DBS' Q1 gains fall 2% to $2.89b, but figure beats analysts' estimate

DBS warned of heightened uncertainty arising from US President Donald Trump's trade war and tariff actions, but said it would stay nimble to capture opportunities and manage risks.

- Sheila Chiang

Singapore's largest bank on May 8 posted a 2 per cent fall in net profit for the first quarter to $2.89 billion.

While this was the lender's first year-on-year drop in earnings since the first quarter of 2022, it beat the $2.87 billion forecast by analysts in a Bloomberg poll.

The drop was due to higher tax expenses from the implementation of a 15 per cent global minimum tax in January, said DBS. Pre-tax, profit hit a record $3.44 billion, up 1 per cent from a year ago.

In the light of tariff uncertainties, general allowances of $205 million were taken as a prudent measure to strengthen general provision reserves.

The bank's return on equity (ROE) was 17.3 per cent, down from 19.4 per cent a year ago.

Speaking at a results briefing on May 8, DBS chief executive Tan Su Shan said the year started off strong, but macro uncertainties from the US tariffs have weighed on the bank's performance.

"We had a strong start to the year, with broad-based business growth led by wealth management, and ROE above 17 per cent despite the impact of the global minimum tax," said Ms Tan.