Reports

Bank Of Singapore's AUM Grows A Quarter YoY

Tara Loader Wilkinson Editor Asia 14 May 2012

Bank Of Singapore's AUM Grows A Quarter YoY

Assets under management at Bank of Singapore, the private bank owned by Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, grew 25 per cent in the first quarter compared to the first three months of 2011, said the group in its quarterly results last week. 

OCBC did not break down BoS results any further but said that the group’s revenue from various wealth management activities, comprising revenue from insurance, private banking, asset management, stockbroking and sale of wealth management products, grew to S$527 million ($420 million), up 39 per cent from a year ago and 85 per cent from the previous quarter.

As a share of total revenue, wealth management contributed 30 per cent, up from 27 per cent year-on-year and 19 per cent on the previous quarter.

Overall the group achieved buoyant results, reporting a record quarterly net profit of S$832 million for the first quarter of 2012, up 32 per cent from a year ago and 40 per cent from the previous quarter. Core net profit, which excludes gains from the divestment of non-core assets, was S$790 million, up a third year-on-year and the same quarter-on-quarter.

Net interest margin, money made from loans, declined 4 basis points to 1.86 per cent from 1.90 per cent year-on-year, as a result of the persistently low interest rate environment, robust growth in lower-yielding trade-linked loans, and price competition, particularly for housing loans, said the bank.

Compared with last quarter, non-interest income (money made from fees) grew 38 per cent. Growth was driven by an increase in life assurance profit, which rose to S$221 million from S$51 million in the previous quarter. The quarter-on-quarter increase in non-interest income was also driven by higher wealth management fees and gains from investment securities.

Operating expenses increased 8 per cent year-on-year to S$625 million. The increase was largely attributable to higher staff costs, which rose 9 per cent to S$382 million. The higher staff costs reflected a 6 per cent growth in staff, largely attributable to higher salaries and incentive compensation, said OCBC.

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