United Overseas Bank (UOBH.SI) posted a 71% rise in first-quarter net profit, helped by lower bad-debt charges and a one-time gain from the sale of its insurance unit, beating expectations. 

UOB, Singapore’s third-biggest bank, posted a net profit of $700 million in January-March, up from $409 million a year earlier. 

 

That compared with an average forecast of $519 million, according to five analysts polled by Reuters. 

 

UOB's earnings included a one-time gain of $82 million from the divestment of UOB Life Assurance. 

 

Earlier DBS (DBSM.SI), Southeast Asia's biggest bank, posted a 23% rise in quarterly profit, slightly ahead of analysts’ forecast but below expectations that had been raised following Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp's (OCBC.SI) stellar result. 

 

OCBC earlier this week smashed forecasts with a 24% jump in quarterly profit.