United Overseas Bank (UOB) posted a 10% rise in second-quarter net profit to S$1.5 billion, beating expectations as record wealth management fees and healthy customer activity supported earnings.
The Singapore lender’s April-June net profit increased from S$1.34 billion a year earlier and exceeded the S$1.4 billion average estimate from three analysts surveyed by LSEG.
UOB CEO Wee Ee Cheong said the results showed its ASEAN strategy was gaining traction, with wealth management and transaction banking benefiting from sustained customer activity across the region.
“We are seeing good progress across our businesses as we deepen customer relationships, expand our capabilities and connect customers to opportunities across our regional network,” he said.
“Looking ahead, we see significant opportunities to grow wealth, support cross-border ambitions and capture a larger share of trade and investment flows across ASEAN.”
UOB’s performance comes as Singapore-based lenders benefit from stronger demand for wealth management services, with geopolitical uncertainty and robust regional equity markets supporting inflows into the city-state’s financial sector.
The bank’s results were announced a day after larger peer DBS Group reported a 9% increase in second-quarter net profit to a record level.
The stronger performances across Singapore’s banking sector highlight the growing contribution from fee-based businesses as lenders contend with pressure on lending margins amid changing interest-rate conditions.
For UOB, the continued expansion of wealth management and transaction banking provides an avenue to deepen relationships with customers and capture more cross-border trade and investment activity across ASEAN.
Reuters
