Our wealth management franchise extended its multi-year outperformance as high net worth clients increasingly diversified their investments in Asia. Total wealth management income rose 18% to SGD 5.22 billion, while wealth management non-interest income climbed 45% to SGD 2.60 billion, outpacing many regional and global peers. Testament to the strides we have made, we were named “World’s Best for High Net Worth” by Euromoney. 

We upped our stake in Shenzhen Rural Commercial Bank (SRCB), which gives us a good footprint in the Greater Bay Area, from 16.69% to 19.4%. We also deepened our partnership with the Postal Savings Bank of China and SRCB to enhance our Wealth Management Connect product offerings. 

Following the successful integration of Citi Consumer Taiwan, we are reaping customer synergies from the acquisition. In particular, wealth management had a standout year as we successfully engaged the larger combined customer base on a broader suite of products. Income for Taiwan grew by 61% to a record SGD 1.2 billion. 

We leveraged our sizable footprint in India – the fastest-growing major economy in the world – to grow our business. Post the amalgamation of Lakshmi Vilas Bank, we now have a robust full-service platform spanning institutional, wealth and retail banking to more fully participate in India’s growth. Income grew 25%, led by large-corporate banking, with SME and retail banking also seeing good traction.

As part of the bank’s continued commitment to capital management, we established a new share buyback programme of SGD 3 billion in which shares will be purchased in the open market and cancelled – a first for DBS. This is among various capital management initiatives undertaken by the bank, which included a doubling of the ordinary dividend over the past five years including through a bonus issue, and occasional special dividends.