The Singapore-headquartered banking group reported a broadly stronger set of results in the first half of this year.

DBS today said it logged a net profit of S$2.25 billion (around $1.7 billion) for the first half of 2016. Excluding one-time items a year ago, that figure was slightly higher and a record, the Singapore-listed group said.

The results included a net allowance charge of S$150 million for DBS’ exposure to the Swiber group after drawing S$250 million from general allowance reserves.

Second-quarter net profit stood at S$1.05 billion, which was 6 per cent lower compared to a year ago due to the net allowance charge. Total income rose 8 per cent to a new quarterly high of S$2.92 billion as business momentum picked up during the quarter.

Loans expanded by 4 per cent over the quarter led by corporate loans and market share gains in Singapore housing loans. Fee income climbed to a quarterly record, the bank said in a statement.

The cost-income ratio stood at 44 per cent as cost growth decelerated.

Wealth management
Income from the wealth management customer segment rose 8 per cent in the first six months of the year from a year ago to S$806 million with assets under management, growing 6 per cent over the period to S$151 billion.

“We achieved two consecutive quarters of record total income despite a challenging operating environment in the first half. The strong income growth in the second quarter enabled profit before allowances to grow 10%. Despite an unexpected significant allowance charge, first-half earnings were at a record. The performance demonstrates our ability to consistently capture opportunities across our businesses and effectively manage costs. While there remains some uncertainty in the second half, our business momentum is good and our balance sheet healthy. We are well prepared to meet the challenges ahead,” Piyush Gupta, chief executive of DBS, said.

DBS said its capital position was “healthy”; the Common Equity Tier-1 ratio was 14.2 per cent.