SINGAPORE – Singapore’s biggest bank DBS Group posted on Nov 7 record quarterly earnings but forecast 2025 net profit to be below 2024 levels because of the introduction of a global minimum corporate tax rate.
DBS, the first local lender to report third-quarter results, said net profit surged 15 per cent to $3.03 billion, easily beating the mean estimate of nearly $2.80 billion from five analysts, according to LSEG data.
It also topped the previous quarterly record of $2.96 billion it set in the first quarter of 2024, even though its net interest margin, a key profitability gauge, declined to 2.11 per cent during the third quarter from 2.19 per cent the same quarter a year earlier.
The strong result came on the back of record fee income driven by wealth management, higher treasury customer sales and increased markets trading income.
Local banks have benefited from higher global interest rates and strong inflows of wealth drawn in by Singapore’s political stability in recent years.
But rate cuts by big central banks and volatile markets due to global geopolitical and economic uncertainties are set to weigh on their growth momentum, analysts have said.
DBS forecast 2025 pre-tax profit and group net interest income to be around 2024 levels, according to chief executive Piyush Gupta’s observation slides accompanying the results.
But net profit after tax will be lower in 2025 due to a 15 per cent global minimum corporate tax being introduced by Singapore from January and imposed on multinational companies including DBS.
DBS, which is also South-east Asia’s biggest bank, announced a quarterly dividend of 54 cents per share, up from 48 cents declared the same quarter a year ago. The third quarter dividend will be paid out on or about Nov 25.
The bank also announced that its board
