by millionairemind » Mon Aug 02, 2010 2:15 pm
Aug 2, 2010
OCBC Q2 net profit up 8%
OCBC, Singapore's second-biggest lender, said its second-quarter profit rose eight per cent, slightly below forecasts, as margins remained under pressure because of low interest rates.
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp clocked a net profit of S$503 million between April-June, compared with S$466 million in the year-ago period. Analysts had predicted a net profit of S$508 million, according to an average of eight forecasts compiled by Reuters.
The result came after rival DBS, Southeast Asia's biggest bank, last week posted an unexpected loss due to a one-time goodwill charge on its Hong Kong business.
Excluding the charge, DBS's net profit was up 30 per cent to S$718 million, the highest quarterly profit ever, versus S$552 million a year ago.
Singapore banks are struggling to take full advantage of fast loan growth and a drop in bad debt charges due to historically low interest rates.
Shares in OCBC are little changed this year compared with a 5.2 per cent decline in rival DBS Group DBSM.SI and a 1.4 per cent rise for UOB. The benchmark Straits Times Index is up about 4 per cent this year. -- REUTERS
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