Brief Overview:

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (SGX: O39), or OCBC, is Singapore’s longest-established bank, where it was formed in 1932 from the merger of 3 local banks. Today, with close to 400 branches and representative offices in 19 countries and regions (though its key markets are in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Greater China), OCBC is the second largest financial services group in Southeast Asia by assets. 

The Singapore-headquartered bank is among the world’s highly rated banks, with a rating of Aa1 by Moody’s and AA- by both Fitch and S&P. It is also being ranked among the World’s Top 50 Safest Banks by Global Finance, and named as the ‘Best Managed Bank in Singapore’ by The Asian Banker. 

Financial Figures (4Q FY2024 vs. 4Q FY2025):

	4Q FY2024	4Q FY2025	% Gain/Loss
– Net Interest Income (S$’mil)	$2,455m	$2,296m	-6.5%
– Net Fee & Commission Income (S$’mil)	$517m	$602m	+16.4%
– Other Non-Interest Income (S$’mil)	$444m	$718m	+61.7%
Total Income (S$’mil)	$3,416m	$3,616m	+5.9%
Total Expenses (S$’mil)	$1,560m	$1,559m	-0.1%
Net Profit Attributable to Shareholders (S$’mil)	$1,687m	$1,745m	+3.4%

Apart from a 6.5% year-on-year decline in its net interest income to S$2,296 million (as a result of a 29 basis point drop in its net interest margin from 2.15% in 4Q FY2024 to 1.86% in 4Q FY2025, partially offset by a 8% growth in average assets), the other financial figures reported by the bank had improved – which is a positive in my opinion.

OCBC’s net fee and commission income jumped by 16.4% year on year to S$602 million from a 26% increase in wealth management fees, along with higher loan-related, brokerage, fund management and credit card fees.

The bank’s non-interest income surged by 61.7% year on year to S$718 million as net trading income rose 30% from higher customer flow income from both wealth and corporate segments, along with its insurance income more than doubled from improved insurance and investment performance. 

This led to OCBC’s total income and net profit attributable to shareholders recording a 5.9% and 3.4% year-on-year growth to S$3,616 million and S$1,745 million respectively. 

Financial Figures (FY2024 vs. FY2025):

	FY2024	FY2025	% Gain/Loss
– Net Interest Income (S$’mil)	$9,755m	$9,150m	-6.2%
– Net Fee & Commission Income (S$’mil)	$1,970m	$2,411m	+22.4%
– Other Non-Interest Income (S$’mil)	$2,748m	$3,053m	+11.1%
Total Income (S$’mil)	$14,473m	$14,614m	+1.0%
Total Expenses (S$’mil)	$5,742m	$5,882m	+2.4%
Net Profit Attributable to Shareholders (S$’mil)	$7,587m	$7,422m	-2.2%

For the full year, OCBC’s results were largely positive too, particularly with its net fee & commission income, and total income at new highs. 

Net fee and commission income jumped by 22.4% year on year to a record S$2,411 million, mainly due to a 33% increase in wealth management fees (which is at an all-time high, from fee growth in all product channels with improved client investment sentiment).

Other non-interest income also improved by 11.1% year on year to S$3,053 million from a higher trading and insurance income. 

However, its net interest income fell by 6.2% year on year to S$9,150 million as a result of a 29 basis point decline in its net interest margin (from 2.20% in FY2024 to 1.91% in FY2025), partly offset by a 7% growth in average customer loans and an increase in high-quality assets as the Group continued to deploy excess liquidity to income-accretive non-commercial assets.

Finally, its net profit attributable to shareholders dipped by 2.2% year on year to S$7,422 million, which can be attributed to an increase in operating expenses (from higher staff costs and IT-related expenses), as well as an increase in tax and non-controlling interests (by 22% from S$1,389m to S$1,701m). 

Key Financial Ratios (3Q FY2025 vs. 4Q FY2025): 

	3Q FY2025	4Q FY2025	Difference (in Percentage Points – pp)
Net Interest Margin (%)	1.84%	1.86%	+0.02pp
Return on Equity (%)	13.4%	11.6%	-1.8pp
Non-Performing Loans Ratio (%)	0.9%	0.9%	–

The 0.2pp improvement in OCBC’s net interest margin to 1.86% was a positive for the bank. At the same time, its non-performing loans ratio continued to remain at 0.9% (and at this ratio, it is the lowest among the 3 Singapore-listed banks.)

Dividend Payout to Shareholders (2H FY2024 vs. 2H FY2025):

	2H FY2024	2H FY2025	% Gain/Loss
Dividend Per Share (S$’cents)	57.0 cents	58.0 cents	+1.8%

OCBC’s 2H FY2025 dividend payout comprises of an ordinary dividend of 42 cents/share (up by 1 cent from 41 cents/share a year ago), plus a special dividend (from its capital-return plan) of 16 cents/share, amounting to a total payout of 58.0 cents/share.

From my understanding, OCBC’s capital-return plan is expected to complete by FY2026 – meaning to say shareholders can expect another special dividend payout of 16.0 cents/share when the bank reports its FY2026 results next year. 

If you are a shareholder of OCBC, do take note of the following dates on its latest dividend payout:

Ex-Date: 23 April 2026
Record Date: 24 April 2026
Payout Date: 08 May 2026

Dividend Payout to Shareholders (FY2024 vs. FY2025):

	2H FY2024	2H FY2025	% Gain/Loss
Dividend Per Share (S$’cents)	101.0 cents	99.0 cents	-2.0%

As a result of a slight dip in its 1H FY2025 dividend payout (of 41.0 cents/share, compared to 42.0 cents/share a year ago), OCBC’s dividend payout for the full year declined by 2.0% year on year to 99.0 cents/share. However, this still represented a dividend payout ratio of 60%, as guided by the management. 

CEO Mr Tan Teck Long’s Comments & Outlook (from the Bank’s Press Release):

“I am pleased to report that the Group delivered another year of strong performance, demonstrating the resilience of our franchise. Profit before tax surpassed S$9 billion for the first time, driven by robust growth across our Banking, Wealth Management and Insurance businesses. Wealth management income reached record levels, and we sustained healthy loan growth and maintained strong asset quality. These results reflect the strength of our fundamentals and our disciplined execution amid a challenging operating environment. 

As we close out our previous three-year strategy, during which we achieved commendable progress by unifying our brand across our core markets and realising stronger synergies under our One Group approach, we have launched our new corporate strategy, The Next Frontier. This strategy positions us to compete and win in the next phase of growth by capturing rising Asia flows, deepening our core market franchise, advancing technology led and customer centric capabilities through AI, Digital and Data, and continuing our support for green transition. 

Looking ahead, we remain cautious yet positive. Global conditions are likely to remain uncertain, shaped by geopolitical tensions, evolving trade dynamics and interest rate uncertainty. Against this backdrop, our strong balance sheet, prudent risk management and diversified growth engines position us well to navigate the challenging environment and deliver sustainable long term value.”

Closing Thoughts:

On the whole, it was a good set of ‘report card’ by OCBC (in my opinion), with the financial figures for the full year setting a number of new highs, including in its net fee and commission income, its total income, as well as in its profit before tax. 

This is on top of its wealth management assets under management (AUM), along with its customer flow income rising to new highs.

On its key financial ratios, its net interest margin also saw a slight improvement (by 0.2pp) to 1.86% compared to the previous quarter after successive quarters of decline, with its non-performing loans ratio remaining stable at 0.9% (which is the lowest among the 3 Singapore-listed banks – with DBS at 1.0% and UOB at 1.5%).

Looking ahead, I’ll be monitoring how OCBC’s new corporate strategy, The Next Frontier, under its new CEO (in Mr Tan Teck Long) will drive the bank’s performance further. Shareholders can also expect another round of capital-return dividend when the bank reports its full year results in a year’s time.

Results of the Other Singapore-Listed Banks:

DBS Group Holdings Limited (SGX: D05): 4Q & FY2025 Results
United Overseas Bank Limited (SGX: U11): 4Q & FY2025 Results

Related Documents:

Full Year 2025 Media Release & Financial Highlights
Full Year 2025 Condensed Financial Statements
Full Year 2025 CEO Presentation
Full Year 2025 Results Presentation

Disclaimer: At the time of writing, I am a shareholder of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited. 

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