PREVIEW-Market turmoil to hurt Singapore, Malaysia bank profits

* What: Singapore banks' Q1 earnings, Malaysia's Maybank's Q2, Bumiputra-Commerce's Q1

* When: Singapore (May 6-7), Malaysia (mid-May)

* Loan growth still strong, volatile markets hit fees

By Saeed Azhar

SINGAPORE, April 28 (Reuters) - Most Singaporean and Malaysian banks could see profits hurt by faltering capital markets and lower fees, with Southeast Asia's top bank DBS expected to report more writedowns linked to the global credit crisis.

However, strong loan growth, fueled by financing for multi-billion dollar projects such as Singapore's two casino resorts, likely prevented larger profit declines in the last quarter.

Analysts warn more difficulties lie ahead in the second half when a looming U.S. recession catches up with Asia's robust economies, putting a brake on earnings momentum.

Singapore's DBS (DBSM.SI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is likely to report next week that its quarterly profit declined by 8.3 percent from a year earlier to S$566 million ($416 million), according to the average forecast from a Reuters poll of six analysts.

Analysts expect DBS to report lower fees and fresh provisions on its exposure to complex credit derivatives.