DBS says Q3 net profit up 49 pct, beats forecasts

SINGAPORE Nov 6 (Reuters) - DBS Group (DBSM.SI), Southeast Asia's biggest bank, said its third-quarter profit rose a better-than-expected 49 percent on strong interest rate margins and lower bad debt charges.

DBS said on Friday its July-September net profit was S$563 million versus S$379 million a year ago, its first expansion since the second quarter of 2008.

Analysts had predicted a net profit of S$480 million, according to an average of six forecasts in a Reuters survey.

DBS was expected to post strong results after its rivals United Overseas Bank (UOBH.SI) and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC.SI) announced better-than-expected results last week.

Singapore banks have emerged from the financial crisis in a better shape and earnings are poised to improve next year as a recovery in Asian economic growth boosts loan demand and fees improve from rising capital market deals.

(Reporting by Saeed Azhar; Editing by Valerie Lee and Neil Chatterjee)