Aug. 5 (Bloomberg) -- United Overseas Bank Ltd., Singapore's No. 2 lender by assets, said second-quarter profit rose 2.7 percent, more than analysts estimated, as loans and lending margins improved.

Net income rose to S$601 million ($437 million) in the three months ended June, from S$585 million a year earlier, the bank said in a statement to Singapore's stock exchange today. The profit was higher than the median estimate of S$543 million in a Bloomberg News survey of five analysts.

To contact the reporters on this story: Chia-Peck Wong in Hong Kong at cpwong@bloomberg.netTan Wei Xin in Singapore at ftan22@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 5, 2008 00:51 EDT