OCBC Bank reports fourth quarter net profit up 12% to $663 million
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Pedestrians walk past a branch of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. (OCBC) in Singapore on Monday, July 21, 2008. OCBC, Singapore's second-biggest lender, posted a 12 per cent jump in fourth-quarter net profit due to a rise in fee income and a quadrupling of gains from its insurance unit that offset weak interest margins. -- PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
OCBC Bank reported a fourth quarter net profit of $663 million, up 12 per cent from $594 million in the same quarter a year ago.
Net interest income was $921 million, relatively unchanged from a year ago as loan growth was offset by a 15 basis point decline in net interest margin to 1.70 per cent.
In a statement, the bank attributed it to pricing competition and the flat yield curve environment.
Non-interest income grew 32 per cent to $757 million from $572 million.
