DBS Q2 earnings up 9% at S$969m

DBS Group Holdings posted a 9 per cent jump in net profit in the second quarter to S$969 million from a year ago, buoyed by improved lending margins profitability and lower allowance charges.

While the quarterly figures beat Bloomberg's poll of six analysts with a mean estimate of S$938 million, it took the backseat at a press briefing by the bank's chief executive, Piyush Gupta, yesterday, who instead took great pains to allay fears over the bank's exposure to China and, more specifically, to commodity financing amid a metal-financing scandal in China's Qingdao port.

"We don't do trade financing in China that uses commodities as collateral. And we have zero exposure to Qingdao. Our asset quality is sound and we are not seeing any signs of stress in our China book," he said.