DBS Group Holdings on Monday reported quarterly earnings that beat forecasts and said it expects net profit next year to match 2023's level amid challenges to loan growth and spillover from geopolitical tensions.
Singapore and South-east Asia's largest lender posted a 16 per cent year-on-year rise in net profit to $2.59 billion for the third quarter.
Excluding one-time costs of $40 million from the integration of Citibank Taiwan, earnings rose 18 per cent to $2.63 billion, beating the $2.54 billion forecast by analysts in a Bloomberg poll.
The Taiwan unit was consolidated on Aug 12 and made DBS the largest foreign bank there by assets.
The board declared a dividend of 48 cents a share for the third quarter, unchanged from the previous quarter. This brings the dividend for the nine months to $1.38 a share.
Compared with the record earnings in the previous quarter, net profit was 2 per cent lower as the higher income was offset by increased expenses and higher allowances taken for exposure linked to a recent money laundering case here.
Major banks including DBS were creditors to investment companies linked to individuals arrested and charged in a major money laundering scandal involving more than $2.8 billion of assets, including properties, luxury cars and cash.
DBS chief executive Piyush Gupta disclosed that the bank had about $100 million in exposure to the money laundering case.
These were mostly property purchases or retail customer accounts used to finance properties, he said.
This story is from the November 07, 2023 edition of The Straits Times.
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This story is from the November 07, 2023 edition of The Straits Times.
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