The parent of Bank of Singapore yesterday posted third-quarter net profit of S$2.04 billion ($1.59 billion). Wealth management income and assets reached new highs.

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) reported a 3 per cent year-on-year rise in third-quarter net profit to S$2.04 billion, with income from its banking wealth management businesses reaching a record S$1.12 billion.

Banking wealth management assets under management, which exclude insurer Great Eastern Holdings (GEH), rose 2 per cent from the second quarter to a record S$358 billion, the Singapore-headquartered group said late last week. 

It reported net new money inflows across all wealth segments. Wealth management fees beat the previous year quarter but were below the record set in the second quarter.

Quarter-on-quarter, group net profit fell 8 per cent. Profit from banking operations rose 8 per cent to a record S$1.90 billion, but this was offset by weaker investment performance at GEH, which booked mark-to-market losses on its bond portfolio as interest rates rose.

That insurance drag hit the broader wealth line. Group wealth management income, which spans private banking through Bank of Singapore, premier banking, insurance, asset management and stockbroking, fell 25 per cent from the second quarter. Excluding GEH, banking wealth income rose 2 per cent.

For the first nine months of this year, net profit rose 10 per cent to a record S$6.24 billion ($4.87 billion). Wealth management fees climbed 25 per cent to a record S$1.33 billion and accounted for 62 per cent of total fee income. Customer flow trading income rose 40 per cent to S$1.35 billion, driven by wealth-related and corporate hedging activity.

Noninterest income made up 42 per cent of nine-month total income, up from 38 per cent a year earlier, as the net interest margin narrowed to 1.71 per cent from 1.93 per cent. GEH’s nine-month profit contribution rose 5 per cent to S$941 million. Annualised return on equity was 13.5 per cent.

Tan Teck Long, group chief executive officer, pointed to external risks. “Much of the near-term outlook will depend on the easing of energy prices brought about by the war in the Middle East, while the market conditions in Indonesia are also being closely monitored,” he said.

Singapore rivals reported similar wealth momentum. DBS said third-quarter wealth management fees rose 9 per cent year-on-year to S$864 million but fell 6 per cent from the second quarter, while record net new money lifted wealth AuM 5 per cent to S$544 billion; its nine-month wealth fees rose 24 per cent to S$2.69 billion. United Overseas Bank posted record third-quarter wealth management fees of S$258 million and nine-month net new money of S$5 billion, with nine-month wealth income up 13 per cent.