The wealth management businesses of Singapore-listed logged a rise in first-quarter 2026 fees at S$422 million ($332.9 million), rising 34 per cent year-on-year and also higher than the Q4 2025 result of $363 million, it said last Friday.

As reported last week, OCBC has agreed to buy the Indonesian wealth business, fitting with the lender’s New Frontier strategy.

Wealth management income, comprising income from private banking, premier private client, premier banking, insurance, asset management and stockbroking, was S$1.48 billion, up 11 per cent year-on-year, and contributed 39 per cent to the group’s total income, higher compared with 37 per cent a year before.

Global consumer and private banking business accounted for 26 per cent of all operating profit in the quarter, rising from 23 per cent a year earlier.

Assets under management on the wealth management side were S$342 billion, rising 12 per cent from S$306 billion a year ago, driven by net new money inflows across all wealth segments.

“We delivered a good start to 2026, with group net profit rising 5 per cent year-on-year to S$1.97 billion, underpinned by resilient performance across banking, wealth management and insurance as we execute our Next Frontier strategy,” Tan Teck Long, group CEO, said in a statement. “We achieved a new high for noninterest income, led by our wealth business, which helped us offset lower net interest income amid a low-interest rate environment.”

“Looking ahead, global conditions remain uncertain amid geopolitical tensions and elevated inflation risks. Much of the near-term outlook will depend on how the war in the Middle East, with its impact on energy supply and prices, evolves, while the ongoing trade tariff situation is also being closely monitored,” Tan Teck Long said.

Group figures 
At group level, group net profit of S$1.97 billion represented a 5 per cent year-on-year gain, and up 13 per cent on the previous three months. Pre-tax profit was S$2.41 billion, rising 5 per cent. Net interest income fell 5 per cent to S$2.22 billion; noninterest income, however, rose sharply – 23 per cent – to S$1.6 billion. Operating costs rose 6 per cent.

At the end of the quarter, the bank’s Common Equity Tier 1 ratio – a standard measure of a bank’s capital buffer – stood at 15.2 per cent.