DBS Group Holdings Ltd (DBS) is not only the largest local company listed on the Singapore Exchange, but it is also the largest Singapore and South East Asia bank by asset, amounting to $541 billion as of 30 Sept 2018. As a major financial firm injecting liquidity via corporate loans and housing loans into the monetary system, its earnings performance can be viewed as a bellwether of Singapore’s economic performance.

With that, let’s take a look at DBS key earnings figure in its latest quarterly results announcements for further clues.

Income and Net Profit

In 3Q 2018, DBS recorded a total income of $3.37 billion, a 10% increase year-on-year (YoY). This is a record high in total income. If we look at net profit, it stood at $1.41 billion, an even more impressive 72% growth over last year. This is attributed to sustained growth in loan, fee income, ...