OCBC profit surges 31% in record quarter for Singapore banks

SINGAPORE, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Southeast Asia's second-largest lender Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd (OCBC) (OCBC.SI) joined its Singapore peers in beating market estimates and pumping out record quarterly profits as banks rake it in on higher interest rates.

The city-state's banks, which boast some of the strongest capital buffers in the world, have effectively weathered the COVID-19-induced slump and are now benefiting from rebounding Asian economies.

But analysts say growth could be derailed by a big increase in U.S. interest rates - already at multi-year highs - as central banks try and tackle runaway inflation.

"Net interest income grew on higher net interest margin and loan growth was sustained," Group CEO Helen Wong said in a statement, adding that asset quality was healthy, with no indication of systemic stress.

OCBC's net profit increased to S$1.6 billion ($1.13 billion) in July-September versus the S$1.55 billion average estimate from four analysts, according to Refinitiv data.