(23 February 2012 – Asia) Singapore’s largest local bank by market capitalisation – the Overseas Chinese Banking Corporation Ltd (OCBC) reported encouraging operating results for the year.An 18 percent increase was reported in fourth-quarter profit, to US$475 million (A$446 million) from US$403 million year-on-year.
For all of 2011, OCBC’s net income rose 3 percent to US$1.8 billion on more loans to the general commerce sector, housing loans and lending to professionals and individuals.
OCBC’s net interest income grew 20 percent from 2010 to US$739 million.
“Our results for 2011 underscore the strength of our customer franchise in a challenging operating environment,” said chief executive David Conner.
Analysts noted that loan growth was significant for all Singapore banks during the fourth quarter. They had expected this improvement to counterbalance a slight drop of net interest margins.
OCBC’s global network consists of more than 530 branches with representative offices in 15 countries and territories.