UOB’s earnings slip 4.4% to $766m in Q1

Blame it on weak fee income, losses from associates.

UOB closed 1Q16 with net earnings of $766m, reflecting a 4.4% YoY and 2.8% QoQ slide.

According to a report by OCBC, the pullback is on back of falling fee income, reduced income from investment securities, lower trading income QoQ, and losses from UOB’s associates.

Allowances came off from $169m in 1Q15 and $190m in 4Q15 to 1.78% in Q1. Net interest margin came off QoQ from 1.79% in 4Q15 to 1.78% in 1Q16. Meanwhile, NPL ratio was stable QoQ at 1.4%.

OCBC further reports that UOB’s total exposure to China amounted to $19.5b or 5.9% of total assets. Of the nonbank exposure to China, the NPL ratio stands at around 0.9%.

Total exposure to commodities were $21.8b, as of March 2016. Of the outstanding loans, about 4% of total loans are to the oil and gas sector.

Photo: TK Kurikawa/Shutterstock.com