DBS Q1 profit slumps to 2-1/2-year low on virus loan loss provisions

Southeast Asia's biggest lender joined HSBC and Standard Chartered in provisioning higher credit losses to guard against the fallout from the crisis.

Reuters

April 30, 2020 / 11:15 IST

26 Aug, 2025 12:21

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DBS Group Holdings set aside hefty provisions to cover the impact of the coronavirus pandemic as it reported a 29% drop in first-quarter profit but retained its quarterly dividend.

Southeast Asia's biggest lender joined HSBC and Standard Chartered in provisioning higher credit losses to guard against the fallout from the crisis.

"We will maintain a solid balance sheet with ample capital, liquidity and loss allowance reserves that give us strong buffers to absorb external shocks," DBS CEO Piyush Gupta said in a statement on Thursday.

The Singapore-based bank said allowances for credit and other losses surged to S$1.09 billion ($772.5 million) in the three months to March 31, from S$76 million a year earlier. That was well above an average estimate of S$605 million, according to Refinitiv data.

DBS was the first bank in Singapore to report earnings for the quarter. The sector has collectively forecast muted earnings growth for 2020 as interest rates soften and lending moderates following a robust performance in the past few years.

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