Singapore banks to report flattish Q4 22 earnings amidst slow global growth

NIMs will rise but the expansion could decelerate due to higher funding costs.

With slow global growth and interest rate uncertainties, banks will report a flattish set of earnings for the fourth quarter of 2022, CGS-CIMB said. 

The net interest margins are expected to rise further but quarterly expansion may slow down because of higher funding.

Asset quality likely stayed mild in the past quarter due to minimal specific provisions but there may be higher total impairments whilst general provisions (GPs) are buffed up from topping up collateral values of existing NPLs or revising model macroeconomic variables (MEV).

For each bank, DBS is seen to report a net profit of $2.2b and is poised for a special DPS. 

OCBC is expected to post c.$1.63b net profit for the fourth quarter and credit costs likely saw an uptick from MEV adjustments. 

UOB is expected to record c.$1.38b net profit and benefited from the integration of Citi's retail franchise, which gave NIMs a +10bp boost.