OCBC's Q3 profits boosted by China banks

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, one of Singapore's major lenders, has reported a fourth quarterly profit increase as it absorbed loans from its Wing Hang Bank Ltd acquisition and booked a gain from a stake in a Chinese bank.

Net income climbed 62 percent to S$1.23 billion ($962 million) for the three months ended Sept 30 from S$759 million a year earlier, the bank said in an exchange statement on Thursday.

Profit excluding gains from the stake in Bank of Ningbo Co was S$841 million, against the average of four analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg of S$839 million.