S$1 billion jump in allowances slash UOB Q3 profit to S$443 million

[SINGAPORE] UOB ’s net profit for the third quarter ended Sep 30, 2025, fell as the lender “pre-emptively set aside” additional allowances.

Net profit for the quarter stood at S$443 million, down 72 per cent from S$1.61 billion a year earlier, the bank said on Thursday (Nov 5).

The result missed the S$1.34 billion consensus estimate in a Bloomberg poll of five analysts.

Net interest income fell 8 per cent to S$2.3 billion, as net interest margin declined 23 basis points to 1.82 per cent, from 2.05 per cent in the same period last year.

Non-interest income stood at S$1.13 billion, down from S$1.37 billion earlier, on higher card rewards expenses and lower trading and investment income.

The non-performing loan ratio stood at 1.6 per cent, compared with 1.5 per cent a year earlier.

An additional S$615 million in general allowance was pre-emptively set aside this quarter, UOB said.

This brought the lender’s allowance for credit and other losses to S$1.36 billion as at Sep 30, from S$304 million a year earlier.

Operating profit was down 16 per cent at S$1.86 billion, compared to S$2.2 billion a year ago.

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“The final dividend payment for 2025 will not be impacted by this pre-emptive general allowance set aside,” the lender added.

Shares of UOB closed 0.1 per cent or S$0.05 lower at S$34.87 on Wednesday, before the announcement.