United Overseas Bank, the Singaporean bank, reported a steady growth of 6.1 per cent in net profit after tax for the nine months to 30 September 2013 at S$2.24 billion ($1.8 billion), driven by strong contributions from fees and commission income and net interest income. 

Fee and commission earnings, boosted by growths in corporate finance and capital markets, wealth management, fund management and loan-related businesses, went up 15.7 per cent from the year-earlier period to S$1.30 billion. Net interest income rose 2.5 per cent to S$3.03 billion, the bank said in a statement.

Despite the modest profit increase, the results are more than positive for UOB, as analysts had expected a decline given the sustained low interest rate environment in the past quarters, a 5.3 per cent rise in group operating expenses and a 24 per cent drop in trading and investment income. The group's funding position is stable, the bank said, with the loans-to-deposits ratio at 88.3 per cent.

Group Retail, which covers consumer, privilege, business and private banking saw a 9.9 per cent gain in the period to S$877 million, driven mostly by the higher fee incomes. Among its locations, the firm recorded the highest total assets in Singapore as at 30 September, where it has S$169.5 billion. This is followed by Malaysia, S$34.7 billion, and then by Greater China, S$23.7 billion.

UOB's report comes barely a week after major rivals DBS and OCBC Bank posted a 4 per cent rise and 5 per cent decline in net profit after tax for the same period.