DBS Fourth-Quarter Net Profit Fell 10% on Higher Tax Expenses

By Amanda Lee

Singapore's largest bank reported a decline in its fourth-quarter net profit, weighed by higher tax expenses and the absence of non-recurring gains posted a year earlier.

DBS Group said Monday that net profit for the final three months of 2025 fell nearly 10% from a year earlier to 2.36 billion Singapore dollars, equivalent to US$1.86 billion. That missed the S$2.52 billion estimate of analysts in a Visible Alpha consensus.

Net profit fell as stronger fee income and treasury customer sales were more than offset by rate headwinds, higher tax expenses and the absence of non-recurring gains.

For the full year, net profit fell 3.2% to S$11.03 billion, lower than analysts' estimate of S$11.275 billion.

Total income in the fourth quarter fell 3.2% to S$5.33 billion. Net interest income--the difference between what banks earn on loans and pay on deposits--for its commercial book was 6.2% lower at S$3.59 billion.

The bank, which is also Southeast Asia's largest by assets, said net fee and commission income for its commercial book rose 13.5% to S$1.1 billion.

DBS proposed a final ordinary dividend of S$0.66 a share and a capital return dividend of S$0.15 a share for the fourth-quarter, bringing the quarter's total dividend payout to S$0.81 a share and S$3.06 a share for the full year.

"While rate pressures and geopolitical tensions are expected to persist, the quality of our franchise and strong balance sheet provide a solid foundation for the year ahead," said DBS chief executive Tan Su Shan.

DBS is the first of Singapore's three major lenders to report earnings. United Overseas Bank and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. are due to report their results later this month.

Since hitting a trough last April, when U.S. President Trump announced sweeping tariffs, shares in the Singapore lender have climbed about 60%, leading gains by heavyweight banks that have pushed the benchmark FTSE Straits Times Index to historic highs.

"We think Singapore is benefiting from the 'certainty premium,' given the extreme policy and political uncertainty among key global economies," Maybank Securities' Thilan Wickramasinghe said in an email. The government's equity market development program to boost the local stock market could also be providing some liquidity tailwinds, the analyst said.

Write to Amanda Lee at amanda.lee@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 08, 2026 19:41 ET (00:41 GMT)