Singapore's OCBC bank posts 12-per-cent rise in net profit for 2009

Feb 19, 2010, 7:24 GMT

Singapore - Singapore's Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd (OCBC) on Friday said its net profit for 2009 grew by 12 per cent compared to a year ago, adding it was cautiously optimistic about a gradual recovery in Asia's economy.

Group net profit for 2009 reached 1.96 billion Singapore dollars (1.38 billion US dollars), up from 1.75 billion Singapore dollars a year earlier, Singapore's second largest lender said in a statement.

For the final quarter 2009, OCBC posted net profit of 502 million Singapore dollars, up 67 per cent from 301 million Singapore dollars a year earlier, driven by higher trading profits and gains in its insurance business.

'Given the challenging conditions throughout the year, we are pleased to have delivered strong results for 2009,' said chief executive David Conner.

'For the year ahead, while we remain watchful of developments in Europe, the US and China, we are cautiously optimistic for a gradual recovery in Asia's economy and in our key markets,' he added.

In January, OCBC had completed the 1.45-billion-US-dollar acquisition of Dutch bank ING's Asian private banking business, making it one of the big players in wealth management in the region.

The new unit, named Bank of Singapore Ltd, would have over 7,000 clients and total private client assets under management of approximately 23 billion US dollars, said OCBC.

OCBC was Singapore's second bank to report strong results for the end of 2009.

Earlier this month, Singapore's DBS Group Holding Ltd reported that its net profit for the three months through December jumped 67 per cent year-on-year to 493 million Singapore dollars.

However, net profit for the full year 2009 remained unchanged at 2.06 billion Singapore dollars, said South-East Asia's biggest bank.