OCBC

SINGAPORE - Individuals can choose to temporarily halt payments for education, renovation and motor vehicle loans, in a move by the financial sector to ease cash flow concerns arising from the coronavirus pandemic. Those with commercial or industrial property loans, as well as mortgage equity withdrawal loans, can also apply to their banks to defer payments until the end of this year, subject to certain requirements. Service fees that are typically charged for failing to maintain the minimum average daily or monthly balances in one's retail bank account can ...

All three of Singapore's banks are expected to see profit declines for the first time since 2016 as they set aside cash for a potential spike in bad loans stemming from the coronavirus-fuelled economic slump. Net income at each lender probably slid between 21 per cent and 28 per cent in the three months ended March 31 from a year earlier, according to the average estimates of six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. DBS Group Holdings, the nation's largest bank, is seen to report the steepest profit drop when it kicks off the earnings season today, while OCBC Ban...

OCBC Bank's annual general meeting (AGM) will be held virtually on May 18, the lender told shareholders in an announcement yesterday. It is the second local bank to state its virtual AGM plans, after DBS Bank did so in mid-month amid the coronavirus outbreak. OCBC said earlier this month that it would postpone the meeting, which had been scheduled for April 30, pending changes to the law and rules on safe distancing and AGM teleconferencing. Now, the bank has confirmed that shareholders cannot attend the AGM in person. Instead, they must pre-register for ...

Margins are expected to shrink 6-10 bps compared to Q4 2019. Singapore’s big three banks are expected to post an average 38% YoY fall in earnings for the Q1 period on the back of spiking credit costs and falling credit card income, according to a report by Jefferies. Meanwhile, the banks’ non-interest income is expected to contract by 6-13% YoY, whilst revenue for the three banks will fall 2-4% YoY, due to falling card income, wealth management income, and weak stock prices. Whilst system loans and deposits grew 3.5% and 4.9% YTD respectively, pushed by b...