enu DBS Profit Rises 12%, Tops Estimates on Interest, Fee Income

DBS Group Holdings Ltd. (DBS) , Southeast Asia ’s largest bank, said third-quarter profit rose 12 percent, beating estimates as interest and fee income climbed. Net income advanced to S$856 million ($701 million) from S$762 million a year earlier, the company said in a stock exchange statement today. That exceeded the S$801 million average of eight analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. DBS boosted lending andmade smaller provisions for bad loans even as Singapore’s economy slowed. Chief Executive Officer Piyush Gupta is seeking to expand in faster-growing markets, which may help the bank weather waning demand from corporate borrowers and pressure on loan profitability as competitionfor deposits intensifies in the city-state. “The net profit number is ahead of expectations, butthe underlying drivers are probably not as exciting,” said Matthew Smith , an analyst at Macquarie Capital Securities Singapore Pte. The gain “appears to be all coming from credit costs, which are very low,”said Smith, who rates DBS shares neutral