DBS Q1 Beats & Raises Dividend 8%! Will UOB and OCBC Follow?

$DBS(D05.SI)$ reported Q1 2026 results with net profit of S$2.93B (+1% YoY), beating the Bloomberg consensus of S$2.88B.

Shares closed +3.4% at S$58.50. Non-interest income and wealth management fees both hit all-time highs. Dividend raised to S$0.81/share from S$0.75 a year earlier. In a lower-rate world, DBS proved the model works — just not the way the market expected.

Up next: $UOB(U11.SI)$ (May 7) and $OCBC Bank(O39.SI)$ (May 8).

Highlights for DBS earnings

1. Deposit growth blew past expectations.

Customer deposits rose 9% YoY to S$629.9B, with more than two-thirds in CASA. CEO Tan Su Shan upgraded full-year deposit growth guidance to "high to higher single-digit." Low-cost CASA inflows are sticky — this is a structural, not cyclical, tailwind.

2. Wealth management fees hit a record S$907M!

With S$10B in net new money and AUM climbing to S$492B. Middle East conflict is accelerating Singapore's safe-haven positioning, and it showed up directly in bancassurance and investment product sales. This benefits all three Singapore banks — watch OCBC's Bank of Singapore and UOB's private banking closely next week.

3. Rates logic is inverted — and that matters.

DBS disclosed that each +1bp rise in USD rates reduces NII by ~US$4M, due to hedging positioning. Rising rates are a headwind, not a tailwind. SORA guidance was also cut from 1.25% to 1.00%, and the bank now expects zero Fed rate cuts in 2026 (down from two). NIM pressure is structural — non-interest income is what gets you through it.

What to Watch for UOB and OCBC

DBS's results give clear read-throughs for the final two banks:

• NIM pressure is baked in. Q1 avg SORA was 1.07% vs 2.54% a year ago. Expect NII to decline for UOB and OCBC similarly — the question is whether wealth and fee income offsets it

• Wealth fees are the swing factor. Can OCBC's Bank of Singapore and UOB's private banking match the record levels DBS put up? If yes, both could also beat on non-interest income

• Guidance tone matters most. DBS upgraded its FY2026 profit outlook from "below 2025" to "good shot at 2025 levels." If UOB and OCBC echo this, the sector re-rating has further room to run

Prediction: Where Do UOB and OCBC Close After Earnings?

Correctly predict OCBC or UOB's post-earnings Friday closing price to share 1,000 Tiger Coins. Every participant gets 5 Tiger Coins just for joining. If no one guesses correctly, coins are split equally.

💬 Comment below:

1. I think OCBC will close at SGD ___ on May 9 (Friday after earnings)

2. I think UOB will close at SGD ___ on May 8 (earnings day)

3. Will OCBC or UOB match DBS's wealth management fee surprise? Yes / No

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