Chart of the day: Check out Singapore banks' lacklustre NIMs in Q2

Only DBS' NIM saw an expansion.

It was a quarter of hard knocks for Sngapore's banking heavyweights with exposure to the oil and gas sector nearly decimating DBS, OCBC, and UOB's asset quality. However, analysts reveal that DBS has come out on top in terms of net interest margin (NIM).

According to a report by Moody's, compared to OCBC and UOB, DBS was the only bank among the three to see a pick-up in NIM in Q2. Aside from reduced funding costs, DBS enjoyed slashed higher-cost fixed deposits in exhange for cheaper current and savings accounts deposits. 

A report by UOB Kay Hian further revealed that in Q2, DBS' NIM expanded 2 bp QoQ to 1.87%.

On the other hand, OCBC and UOB's NIMs eroded steeply in Q2, respectively falling 7 bp and 10 bp QoQ due to the pullback in SIBOR and SOR.

Thanks to DBS' stable NIM and relatively steady loan growth of 2% YoY in H1, the bank's net interest income jumped 7% YoY.