DBS Group Holdings, Southeast Asia’s biggest bank, posted a 15% decline in second- quarter profit as provisions for bad loans surged.
Net income fell to $552 million from $652 million a year earlier, the bank said in a statement today. DBS set aside $466 million for bad loans, almost eight times more than a year earlier.
DBS Group Holdings (DBS SP), Southeast Asia’s biggest bank, declined 0.9% to $13.60. The company was downgraded to “neutral” from “outperform” at CIMB Investment Bank Bhd., which said the stock’s recent had been excessive.
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DBS, which acquired distressed Taiwan lender Bowa Bank earlier in 2009, also said it would return to profit this year from a T$67 million ($2.9 million) pretax loss last year.
DBS Group Holdings, Southeast Asia’s largest bank, plans to open two to three branches in Taiwan in the next three years, Jerry Chen, head of DBS Taiwan told a briefing in Taipei today. Chen said he doesn’t rule out mergers and acquisitions if there are opportunities. He declined to name any targets.
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