SG Bank Earnings Recap: DBS Beats Across the Board, Who Wins Amid Tariff Uncertainty?
All three local banks flagged tariff uncertainties from US President Donald Trump’s trade policies and boosted allowance reserves. Let’s check their earnings performance.
$DBS Group Holdings(D05.SI)$ Beats Across-the-Board; Profit Hits Record High After Tax Adjustment; Management Maintains Guidance
EPS: 1.02 (2.78% beat)
Revenue: SGD 5.90 billion (2.69% beat)
Net Interest Income: SGD 3.68 billion (0.75% beat)
Net Interest Margin (NIM): 2.12% (1.47% beat)
Net Profit: SGD 2.89 billion (0.70% beat)
DBS’s Q1 net profit fell 2%, mainly due to higher tax expenses following the implementation of the 15% global minimum tax in January. However, pre-tax profit hit a record high of SGD 3.44 billion, up 1% year-over-year.
Outlook: Management broadly maintained its 2025 guidance, but the company projected commercial book non-interest income growth to be lower than estimates in Feb.
Loan growth for 2025 is projected at 5%–6%. Net interest income is expected to exceed 2024 levels.
The bank expects loan demand to remain strong in H1 2025, but it could weaken in H2 if trade tensions persist. If loan demand softens, funds may be redirected toward non-loan assets.
DBS declared a total dividend of 75 cents per share for Q1, consisting of a regular dividend of 60 cents (up from 54 cents a year ago) and a special capital return dividend of 15 cents.
$ocbc bank(O39.SI)$ : Profit Beats, But Net Interest Income and NIM Disappoint
EPS: 0.42 (3.67% beat)
Revenue: SGD 3.65 billion (0.79% beat)
Net Interest Income: SGD 2.35 billion (-2.83% miss)
NIM: 2.04% (-6.17% miss)
Non-interest income: SGD 1.31 billion (6.91% beat)
Net Profit: SGD 1.88 billion (2.15% beat)
Q1 net profit dropped 5% year-over-year due to a decline in net interest income. However, it still exceeded analyst expectations, driven by higher wealth management fees, trading gains, and insurance income.
Net interest income fell 4% YoY, and NIM declined by 23 basis points to 2.04%.
Unlike DBS and UOB, one-third of OCBC's revenue comes from non-interest income, which beat expectations by 6.91% and rose 10% YOY, led by increased wealth management, trading, and insurance revenue.
Outlook: OCBC maintained all of its 2025 financial targets, including net interest margin in the region of 2 per cent and credit costs in the range of 20 to 25 basis points
CEO Helen Wong noted continued deposit inflows and loan growth, and said portfolio quality remains sound.
DBS OCBC UOB: Which Singapore Banks to Invest In?
$UOB(U11.SI)$ : Drops Guidance and Misses on Net Profit
EPS: 0.87 (-4.38% miss)
Revenue: SGD 3.66 billion (0.31% beat)
Net Interest Income: SGD 2.41 billion (1.6% beat)
NIM: 2.00% vs. 1.94% (3.19% beat)
Net Profit: SGD 1.49 billion vs. 1.54 billion (-3.25% miss)
UOB is the only one among the three banks to lower guidance. The non-performing loan (NPL) ratio rose to 1.6%, up from 1.5% in the same quarter last year, and also higher than the expected 1.55%.
CEO Wee Ee Cheong said that macroeconomic uncertainties from US tariffs have triggered significant market volatility and global trade disruptions. “We anticipate a slowdown in global growth in the near term and remain vigilant amid the uncertain global outlook,” he stated.
However, CEO Wee Ee Cheong bought 100,000 UOB shares on May 7, following the Q1 FY2025 results release. The insider buying may shore up investors' confidence.
Which bank’s Q1 performance do you value the most?
Amid current global tariff uncertainties, which bank do you think has stronger risk resilience?
UOB is the only bank that lowered its 2025 guidance, yet its CEO increased his stake after the earnings release — what’s your take on this move?
Post directly in the topic: Maintain Guidance, Profit Drops: How Will SG Banks Move Post-Earnings? or leave your comments on this post to win tiger coins~
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if I have [USD] [USD] [USD] I would get all three and hold them for long term [Grin] [Grin] [Grin]
All three local banks flagged tariff uncertainties from US President Donald Trump’s trade policies and boosted allowance reserves.
$DBS Group Holdings(D05.SI)$ Beats Across-the-Board; Profit Hits Record High After Tax Adjustment; Management Maintains Guidance
$ocbc bank(O39.SI)$ : Profit Beats, But Net Interest Income and NIM Disappoint
$UOB(U11.SI)$ : Drops Guidance and Misses on Net Profit
Which bank’s Q1 performance do you value the most?
Amid current global tariff uncertainties, which bank do you think has stronger risk resilience?
UOB is the only bank that lowered its 2025 guidance, yet its CEO increased his stake after the earnings release — what’s your take on this move?
leave your comments on this post to win tiger coins~
For risk resilience, OCBC stands out. Its diversified non-interest income from wealth, trading, and insurance cushioned weak NII and NIM. This balanced income mix offers better stability if trade tensions escalate.
UOB’s CEO buying shares after lowering guidance is a positive signal of confidence. While UOB faces more risks with rising NPLs, the insider buying suggests long-term belief in its value, though I’d still be more cautious compared to DBS and OCBC.