DBS Group (SGX: D05) is the first of the three local banks to report its first set of earnings for 2024. Singapore’s largest bank did not disappoint. DBS reported a stellar set of earnings for the first quarter of 2024 (1Q 2024) while raising its quarterly dividend by 42% year on year. Here are five highlights from the bank’s latest set of financial results.

Total income and net profit at record highs

For 1Q 2024, net interest income rose 8% year on year to S$3.6 billion, buoyed by the current high interest rate environment. Fee income also jumped 23% year on year to exceed S$1 billion for the first time. As a result, the blue-chip lender saw its total income climb 13% year on year to S$5.6 billion, a record high. With expenses rising by just 10% year on year to S$2.1 billion, DBS’s profit before allowances improved by 14% year on year to S$3.5 billion. After accounting for S$5 million of expenses related to its...