OCBC and UOB, Singapore’s second and third largest banks, project stronger loan growth in 2025 after exceeding third-quarter profit expectations. This outlook follows recent U.S. rate cuts, though geopolitical uncertainties could still impact markets, said OCBC’s CEO Helen Wong.
Singapore's second and third largest banks, among Southeast Asia's biggest by assets, forecast an improving loan growth environment in 2025, after posting strong sets of third-quarter net profits that beat market expectations.
The forecasts followed the U.S. central bank's interest rate cut by a quarter percentage point on Thursday, the second straight reduction after a bigger half point cut in September.
"I do see that next year loan growth has a bigger potential compared to this year," said Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC.SI), or OCBC, Group CEO Helen Wong at an earnings briefing.
Smaller peer United Overseas Bank (UOBH.SI), or UOB, projected high single-digit loan growth for 2025, versus low single-digit it is seeing for 2024, as it reported a faster-than-expected rise in third-quarter net profit.
Nevertheless, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's proposed policies that include more import tariffs and stricter immigration restrictions could spur inflation and translate into fewer interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
OCBC's Wong said uncertain geopolitical conditions could potentially create market volatilities.
OCBC, Singapore's second-biggest bank after DBS Group (DBSM.SI), said July-September net profit increased 9% to S$1.97 billion ($1.49 billion) from S$1.81 billion a year earlier. That beat the mean estimate of nearly S$1.91 billion from analysts surveyed by LSEG.
OCBC's improved performance was also driven by increased wealth management activity that lifted fee and trading income, in addition to higher insurance income and lower allowances.
Net interest margin was, however, lower at 2.18% during the quarter from 2.27% a year earlier, a trend similar with DBS and UOB too.
OCBC's return on equity rose slightly to 14.1% in the third quarter from 14.0% in the same period of 2023.
($1 = 1.3201 Singapore dollars)
U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that Washington would withdraw its support for Iraq if former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki is returned to pow...
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Bola Ahmed Tinubu to hold bilateral talks, attend signing ceremony, joint press conference....
TikTok has reached a confidential settlement in a landmark lawsuit over youth mental health, leaving Meta and YouTube to face a jury in California as ...
Chevron is in talks with Iraq’s oil ministry over potential changes to the commercial framework governing the West Qurna 2 oilfield, one of the worl...
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa stressed to U.S. President Donald Trump in a phone call on Tuesday the importance of unifying international efforts t...
Singapore plans to make the former home of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew a national monument, despite his stated wish for it to be demolished.
Singapore plans to acquire four Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, a statement from the country's defence ministry said on Wednesday.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth met Singapore’s Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing on Tuesday to discuss military cooperation and security in the Asia-Pacific region.
Singaporean property tycoon Ong Beng Seng pleaded guilty on Monday to one charge of obstructing justice in a high-profile case that led to the imprisonment of former transport minister Subramaniam Iswaran last year.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has activated the state’s National Guard following the fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis, an incident that has triggered protests and intensified tensions between state and federal authorities.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has strongly rejected a U.S. magazine report on the death toll during January unrest. Nationwide protests erupted in response to soaring inflation and a national currency crisis.
A mosaic portrait of Pope Leo XIV was illuminated on Sunday at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, continuing a centuries-old Vatican tradition marking the election of a new pope.
The death toll from nationwide protests in Iran has climbed to 6,126, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, often viewed as a bellwether for the complex diplomatic currents between the Kremlin and the West, has issued a startling prediction regarding the endgame of the war in Ukraine.
The S&P 500 edged to a record closing high on Tuesday, marking its fifth consecutive day of gains, as strong advances in technology stocks offset a sharp selloff in healthcare shares and a mixed batch of corporate earnings.
Chevron is in talks with Iraq’s oil ministry over potential changes to the commercial framework governing the West Qurna 2 oilfield, one of the world’s largest producing assets, after Baghdad nationalised the field earlier this month following U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia’s Lukoil.
Argentina's economic activity shrunk 0.3% in November compared with the same month last year, marking the first monthly contraction of 2025, data from Argentina's national statistics agency showed on Wednesday.
Wall Street closed sharply lower on Tuesday as global markets fell after U.S. President Donald Trump’s new tariff threats against Europe unsettled investors and revived fears of renewed volatility.
Global markets are rattled after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened new tariffs on eight European countries over Greenland, sending the euro to a seven-week low and raising concerns about renewed transatlantic trade tensions.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment