OCBC Bank's net profit up 14 pct in second quarter

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (OCBC Bank) said on Friday that it recorded a net profit of 1.05 billion Singapore dollars (772 million U.S. dollars) for the second quarter of 2015, an increase of 14 percent from a year ago.

The earnings was underpinned by higher interest income and contributions from its key overseas markets Greater China and Indonesia, with a growth of 102 percent and 21 percent on year, respectively.

The group's net interest income rose 14 percent to 1.28 billion Singapore dollars while customer loans rose 18 percent to 210 billion Singapore dollars, contributed by broad-based growth across key customer segments and geographies, the bank said.

The Singapore-headquartered banking group's non-interest income rose 10 percent to 939 million Singapore dollars from 850 million Singapore dollars a year ago. Fee and commission income increased 24 percent to a new high of 438 million Singapore dollars, led by robust wealth management, brokerage and loan related fee income.

Treasury-related income from customer flows rose 25 percent, although net trading income declined to 70 million Singapore dollars from 133 million Singapore dollars in the previous year, the bank said. Endi