Singapore's OCBC third-quarter profit up 12 percent; flags stress in oil and gas sector

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp <OCBC.SI> reported a 12 percent increase in quarterly net profit, boosted by growth in its insurance and wealth management businesses, but highlighted continued stress in the oil and gas support services sector.

Kicking off the results season for Singapore banks on Thursday, the city state's No. 2 lender said its total non-performing assets rose 15 percent in the quarter from a year earlier, led by accounts in the oil and gas support services sector which "continued to be under stress".

OCBC's net profit came in at S$1.06 billion ($780 million) in the three months ended September, versus S$943 million a year earlier. This was just shy of its second-quarter profit of S$1.08 billion, which was the highest in nearly three years.

"Our strong third-quarter earnings demonstrated the quality and continued momentum in each of our banking, wealth management and insurance franchises," OCBC CEO Samuel Tsien said.

Singapore's biggest bank, DBS Group Holdings <DBSM.SI>, and smaller peer United Overseas Bank <UOBH.SI> report results next month.

($1 = 1.3598 Singapore dollars)

(Reporting by Anshuman Daga; Editing by Stephebn Coates)