Financial Results
Private Banking, Wealth Management Contribute To Strong First Half For OCBC Bank

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, the Singapore-based bank, posted a record 23 per cent increase in net profits for the six months ended 30 June 2012 to S$1,480 million ($1.2 billion), driven by robust net interest income, higher fees and trading and investment income growth.
Net interest income for the period rose 17 per cent to S$1,882 million on strong asset growth. Non-interest earnings were up 16 per cent at S$1,442 million, as net trading income went up to S$235 million and life assurance profits gained 3 per cent to hit S$292 million.
Fees and commissions showed healthy contributions from wealth management and loan-related activities, which grew 3 per cent from last year to S$591 million. Core net profit for the first half, excluding a S$42 million gain from the sale of non-core assets in the first quarter of 2012, was S$1,438 million, up 23 per cent year-on-year.
The firm's private banking business, Bank of Singapore, also continued to expand, with assets under management increasing 20 per cent from the previous year to S$45 billion ($36 billion), as of 30 June. Wealth management accounted for 26 per cent of the bank's total revenue, unchanged from the same period last year.
OCBC Bank is one of the oldest banks in Singapore and one of the largest in Southeast Asia in terms of assets. Its key markets are Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Greater China.