The parent group of Bank of Singapore reported a rise in profit after tax for the third quarter.

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, the Asian lender that is parent to Bank of Singapore, has reported a 12 per cent year-on-year rise in net profit after tax of $1.06 billion, driven by developments in banking, wealth and insurance. 

The stronger growth in these business areas was seen in markets such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Greater China, OCBC said in a statement. 

The bank said its acquisition last November of the Hong Kong and Singapore private banking arms of Barclays helped to boost wealth management fee income by 32 per cent in the third quarter of 2017 from a year earlier. 

OCBC’s acquisition of the Barclays units happened at a time when local players, such as rival Singaporean bank DBS, have bought Asian wealth management businesses from non-domestic firms that have struggled to achieve profitable business and critical mass, such as in cases of ABN AMRO, ANZ and Societe Generale.