This business division includes Bank of Singapore, the private bank based from the Asian city state. Operating profit after allowances and amortisation stood at S$156 million, up from S$119 million a year ago, it said in a statement today.

Over a nine-month period to end-September, operating profit after allowances increased by 18 per cent year-on-year to S$440 million, driven by higher net interest income and fee income, which were partly offset by higher expenses and allowances, the bank said.

Across the entire bank, OCBC (Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation) reported a record net profit after tax of S$1.85 billion for the third quarter of 2012, which included divestment gains of S$1.13 billion.

Excluding divestment gains, core net profit grew by 41 per cent from S$513 million a year ago to S$724 million, driven by higher net interest income, improved trading performance and increased profit from life assurance.