OCBC's oil-linked loans make up under 7% of total portfolio: CEO

OCBC's chief executive officer Samuel Tsien on Wednesday said that loans related to the oil-and-gas segment made up less than 7 per cent of the total loans outstanding. That translated to S$14.7 billion in loans, of the total of about S$210 billion.

Commodity-related loans represented under 5 per cent of the total loans, added Mr Tsien, who was speaking at a results' briefing.

"Both of these portfolios have been performing very well," he said, noting that the bank has been more cautious in its client selection for these sectors.

The bank on Wednesday reported a 11 per cent jump in fourth-quarter net profit that missed analysts' estimates, given the higher-than-expected costs stemming from its Wing Hang consolidation.

Net profit for the three months ended Dec 31, 2014 stood at S$791 million, underperforming an average forecast of S$862 million from six analysts polled by Reuters. It reported a net profit of S$715 million a year ago.

In Q4, the bank also made allowances that represented 539 per cent of unsecured non-performing assets (NPAs) - the highest level on record - and made a 171 per cent coverage against total NPAs. These are in anticipation of a tougher credit environment ahead, said Mr Tsien.