Having upgraded its credit risk management capabilities, the bank has been able to maintain high asset quality, with a non-performing loan rate of just 1%.
DBS’ robust performance and ongoing growth has been boosted by its international expansion, which has included the expansion of its branch network across India, bringing its total presence in the country to 10 branches. In mid 2007, DBS incorporated a fully owned local subsidiary in China, while its stock broking joint-venture in Malaysia, Hwang-DBS Securities, gained approval to become a fully fledged investment bank.
Further to these developments, the bank acquired assets belonging to Taiwanese operation Bowa Bank, which it has now successfully integrated, giving DBS some 40 distribution outlets across a dozen cities in Taiwan, three business units and more than 750,000 depositors. Despite this expansion, DBS has successfully kept its expenses in check, with the bank’s cost-income ratio declining from 46.7% in 2005 to 42.5% in 2007.
Further to international expansion, early 2008 saw DBS Bank launch a number of pioneering products, including a banking package specially tailored to support the growth of social entrepreneurship in Singapore. In another innovative move, the bank launched Singapore’s first dedicated loan scheme aimed at helping managers at small and medium-sized enterprises develop management expertise.
“As a bank that lives and breathes Asia, DBS takes pride in having deep insights and an intuitive understanding of how to do business in the region,” says Richard Stanley, CEO of DBS Group Holdings and DBS Bank. “Our experience in Asia and firm commitment to the region positions us well to ride out the current turbulence and seize new opportunities. At DBS, we remain focused on growing our core businesses, deepening relationships with customers and strengthening our Asia franchise to better serve our customers and communities we operate in.”
