SINGAPORE, May 3 — DBS Group Holdings Ltd., Southeast Asia’s largest bank, posted higher first-quarter profit as net interest income rose.
Net income rose to S$1.20 billion million (RM3.5 billion) for the three months ended March 31 from S$1.13 billion a year earlier, the Singapore-based bank reported today. That beats the average forecast of S$1.04 billion in a Bloomberg survey of six analysts.
DBS is the last of Singapore’s three largest banks to report first-quarter earnings, as lenders around the region are pressured by an economic slowdown and a collapse in commodity prices. Its two smaller rivals, Oversea-Chinese Bank Corp. and United Overseas Bank Ltd., both posted lower profit. Central banks from Southeast Asia to China have delivered various measures in a bid to reverse the decline in economic growth.
Net interest income at DBS gained 8 per cent to S$1.83 billion from a year earlier. DBS’s net interest margin, a gauge of lenders’ profitability, was higher at 1.85 per cent, compared with 1.69 per cent a year ago and 1.84 per cent in the previous quarter. — Bloomberg
