UOB’s core net profit down 1% to S$1.6b in Q1 as interest income dips

Trading and investment income hit a record high, however.

UOB’s core net profit fell by 1% to S$1.6b (US$1.79b) in Q1 2024 compared to the same quarter in 2023, according to its latest financial results.

Compared to Q4, net profit was 5% higher, driven by growth in net fee income and record trading and investment income.

Net fee income grew 5% to S$580m during the quarter compared to Q1 2023, driven by loan-related, wealth management and credit card fees, UOB said in a press release.

Net interest income dipped 2% from lower net interest margin compared with a year ago.

Other non-interest income rose 3% to S$581m, thanks to record trading and investment income.

“Customer-related treasury income hit a new high from increased retail bond sales and strong hedging demands,” UOB said.

ALSO READ: UOB to maintain good asset quality amidst profitability dip

Credit costs improved 2 basis points in Q1 compared to Q4 2023, while the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio is 1.5%. UOB’s Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio is at 13.9%.

UOB CEO Wee Ee Cheong highlighted the bank’s balance sheet and liquidity position as key factors that enabled the bank to deliver a “stable” set of results.

“Our core business franchise performed well, with higher fee income and record trading and investment income,” Cheong said.

Cheong also provided an update to the bank’s Citi integration following UOB’s purchase of four Citi retail franchises in Southeast Asia.

“Our Citigroup integration is progressing well. We recently successfully migrated customers in Thailand to our UOB platform following the smooth transition in Malaysia and Indonesia last year. Next year, we will complete the integration in Vietnam,” he said, adding that their focus so far had been on cross-sell synergies and is reportedly starting to gain good traction.

Follow the link s for more news on

United Overseas Bank

UOB

A NOTE FROM SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW

Reaching the people who run Asia's businesses is harder than it used to be.

Inboxes are crowded. Attention is short. The executives you most want to reach — the founders, CFOs, and operators who actually move budgets — are the hardest to find through the usual channels. If you're building a company, a category, or a reputation, you already know this.

We've spent twenty years building the room they read. Singapore Business Review is where senior decision makers in Singapore and across Southeast Asia come for business coverage they can't get elsewhere — in print, online, and in person at the summits and roundtables we host across seven markets.

If you have something these readers should know about — a point of view worth publishing, a product worth their attention, an event worth their time — we'd like to hear what you're trying to do.

Book a meeting

| Or download the media kit (PDF)

240,000 senior readers quarterly in print Top 1,700 Singapore companies reached

7 markets across Southeast Asia