UOB's Q2 Profit Rises 32% On Loan Growth

Source : The Business Times, August 7, 2007

Singapore's second-biggest lender, United Overseas Bank, posted a 32 per cent rise in quarterly profit, excluding exceptional gains, on Tuesday as a construction and property boom fuelled strong loan growth.

The bank reported net profit of $585 million (US$386 million) for the April-June period, up from $443 million, excluding exceptional items, a year ago and better than an average forecast of $528 million by four analysts polled by Reuters.

Last month, DBS Group Holdings, South-east Asia's biggest lender, reported a 21 per cent jump in quarterly net profit excluding one-offs, beating market expectations, due to higher loan income and strong fees.

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, the smallest of Singapore's banks, will report its earnings on Wednesday.

UOB, controlled by its chairman Wee Cho Yaw and his family, has benefited from rising loans to construction firms and mortgages on the back of a booming Singapore property market. -- REUTERS