Among details of the numbers, the bank said its wealth management fees rose from a year ago.

DBS Group said its third-quarter 2022 net profit rose 32 per cent from a year ago reaching a record S$2.24 billion ($1.58 billion). Nine-month net profit rose 8 per cent to a record of S$5.85 billion.

Wealth management fees fell 4 per cent year-on-year to S$323 million and investment banking fees fell 17 per cent to S$25 million as “financial market conditions remained weak,” the Singapore-based group said in a statement yesterday. The fee declines were offset by growth in card and loan-related fees, it said.

Transaction service fees were stable at S$230 million. Compared with a year ago, fee income fell by 13 per cent as lower wealth management and investment banking fees more than offset increases in card and loan-related fees, it continued. 

Return on equity reached a new high of 16.3 per cent, the lender said.

Total income grew by 28 per cent to a record S$4.54 billion as net interest margin recovered to pre-pandemic highs and business momentum was sustained during the quarter. 

Specific allowances halved to eight basis points of loans, while general allowances of S$18 million were taken compared with a S$413 million write-back a year ago.

Costs rose by 10 per cent from the previous quarter and 9 per cent from a year ago to S$1.83 billion, led by higher staff costs.

The Common Equity Tier 1 ratio – a standard international metric of a bank’s capital buffer – declined from 14.2 per cent in the previous quarter to 13.8 per cent.

The DBS board declared a quarterly dividend of S$36 cents per share for the third quarter, bringing the dividend for the nine months to S$1.08 a share, the lender added.