The part of the lender that contains its Bank of Singapore business enjoyed a rise in profit for the first six months of the year.

The global consumer/private banking arm of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, which includes the Bank of Singapore business, logged an operating profit after allowances and amortisation of S$699 million ($511.9 million) in the first half of this year, up from S$634 million a year earlier.

In the second three months of this year, operating profit was S$330 million, up 3 per cent on a year earlier, OCBC said in a statement. The Singapore-listed lender’s results follow those of its two main domestic rivals, DBS and United Overseas Bank.

The operating profit growth for both periods was driven by higher net interest income and fee income, partly offset by an increase in expenses. Quarter-on-quarter, operating profit fell by 10 per cent as net interest income growth was offset by a lower fee income and higher costs.

Across the bank as a whole, OCBC reported a net profit after tax of S$1.21 billion for the second quarter of 2018, rising 16 per cent from S$1.04 billion a year ago and 9 per cent from S$1.11 billion in the previous quarter. Results boosted second-quarter return on equity to 12.6 per cent from 11.4 per cent. The figures were driven by “robust performance” across each of the group’s banking, wealth management and insurance businesses, it said.

The second-quarter profit figure beat analysts’ forecasts (source: Bloomberg, 7 August).

Shares in the bank were up about 4 per cent in late-afternoon trade in Singapore.