OCBC

[winston]

Not vested

RESEARCH ALERT- CIMB ups OCBC to outperform, keeps S$11.04 target

SINGAPORE, Feb 10 (Reuters) - CIMB Research has upgraded Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp to outperform from neutral but kept its target price at S$11.04.

STATEMENT: CIMB has raised its rating for OCBC as its shares have underperformed its peers in the December-February period.

OCBC's fourth quarter earnings will not be as strong as the previous quarter due to lower contributions from its insurance arm Great Eastern Holdings and a drop in treasury earnings, CIMB said in a report.

The brokerage said it expects OCBC to report a fourth quarter net profit of S$523 million ($410.5 million), 4 percent higher from a year ago but 8 percent lower compared to the previous three months.

At 0126 GMT, OCBC shares were 0.21 percent lower at S$9.62.

They have fallen 2.6 percent since the start of the year.


Source: Reuters

[winston]

Not vested

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp , Singapore's second-biggest bank, will be in focus ahead of earnings later on Friday.

Analysts expect the bank will report an 11 percent rise in quarterly profit, boosted by strong contributions from its insurance unit and from higher fee and commission income.

Source: Reuters

[winston]

Not vested

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp's weaker-than-expected fourth quarter results may affect sentiment, they added.

OCBC, Singapore's number two lender, posted a net profit of S$505 million ($396 million) in October-December, compared to S$502 million a year earlier.


Source: Reuters

[winston]

Not vested

UPDATE 1-OCBC Q1 net beats expectations, eyes business growth in 2011

* Net profit S$628 mln; consensus S$582 mln
* Says business outlook positive despite inflationary pressures
* Wealth management share of revenue rising
* Shares have underperformed rivals this year

By Saeed Azhar

SINGAPORE, May 12 (Reuters) - Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp , Singapore's second-biggest lender, flagged a better year for the business in 2011 despite looming inflationary pressures as it posted a less-than-expected 7 percent drop in quarterly profit.

Singapore banks have benefited from strong loan growth and higher fees from capital markets, but low interest rates have prevented them from taking full advantage of a rebound in corporate and consumer spending.

OCBC said it sees a positive outlook for this year, as the first quarter saw double-digit loan growth in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

"While inflationary pressures persist, the business outlook continues to be positive for the year," CEO David Conner said in a statement.

Analysts are closely looking for signs on when the margin compression will ease which have prevented upside in earnings.

Singapore's central bank does not target interest rates when managing monetary policy, so interest rates move in tandem with U.S. rates.

"The outlook is OK as Singapore banks will see modest EPS growth on a year-on-year basis, but on a fair value basis there's not much upside because the net interest margin expansion is not going to come this year," said Derek Ovington, a banking analyst at CLSA.

OCBC posted a net profit of S$628 million ($508 million) in Jan-March, compared to S$676 million a year earlier.

That compared with an average forecast of S$582 million, according to six analysts polled by Reuters.

OCBC is the last among Singapore's three banks to announce first quarter earnings. United Overseas Bank , Singapore's third ranked lender, posted a 13 percent fall in quarterly net profit due to low interest rate margins, but DBS posted a record quarterly profit thanks to falling bad-debt charges and a strong trading income.

OCBC's net interest income rose 11 percent to S$784 million as loans grew 23 percent, overcoming weaker margins.

The bank's net interest margin -- the difference between the interest rate the bank charges and what it pays depositors - fell to 1.90 percent in the first quarter from 2.03 percent a year ago. Margins fell 6 basis points from the fourth quarter.

Analysts are closely looking for signs that margin compression will ease over the next few months as rates rise in Asia.

Fee and commission income climbed 23 percent to S$279 million, fueled by growth in the wealth management business.

OCBC, which completed the purchase of ING's Asian private banking unit in early 2010, said the share of revenue from wealth management grew to 27 percent of total revenue from 26.1 percent a year ago.

Trading income, however dropped by 51 percent from a record high a year ago and gains from investment securities fell 64 percent, which dragged down overall non-interest income lower.

OCBC shares have undeperformed rivals this year and are down about 4.3 percent so far this year, more than the near 1 percent fall in Singapore's blue chip Straits Times Index . OCBC shares outperformed rivals in 2010, when its share price rose 9 percent.

Shares of DBS , the city-state's biggest bank, have risen around 2.8 percent since the start of the year, while those of UOB, the third-largest, are up around 6 percent.

Source: Reuters

[winston]

I thought this only happened at the China Banks. And is it a systemic risk ?

Ex-OCBC manager charged with cheating By ANGELA TAN

A former relationship manager with OCBC Bank, Tan Wei Chong, was charged on Wednesday with 31 counts of cheating involving nearly S$4.9 million.

The 32-year-old is believed to have cheated the bank between November 2007 and August 2010.

He is accused of deceiving OCBC into believing that customers had applied for cashier's orders, presented authorisation to debit forms or withdrawn cash from their accounts when he was allegedly behind them.

Tan is also accused of 15 counts of transferring benefits of criminal conduct involving more than S$2.5 million.

He is believed to have committed this offence between September 2009 and August 2010.

If convicted of cheating, for each charge, he can be jailed up to 10 years and fined.

And if found guilty of transferring benefits of criminal conduct, he can be jailed up to seven years, fined a maximum of S$500,000 or both for each charge.

A bail of S$1 million was offered to Tan who will be back in court on June 15

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/lat ... 43,00.html?

[winston]

Not vested

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp , Singapore's second-biggest lender, may also be in the spotlight after posting a lower-than-expected 15 percent rise in quarterly net profit as higher staff costs and bad debt charges partially offset strong interest income.


Source: Reuters

[winston]

Not vested

UPDATE 1-OCBC's Q2 net profit up 15 pct, misses consensus

* Q2 net profit S$577 mln; Reuters consensus S$619 mln
* Loans grew 27 pct, net interest income up 15 pct
* Staff costs up 14 pct, bad debt charges up more than 3 times
* Says cognizant of inflationary risks, debt issues in US/Europe

By Saeed Azhar

SINGAPORE, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp , Singapore's second-biggest lender, missed street forecasts for its April-June quarterly profit as staff costs and bad debt charges jumped, partially offsetting strong income from robust loan growth.

Singapore banks have shown impressive loan growth this year as Asian economies remained healthy, but have not been able to take full advantage of the expansion as interest rate margins are hostage to low U.S. rates.

OCBC said it saw a loan growth of 27 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, faster than the 15 percent expansion recorded by bigger rival DBS .

But net interest income rose 15 percent as interest rate margins dropped by nine basis points to 1.87 percent.

Analysts are looking for signs that margin compression will ease over the next few months as rates rise in Asia.

OCBC warned of inflationary risks in Asia and debt problems in the West, which could affect global markets.

"While we are cognizant of inflationary risks, as well as possible negative implications of fiscal issues in the U.S. and Europe on global markets, we will continue to focus on expanding our regional franchise for further growth," said CEO David Conner in a statement.

OCBC posted a net profit of S$577 million ($478 million) in April-June, compared to S$503 million a year earlier.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S had an average forecast of S$619 million for net profit.

The result comes after DBS, Southeast Asia's biggest bank, last week posted a quarterly profit that was slightly above analyst forecasts, helped by strong loan growth as it rebounded from a loss a year ago when it took a goodwill charge.

[ID:nL3E7IR23M] OCBC took bad debt charges of S$56 million in the second-quarter up from S$18 million a year ago, as it took upfront provisions to account for strong loan growth.

Operating expenses rose 11 percent from a year earlier, driven largely by staff costs which grew 14 percent as it hired more staff.

Fee and commission income climbed 20 percent to S$299 million, fueled by growth in the wealth management business while life assurance profits jumped 53 percent.

OCBC's purchase of ING's Asian private banking unit in early 2010, has boosted share of revenue from wealth management services.

OCBC shares are flat so far this year, underperforming DBS whose shares are up 5.4 percent and shares of United Overseas Bank which have rallied about 11 percent in 2011.

The overall index is down about 2 percent over the year.


Source: Reuters

[winston]

Not vested

RESEARCH ALERT-JPMorgan cuts OCBC to neutral, targets S$8.30

SINGAPORE, Sept 5 (Reuters) - JPMorgan has downgraded Singapore's Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp to neutral from overweight and cut the price target to S$8.30 from S$11.00.

STATEMENT: JPMorgan said it has cut OCBC's earnings estimates by 28 percent for 2012 and 2013 on the back of slower loans growth and higher credit costs.

The estimate reduction is part of an industry-wide revision amid increasing risks in the global economy.

While the greater focus on wealth management is a structural positive, it will lead to greater earnings cyclicality.

JP Morgan also noted that OCBC's loan-to-deposit ratio, at 90 percent, makes it more difficult for the bank to increase lending further. For U.S. dollar-denominated loans, the loan-to-deposit ratio stood at 156 percent, the highest among Singapore's three banks.

Intensifying competition for deposit across the lenders will lead to pressure on net interest margin, it added.

At 0143 GMT, OCBC shares were down 2.4 percent at S$8.51.

The stock has fallen nearly 14 percent so far this year.

Source: Reuters

[iam802]

Accelerated fall?? Aren't banks considered defensive, stable stocks within SGX?

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OCBC has been falling.

On the Ichimoku Chart, the stock has been bearish since August. with 4 gap down over the last 1 month.

In fact, the last 3 trading days, has seen it gap down again; suggesting that the fall is now being accelerated.

I think this will be a great setup for a ‘falling knife’. What’s the catalyst to go ‘Long’ now?

[kennynah]

what the happening?

i thot with daonie in palace, ocbc should fly ??