| |
| |
![]() |
| |

|
| |
|
| |
|
SINGAPORE - Singapore's Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp said Thursday net profit in the second quarter slumped an annual 20 per cent because of weaker contributions from its insurance and brokerage businesses.
The Singapore lender said net profit in the June quarter was S$425 million, down from S$532 million last year. Half-year net profit came to S$1.05 billion, down 11 per cent from S$1.18 billion in the same period over 2007.
Last quarter's net profit was below the average S$480 million that analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires were expecting.
Net interest income was up 22 per cent on-year to S$678 million, but non-interest income declined 27 per cent to S$360 million.
The bank's insurance arm, Great Eastern, contributed S$3.0 million to its net profits in the June quarter, which was down sharply from S$116 million last year. Brokerage income fell 47 per cent to S$19 million.
"Our first half performance was affected by the volatile markets impacting Great Eastern's results and the bank's trading income," said chief executive David Conner.
"Still, the overall fundamentals of our banking and insurance businesses remain strong."
Meanwhile, OCBC also announced that it is planning to raise up to S$1.5 billion through a preference share issue to shore-up its Tier 1 capital base.
The bank has assets worth S$181 billion and a network of over 460 branches and representative offices spread over 15 countries.
- AFP/ir/ls
|