By P.R. Venkat

DBS Group Holdings Ltd.'s first-quarter net profit rose 63% on year as the bank set aside lower allowances for credit and other losses as against major provisioning made in the past anticipating risks from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Net profit for the quarter ended March was 2.01 billion Singapore dollars (US$1.52 billion), DBS Group, one of Southeast Asia's largest banks by assets, said Friday.

Total income was down 4% at S$3.85 billion, mainly due to lower net interest income.

For the first quarter, the lender has set aside only S$10 million toward expected credit losses, as against S$1.09 billion year ago, when Covid-19 cases were fast spreading around the world.

In line with the central bank's guidance asking local banks to moderate their dividend payouts, DBS said it will pay 18 Singapore cents as dividend in the first quarter.

DBS chief executive Piyush Gupta said that asset quality trends were encouraging and that delinquencies remain low despite the tapering of loan moratoriums.

He said that new non-performing assets formations were below the pre-pandemic levels and that overall portfolio quality had improved.

The bank expects full-year allowances to be below S$1 billion for this year.

Write to P.R. Venkat at venkat.pr@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-29-21 1908ET