Tier 1 capital was up by 12% in the year, assets by 10% and net profits by a record 32%. The bank’s operating trends are strong, with fee income and net interest income at record high levels. Expenses have also been kept in check, with the cost-income ratio declining from 47% in 2005 to 43% last year.
DBS launched a new subsidiary last year, The Islamic Bank of Asia, to provide commercial banking, corporate finance, and capital market and private banking services under Islamic banking principles. The first of its kind in Singapore, this bank aims to use DBS’s strength in capital intermediation to create a substantial market advantage in the Islamic banking space.
DBS also opened its local subsidiary DBS Bank (China) and received regulatory approval to acquire 33% of Changsheng Fund Management Company. Combining the existing strength of its network of five branches, one sub-branch and four representative offices, DBS expects to build a leading customer franchise in China.
The group also strengthened its dominance in payments and collections with the acquisition of a majority stake in AXS InfoComm, which develops and operates an island-wide network of 390 web-enabled transactional terminals. DBS launched an ATM service with China Unionpay that allows CUP card holders to withdraw funds and check their account balance from their home-based bank accounts via ATMs.
“DBS has invested in products and services over the years to support our aspiration to be an Asia banking specialist,” says vice-chairman and CEO Jackson Tai. “It means a lot to be recognised as Bank of the Year in Singapore once again. The award encourages us to work even harder to extend and deepen our customer franchise in Singapore and throughout Asia.”
