Clifford Lee

Clifford is the Global Head of Investment Banking at DBS Bank, where he is responsible for the bank’s fixed income, equity capital markets and Vickers institutional equity brokerage businesses. This includes enhancing the unit’s existing deal execution capabilities and driving synergies across businesses to provide clients a more comprehensive solution-based approach that meets complex corporate finance and investment needs. He leads a team of over 200 capital market specialists in the areas of origination, syndicate, structured products, sales, credit and ESG advisory, with operations in leading financial hubs including Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, London and New York.

Clifford also sits on the investment committee of Muzinich Asia Pacific (APAC) Private Debt 1 – an Asia-focused private credit fund that counts DBS as an anchor investor – as one of the bank’s initiatives to establish its presence in Asia’s rapidly growing private markets.

An Asian banking veteran with more than three decades of experience, Clifford joined DBS in 2004, where he went on to establish the bank as the only Asia-headquartered bond house operating across Asia in both G3 and select domestic currencies, with proven product competencies spanning straight bonds, perpetual bonds, convertible bonds and structured debt securities. Prior to DBS, he assumed senior positions in global institutions such as West Merchant/WestLB and BankBoston/FleetBoston to head regional syndicate, origination, structured finance and sales functions. Before those, he was the Global Head of Syndicate at Peregrine Fixed Income in 1995. Clifford started his career as a corporate banker with Citibank in 1991.

A believer of making capital markets more efficient and accessible through digitalisation, Clifford has led the launch of digital bond platforms such as the award-winning FIX Marketplace. He is also focused on making sustainable financing real and relevant in Asia, both in his capacity as a board member of DBS Foundation and as an investment committee member of the Asia Impact First Fund.

In recognition of his leadership and contributions to the financial industry – including supporting the development of Singapore’s capital markets and finance professionals through his active involvement in the Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore’s (IBF) Capital Markets and Financial Markets Industry Workgroup – Clifford was conferred the title of "IBF Distinguished Fellow" in October 2022.