Singapore bank OCBC fourth-quarter profit misses expectations, sees rates falling

People walk by the exterior of OCBC bank at the central business district in Singapore

SINGAPORE: Singapore's second-largest bank Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) said it expected interest rates to trend downwards, likely from second half of 2024, after posting a 12% jump in fourth-quarter net profit that missed expectations.

Against that backdrop, OCBC said it was targeting 2024 net interest margin (NIM), a key profitability gauge, to be in the range of 2.20% to 2.25%, lower than 2023 NIM of 2.28%, according to OCBC's Group CEO Helen Wong's presentation slides accompanying the earnings results.