SINGAPORE: Singapore’s biggest banks, DBS Group, boosted its general income deposits amid heightened economic and political uncertainty on Thursday ( May 8 ) after posting a 2 per share year-on-year cut in first-quarter net income, which beat expectations.
” New escalations in trade conflicts have heightened economic challenges and business volatility”, DBS main professional Tan Su Shan said in a statement. ” As doubt persists, we may stay flexible to capture prospects while prudently managing hazards”.
DBS’s benefits followed those of smaller friend United Overseas Bank, which on Wednesday posted a firm yet weaker-than-expected first-quarter gross profit and paused giving 2025 assistance due to uncertainties triggered by US tariffs.
Another key international lenders such as HSBC and Standard Chartered have also highlighted the threat to economic growth due to the impact of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
DBS, which is Southeast Asia’s biggest lender by assets, said its January to March net profit declined to S$ 2.9 billion ( US$ 2.24 billion ) from S$ 2.95 billion a year earlier, due to higher tax expenses from the implementation of the 15 per cent global minimum tax. It was the first on-year drop since the first quarter of 2022.
But the result beat the mean estimate of S$ 2.82 billion from two analysts, according to LSEG data.
Profit before tax hit a record of S$ 3.44 billion in the first quarter, slightly higher than a year ago, as total income reached a new high from robust business growth, according to the bank’s financial statement.
DBS said it took a general allowance of S$ 205 million as a prudent measure to strengthen general provision reserves to S$ 4.16 billion in light of recent developments that have added to macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty.
It announced an ordinary dividend of 60 Singapore cents per share and a capital return dividend of 15 cents for the first quarter.
DBS’s first-quarter return on equity was 17.3 per cent, down from 19.4 per cent a year ago.
Net interest margin, a key gauge of profitability, dropped to 2.12 per cent in the first quarter from 2.14 per cent in the same period a year earlier.
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation is scheduled to report its results on Friday.