SINGAPORE: Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC), Singapore's second-biggest listed bank, reported on Tuesday (Nov 5) its worst quarterly profit this year after booking a one-off charge at its Indonesian banking unit.
OCBC's net profit came in at S$1.17 billion for the July to September quarter, missing a S$1.19 billion average estimate of five analysts, according to data from Refinitiv. Last year, it reported a profit of S$1.25 billion in the quarter.
AdvertisementAdvertisement[h=3]READ: MAS sees 'fits and starts' for Singapore economy ahead with uneven growth across industries[/h]However, excluding the one-off charge related to changes in its expected credit loss modelling at the Indonesian unit, OCBC's core net profit was S$1.26 billion, slightly higher than S$1.25 billion a year earlier.
Higher wealth management fees helped offset a challenging environment as the city-state narrowly dodged a recession in the third quarter due to the unrelenting trade war between the United States and China - two of Singapore's biggest export markets.
Singapore's central bank eased monetary policy for the first time in three years last month.
AdvertisementAdvertisement[h=3]READ: The S$NEER and its slope, width and centre: Questions about Singapore’s monetary policy[/h]As loan growth moderates and interest rates soften, banks are gearing up for a challenging outlook after clocking robust growth rates in recent years.
The lender's net interest income grew 6 per cent to S$1.60 billion and net interest margin rose 5 basis points to 1.77 per cent.
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