SINGAPORE, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (OCBC Bank) said on Tuesday that it recorded a net profit of 3.47 billion Singapore dollars (2.45 billion U.S.D) for the whole year of 2016, a decrease of 11 percent from 4 billion Singapore dollars (2.82 billion U.S.D) a year ago.

For the fourth quarter, net profit was down 18 percent to reach 789 million Singapore dollars (556.03 million U.S.D), the bank added.

OCBC said the decline in overall earnings for the year was driven by a rise in net allowances and lower trading and insurance income.

The Singapore-headquartered banking group's net interest income declined 3 percent to 5.05 billion Singapore dollars (3.56 billion U.S.D) last year while the group's non-interest income declined 3 percent to 3.44 billion Singapore dollars (2.42 billion U.S.D). Fee and commission income was stable year-on-year at 1.64 billion Singapore dollars (1.16 billion U.S.D), as higher wealth management fees were offset by lower income from brokerage and investment banking activities.

OCBC's net interest margin, a measure of lending profitability, remain unchanged at 1.67 percent year on year. (1 Singapore dollar equals to 0.7 U.S.D)