DBS Group Holdings, Southeast Asia's biggest bank, said Friday its third-quarter net profit rose an annual 11 percent as lending expanded due to a strong economy. Fees earned from stockbroking, investment banking, loan syndication and wealth management also contributed to the earnings, the bank said in a statement to the stock exchange.
Net profit for the three months to September came in at S$610 million, up from S$552 million in the same period last year and was within analysts forecasts.
The bank incurred a S$38 million impairment charge from its investment in Thailand's TMB Bank. Without the charge, net profit rose 17 percent.
Net interest income climbed 15 percent to S$1.05 billion as loans expanded 23 percent, driven by lending to companies in Singapore and the region. Lending to Singapore's buoyant property sector also increased.
The Singapore economy grew 9.4 percent in the third quarter, faster than the 8.7 percent expansion in the second quarter, and full-year growth is expected between 7-8 percent.
Income from fees jumped 38 percent to a record S$403 million as strockbroking, investment banking, loan syndication and wealth management activities picked up, DBS said.
"Results for the quarter were reassuring despite turbulence in the global credit markets," said DBS chief executive Jackson Tai.
"We took steps over the last five years to diversify our earnings across business and geography to supplement our strength in corporate banking and the markets."
Tai said the diversification helped the bank withstand the fallout from global credit turmoil triggered by a crisis in the US sub-prime mortgage housing market.
DBS said it set aside S$70 million for its exposure to the US sub-prime credit market and marked down S$42 million against exposure to an investment vehicle that invests in risky debt derivatives. - AFP/ir
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