SINGAPORE (Oct 15): UOB Kay Hian is maintaining its “buy” call on Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) ahead of the bank’s scheduled 3Q18 results announcement before market opens on Nov 1.
However, the brokerage believes OCBC will report slower growth compared with 1H18. “We expect loan growth to moderate to 1.2% q-o-q and 9.9% y-o-y with expansion driven by developed markets Singapore and Hong Kong in 3Q18,” says analyst Jonathan Koh in a Monday report. “The expansion was driven by residential property developers, mortgages, and OCBC Wing Hang.”
On the other hand, loan growth from emerging market Malaysia is expected to be muted due to uncertainties over government policy, while Indonesia is likely to be slowed by the depreciation of the rupiah.