UOB reports first-quarter profit fell less than expected, maintains 2024 growth outlook [Video]

Singapore’s United Overseas Bank reported a smaller-than-expected decline in first-quarter net profit on Wednesday, squeezed by net interest margins, and maintained its outlook for income growth in 2024.

“Despite heightened geopolitical tensions, our home region of Southeast Asia is relatively resilient,” UOB CEO Wee Ee Cheong said in a statement.

“We continued to see ongoing shifts in global supply chains and sustained tourism activities,” he added.

UOB, which is also Southeast Asia’s third-largest bank by assets, also maintained its guidance for low single-digit loan growth and double-digit fee growth, according to Wee’s presentation slides accompanying the results.

The bank kept its guidance for core cost-to-income ratio at around 41% to 42% and credit costs at the lower end of 25 to 30 basis points for 2024, the slides showed.

Singapore has in recent years benefited from strong inflows of wealth from Asia, including China, as well as Europe and the Americas, drawn in by …