UOB posted 2Q17 net earnings of S$845m, up 5.5% YoY and 4.6% QoQ, and better than consensus estimate of S$816m. This led to 1H17 net earnings of S$1652m, up 5.5%.

Both Net Interest Income and Non-interest Income saw YoY and QoQ improvement. The latter received a lift from better contributions from credit card, fund and wealth management.

Net Interest Margin (NIM) improved from 1.68% in 2Q16 and 1.73% in 1Q17 to 1.75% in 2Q17. NPL ratio held stable at 1.5%. Allowances stood at S$180m, down marginally from last quarter.

The group has declared an interim dividend of 35 cents. We will provide more details after the analysts’ briefing. We currently have a HOLD on the stock.

Source: OCBC Research - 28 Jul 2017