UOB has announced its 2Q18 net earnings of S$1077m on last Thursday, that’s +28% increase YoY and +10% QoQ. The outperformance came from a strong improvement in Net Interest Income which rose 14% YoY and 5% QoQ. In addition, Non-interest Income also grew 5% QoQ to S$800m. Net Interest Margin (NIM) eased off slightly from 1.84% in the previous quarter to 1.83% this quarter, but this is still an increase over 1.75% in 2Q17. Management has also declared an interim dividend of 50 cents (vs 35 cents in 2Q17), and this is payable on 28 Aug 2018. While DBS on the other hand reported an 18% gain in net profit for 2Q18 but that missed expectations as stronger net interest income was offset in part by a fall in non-interest income on lower trading income. Why is that the case? DBS has flagged heightened macroeconomic uncertainty for the ......