74% to record $1.2 bln
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SINGAPORE, April 27 (Reuters) - Singapore's United Overseas Bank (UOBH.SI) reported on Thursday a 74% surge in core profit in the first quarter from a year earlier on the back of strong net interest and non-interest income growth. The lender's core profit, which excludes one-off expenses, rose to a record S$1.58 billion ($1.20 billion) in the first quarter, just above the mean estimate of some S$1.55 billion from four analysts polled by Refinitiv. Net profit in the first quarter climbed 67% to $1.51 billion. "We delivered record profits this quarter backed by our core businesses and diversified growth drivers," Wee Ee Cheong, CEO of the Southeast Asia-focused bank said in a statement. ($1 = 1.3348 Singapore dollars)(This story has been corrected to clarify core net profit is up 74%, not net profit, and adds definition of core net profit)Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui; Editing by Kenneth MaxwellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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