OCBC stock posts record nine-month profit as loan outlook improves

OCBC reported record net profit for the first nine months of 2026 on Friday, November 6, as wealth management and wholesale banking offset weaker investment performance at Great Eastern Holdings. The Singapore lender's official results release said group net profit rose 10 percent from a year earlier to S$6.24 billion.

Third-quarter group net profit increased 3 percent year on year to S$2.04 billion, although it fell 8 percent from the previous quarter's record. OCBC attributed the sequential decline mainly to weaker investment performance at Great Eastern, its insurance subsidiary, while core banking operations continued to strengthen. The OCBC results release said banking operations profit rose 8 percent quarter on quarter to a record S$1.90 billion.

Core Banking Supports Earnings Momentum

Net interest income rose 4 percent year on year in the quarter to S$2.31 billion. Average assets expanded 15 percent, helping offset an 18-basis-point contraction in net interest margin as the lower-rate environment pressured spreads. Higher funding costs, particularly amid rising US rates, also limited the benefit from loan growth and improved yields.

Non-interest income was more mixed. For the first nine months, it increased 19 percent to a record S$4.93 billion and represented 42 percent of total income, compared with 38 percent a year earlier. Wealth-management fees rose 25 percent to S$1.33 billion, while customer-flow trading income rose 40 percent to a record S$1.35 billion. Great Eastern's investment performance was weaker, producing mark-to-market losses on bond holdings as interest rates rose and lacking the equity gains recorded in the previous quarter.

Customer loans stood at S$372 billion on September 30, up 14 percent from a year earlier and 3 percent from the previous quarter on a constant-currency basis. Customer deposits increased 12 percent to S$461 billion. Asset quality remained sound, with the non-performing-loan ratio improving to 0.8 percent and total non-performing-asset coverage at 168 percent.

Guidance Shifts Toward Loan Expansion

Management raised its 2026 loan-growth outlook to the low-double-digit range from the previous high-single-digit to low-double-digit range. OCBC continues to expect total income to grow by at least a mid-single-digit percentage, while net interest income is expected to remain flat or decline slightly. The bank also expects credit costs of 15 to 20 basis points, according to coverage of the results.

Chief Executive Tan Teck Long said OCBC's capital, funding and liquidity position, diversified income streams and risk controls leave it positioned to pursue growth sectors while global conditions remain uncertain. For investors, the earnings mix shows a trade-off: stronger fee income and lending momentum are supporting core banking, while lower margins and market-sensitive insurance investment results remain swing factors.

OCBC stock traded at 19.99 euros on Lang & Schwarz at 09:19 CET on Tuesday, November 10, 2026.

Singapore shares and regional financial stocks remain the broader market context; see Current market reports.

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