OREANDA-NEWS. Over the past week, Singapore’s listed banks, which together represent just over one-third of the Straits Times Index (STI) weighting, reported results for the three months ended 30 September 2015.

DBS Group Holdings (DBS), Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) and United Overseas Bank (UOB) averaged net interest income of S$1.46 billion for the third quarter, reflecting an average increase of 8.6% year-over-year and 2.8% quarter-on-quarter.

DBS posted the best quarterly performance, with a 13% YoY surge in net interest income to an all-time high of S$1.81 billion.

The three banks averaged a net profit of S$942 million for the quarter. DBS registered a 5.8% YoY increase in net profit, while OCBC and UOB both posted YoY declines of 26.7% and 0.9% respectively.

Excluding a S$50 million charge for first-time adoption of funding valuation adjustment to the fair value of over-the-counter derivatives, DBS’ net profit gained 10% YoY and was stable QoQ.

Excluding the S$391 million one-off gain realised in the year-ago period, OCBC’s core net profit rose 7.3% YoY, driven by a 25% increase in earnings from its banking operations, which more than offset a decline in insurance contributions.

In the third quarter, OCBC’s fee and commission income was little changed YoY and slid 6.8% QoQ to S$408 million, with wealth management, loan and trade-related fees being the largest contributors. UOB’s fee and commission income rose 2.1% YoY and 4.2% QoQ to S$485 million, thanks to higher contributions from credit card and wealth management income.

DBS’ net fee and commission income fell 6.8% YoY and 11.2% QoQ to S$517 million for the September quarter, as volatility in financial markets resulted in lower fee income from wealth management, investment banking and stockbroking activities, the bank said in a statement.

Net Interest Margins

The three banks averaged a net interest margin (NIM) of 1.74% for the July-September quarter, compared with 1.69% in the year-ago quarter, and 1.73% in the April-June quarter.

DBS’ NIM jumped to a four-year high of 1.78%, as Singapore-dollar loans were re-priced in line with higher interbank and swap offer rates.

Singapore’s three-month interbank offered rate (SIBOR) stood at 1.07% as of Friday, off its 17 September peak of 1.14%, but more than double its level from a year ago, amidst expectations the Federal Reserve would soon raise US interest rates.

OCBC’s NIM slipped two basis points as improved customer loan spreads in Singapore were more than offset by a lower loan-to-deposit ratio and a fall in money market gapping income. Its loan-to-deposit ratio at 30 September 2015 stood at 83.5%, versus 85.5% a year ago.

UOB said in its results statement that improving loan yields added six basis points to its NIM in the quarter from the year-ago period, as it also benefited from rising domestic interbank and swap offer rates.

Bad Loans

The three banks averaged a non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of 1.0% in the September quarter, compared with 0.9% YoY and QoQ.

UOB registered the highest NPL ratio of 1.3% among the three banks in the third quarter, up from 1.2% YoY and QoQ, due to a few large NPL accounts in Singapore, Indonesia and greater China, it said in its results statement.

OCBC’s NPLs also edged higher to 0.9% from 0.7% in the year-ago quarter and the previous quarter, due to a few large corporate accounts associated with the oil and gas services sector, it said in a statement.

DBS’ asset quality remained stable over the period. Stress tests carried out on DBS’ loans to the commodity sector showed no signs of problems, Chief Executive Officer Piyush Gupta told a media briefing today (click here to read his kopi-C profile).

The bank has commodity/energy loan exposure of about S$21 billion, and this exposure remains “healthy”, Gupta said.

There are also no signs of stress in its Singapore mortgage book, with domestic mortgages growing S$5 billion this year versus S$4 billion last year. Meanwhile, China trade loans have fallen S$10 billion to S$26 billion as of September 2015 from June 2014, he added.

Key Financial Ratios

The three banks averaged a Return on Equity (ROE) of 11.3% in the third quarter, compared with 12.4% YoY and 11.8% QoQ.

UOB registered the highest ROE among the three at 11.8%, while DBS had the lowest ROE of 10.9%.

In terms of Common Equity Tier 1 Capital Adequacy Ratio, the three banks posted an average of 13.7%. OCBC had the highest Common Equity Tier 1 CAR of 14.5%, while DBS registered the lowest at 12.9%, largely due to payment of interim dividends and currency translation effects, it said in its results statement.

Financial results for the quarter ended 30 Setepmber 2015      
Name Net Interest Income (S$ mln) YoY % Change QoQ % change Net profit (S$ mln) YoY % change QoQ % change
DBS Group Holdings 1,813 13.2 4.0 1,066 5.8 -4.6
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation* 1,317 5.6 2.7 902 -26.7 -13.9
United Overseas Bank 1,235 6.9 1.8 858 -0.9 12.6
Average 1,455 8.6 2.8 942 -7.3 -2.0
*3Q 2014 net profit was boosted by a one-off gain of S$391 million      

Source: Company data

DBS, OCBC and UOB have averaged a price decline of 15.7% in the year thus far, with dividends bringing total returns to a negative 12.7%. Over a 12-month and three-year period, total returns were -4.1% and 24.2% respectively.

DBS is trading 20% below its 12-month high and 7.9% percent above its 12-month low, while OCBC is trading 17% below its one-year high and 4.8% above its one-year low. UOB is trading 19% below its 12-month high and 12% above its 12-month low.