SINGAPORE (Reuters) - DBS Group Holdings (SI:DBSM), Singapore's biggest lender, unexpectedly reported a 23 percent fall in quarterly profit as it raised provisions for loans to the troubled oil and gas sector.
"Net allowances of S$815 million were taken to remove uncertainty over residual weak oil and gas services exposures," DBS said on Monday, as it increased net allowances by 87 percent.
The bank's net profit came in at S$822 million ($602 million) in the three months ended September, versus S$1.07 billion profit reported a year earlier.
That compared with the S$1.13 billion average estimate of four analysts compiled by Thomson Reuters.
DBS has a larger exposure to the struggling oil and gas sector than its smaller rivals Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (SI:OCBC) and United Overseas Bank (SI:UOBH).
