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DBS Bank profit rebounds in Q4, seen gaining as rates outlook improves

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DBS Bank profit rebounds in Q4, seen gaining as rates outlook improves

DBS has enjoyed robust business momentum after profits rose to record levels last year, underpinning a recovery at Southeast Asia’s largest lender as virus-hit economies rebounded and boosted loan growth and asset quality.

Banks in Singapore are also expected to be the main beneficiaries of higher interest rates, while Singapore’s economy is expected to grow 3% to 5% this year after growing at its fastest annual rate in more than a decade in 2021.

Jefferies analyst Krishna Guha said that while the bank’s fourth-quarter profit was slightly below expectations due to lower-than-expected non-interest income, growth in other revenue metrics was “remarkable.”

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“Guidance for 2022 is consistent with our current inputs, with the exception of credit costs, and is likely to be the next driver of a positive earnings revision,” Guha said in a note.

DBS, the first Singaporean bank to report this quarter, said net profit rose to S$1.39 billion ($1.03 billion) in the October-December period after falling to three 30 percent in the fourth quarter of the year. Year lows, especially weak due to the impact of the epidemic.

However, the result was below the S$1.47 billion average estimate of four analysts polled by Refinitiv and 18% lower than the third quarter, with non-interest income down 41%. DBS shares were down 0.6% in early trade on Monday.

“We look forward to having a prudently managed balance sheet in the coming year, which is expected to benefit from higher interest rates,” DBS chief executive Piyush Gupta said in a statement, adding that the bank expects loans to be in the mid- to mid-teens digit or better growth. After reporting a 9% increase last year.

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Singapore and Hong Kong-based DBS Bank, which made most of the profits, last month agreed to buy Citigroup’s consumer business in Taiwan for S$956 million, bolstering regional acquisitions to fuel growth.

The Singapore bank’s full-year profit rose 44% to a record S$6.8 billion as loans rose 9% to the highest level in seven years, while soaring fees for wealth management and transaction banking services offset lower interest rates.

Loan loss provisions fell to S$33 million in the latest quarter from S$577 million a year earlier.

Investors have pushed Singapore bank shares higher this year, with DBS Bank and smaller rival UOB trading near record highs, encouraged by the improving outlook for banks.

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Laid stars Stephanie Hsu and Zosia Mamet reveal the worst gifts their romantic partners gave them | Exclusive

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Laid stars Stephanie Hsu and Zosia Mamet reveal the worst gifts their romantic partners gave them | Exclusive

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Stephanie Hsu and Zosia Mamet talk about their new series Laid, and some of the horrors of dating as millennials.
Imagine a scenario where anyone and everyone you have ever been intimate with begins to die one by one. Is it a curse? If yes, then who is cursed? These are questions that Stephanie Hsu‘s Ruby battles with in the new zany comedy, Laid. Ahead of the show’s release, Stephanie and co-star Zosia Mamet spoke exclusively with HT about their roles, the show’s unique premise, and the horrors of dating as millennials. (Also read: Dune: Prophecy star Emily Watson on working with Tabu: ‘She is a true treasure’)

Stephanie Hsu on her character’s flawed morality

Laid, created by Nahnatchka Khan and Sally Bradford McKenna, is the story of Ruby (Stephanie Hsu), who discovers that all her sexual partners are dying one by one, and she must warn them. Helping her in this unique quest is her best friend AJ (Zosia). The fun thing about Laid is that the protagonists are not the usual likeable characters. “She is totally an anti-hero of our story. I really love that,” says Stephanie, referring to Ruby’s moral greyness. “I am not a perfect person and I love playing flawed characters. But it was difficult. The creators told me that she is a total narcissist. But narcissists don’t think they are one, so I had to figure out a way to love her. For me, playing Ruby was about getting into her psychology and finding the innocent part of her – which is that she just wants love,” the actor adds.

While sitcoms usually add the best friend as the voice of reason trope, Laid diverges from that, with AJ even zanier and more morally ambiguous than Ruby. Talking about playing such a colourful character, Zosia Mamet says, “When you play not-so-likable or zany characters, people don’t believe they are that way. I don’t think AJ wakes up every morning and thinks, ‘I am absolutely crazy’. It’s about trusting the writing and finding an organic way into these characters to make them seem grounded, real, and relatable.”

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Stephanie, Zosia reveal the worst gifts they received from partners

In Laid, Ruby gives the gift of death to the men she is with, even if that is inadvertent. Ask the women about the worst ‘gift’ a partner has ever given them, and the discussions veer into the unusual horrors of modern-day dating. “I got a vintage wooden duck decoy from someone. It was broken, and I thought, ‘What does this say about our relationship?’. They didn’t know me well enough to know if I’d want this but also that they gave me something old and ailing,” Zosia says with a laugh.

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