Singapore UOB's Q3 net profit up 18.7%, bad debt charges rise

SINGAPORE - Singapore's third-biggest lender, United Overseas Bank, on Thursday posted a rise of 18.7 per cent in quarterly profit, helped by strong loan growth and fee income, beating expectations.

However the bank posted S$162 million in bad debt charges in the third quarter, up 90.5 per cent from a year earlier due to a "few specific non-performing loan accounts" in Thailand and Indonesia.

UOB earned S$866 million in the three months ending in September, up from S$730 million a year earlier.

The result exceeded an average forecast of S$746 million from five analysts polled by Reuters.

Rival Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp reported a 62 per cent rise in quarterly profit on the back of a one-off gain, but the closely watched core quarterly profit was slightly below the average forecast by analysts.