Content first published by Euromoney on 19 July 2024
Asia’s best bank for wealth management: DBS
Yet again, DBS stands head and shoulders above the field in Asian wealth management.
Under the leadership of group head of DBS Private Bank, Joseph Poon, the bank enjoyed a stellar 2023, navigating market volatility to post a 35% year-on-year rise in wealth management income, with fee income rising 20% and the business’s cost-to-income ratio flat at 43%.
Much of the growth was fuelled by Hong Kong and mainland Chinese clients putting more money to work in Singapore. In total, DBS attracted S$24 billion ($17.8 billion) in net new money from clients in north Asia, southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Total wealth-related assets under management jumped 23% year on year in 2023 to S$365 billion, against a backdrop of rising inflation and de-risking among clients.
“We have an amazing private banking franchise,” says Poon. “Asia will be the region offering the fastest rate of financial asset growth by 2025, and we are at the heart of that story. It’s not about size per se – it’s about the global footprint we have, about the value we bring to clients. We bank clients from more than 115 nationalities. The world is coming to us.”
At the heart of DBS’s success is its integrated One Bank proposition. This strategy, which caters to entrepreneurs in particular, helps to serve both the corporate and personal side of the individual balance sheet, and unites the firm’s investment, institutional, private and corporate banking teams.
One Bank offers support to family-office clients as they navigate complex financial challenges that often extend beyond traditional wealth management. An example of this is its strategic advisory solutions team, which sits within the private bank and works with the capital markets and institutional banking teams to help ultra-high net-worth (UHNW) clients to identify bespoke investment solutions and opportunities.
DBS once again used its longstanding credentials as a digital pioneer to find new ways to serve its private wealth clients, from mass affluents to UHNWs. The bank uses behavioural impulses such as nudges to send targeted messages to clients and to its own relationship managers. The bank’s deployment of artificial intelligence and data analysts helped to generate a 30% year-on-year jump in wealth-planning solutions adoption in 2023.
“Total wealth-related assets under management jumped 23% year on year in 2023 to S$365 billion, against a backdrop of rising inflation and de-risking among clients”
Its chief investment office continues to be a cutting-edge resource, full of client-facing research, advice and ideas, drawing on output from DBS’s fixed income and equities analysts. Two private wealth solutions that stand out during the awards period are its revamped CIO Liquid+ Fund, which optimizes yield, safety and liquidity, and the DBS Idea Fund, which capitalizes on technology and digitalization trends.
CIO-led strategies such as its 60/40 stocks-to-bonds call for investors to deploy cash into multi-asset balanced portfolios, and for clients to add exposure to corporate innovators, disruptors, enablers and adapters, were bold calls made against a backdrop of concerns about the state of the tech sectors. But both translated into big gains for clients during the awards period.
Another feather in the cap for the CIO was its decision to recommend investing in ‘quiet luxury’ brands that espouse new-age minimalism and create apparel and goods that buck temporary trends. This was a contrarian call, with some analysts fearing a crunch in the luxury space, but again it was right on the money.
Singapore’s Best Bank for ESG: DBS
DBS implemented internal policies that had a direct impact on the sustainability of its own operations in 2023
DBS’s sustainable financing commitments reached approximately S$70 billion ($51.8 billion) by December 2023, up from S$51 billion in 2022. The bank has maintained its leading position in the Singapore dollar bond markets and worked on close to S$18 billion of environmental, social and governance (ESG) related bond deals, most of which were green and sustainable bonds.
In 2023 the bank partnered with H&M Group to create an innovative green loan programme that facilitates supply chain decarbonization in the apparel sector. Suppliers get access to financing from DBS and technical support from its sustainability consultant, Guidehouse, on upgrading their factories to decrease their climate impact.
The bank launched its upgraded SME Low-Carbon Rewards programme that supports small and medium-sized enterprises in their transition to a low-carbon economy. This also supports the development of local renewable energy and digital payment services adoption.
DBS also introduced its Enhanced ESG Risk Assessment in July 2023. The new ESG risk scoring methodology incorporates sector-level climate risks based on a stress testing exercise, as well as climate and ESG risk assessments based on questionnaire responses.
Hong Kong’s Best International Bank: DBS
DBS saw impressive revenue growth in Hong Kong over 2023 along with improvements to its payment systems, new corporate responsibility and diversity and inclusivity programmes, and sustainable finance initiatives.
Revenues were up 12% year on year to HK$9.2 billion ($1.18 billion). This was achieved in part due to initiatives such as DBS Hong Kong partnering with CLP Power to provide its small and medium-sized enterprise clients with opportunities to invest in energy efficiency upgrades and the launch of a new rewards programme, SME Low-Carbon Rewards.
Other improvements the bank introduced in 2023 included its FPS x Thailand PromptPay. With the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Bank of Thailand collaborating to link their respective digital payment systems, DBS upgraded its payment system to enable corporate merchants to capture new payment instructions for QR code collections from Thailand.
DBS Hong Kong also launched new sustainability initiatives in 2023. This included its LiveBetter service in the DBS digibank HK app. The service introduced sustainability centric educational features, Know Better and Invest Better, aimed at removing the barriers and customer inertia around sustainable living.
India’s Best Bank for Diversity & Inclusion: DBS
DBS has launched a series of initiatives aimed at enhancing diversity among its workforce in India, particularly focusing on female employees. Firstly, the bank revamped its hiring strategy to attract talent from diverse geographic locations and academic backgrounds. In 2023, DBS recruited approximately 150 graduates from various campuses, 48% of them women.
The RefHer programme incentivizes employees to refer qualified female candidates from their networks for open positions at DBS. During International Women’s Day and peak hiring periods, the standard referral bonus is doubled, resulting in 40% of women being hired through referrals in 2023. Additionally, DBS introduced initiatives to support women returning from career breaks.
These initiatives have proven effective. From 2021 to 2023, DBS steadily increased its diversity representation from over 27% to the current 30%, with a target to reach 35% within the next three years, showcasing DBS’s commitment to gender diversity.
Beyond internal initiatives, DBS Bank India has extended its support to the community through partnerships. The bank collaborated with Haqdarshak Empowerment Solutions to implement a social protection and financial literacy programme targeting marginalized citizens across India. This initiative has positively impacted 88,600 beneficiaries, with women constituting 95% of the total.
Indonesia’s Best Bank for ESG: DBS
DBS had a busy 2023 in its efforts to drive sustainability in Indonesia. It played a key role in the completion of large sustainability-linked deals in the region and introduced initiatives including a sustainability council, investment in local social enterprises and the proactive reduction of the carbon footprint of its internal business practices.
The bank’s green credit portfolio grew to Rp6.1 trillion ($373 million) in 2023 thanks to several notable green deals. These include a S$700 million ($516 million) sustainability-linked syndicated term loan facility for Sarana Multi Infrastruktur, a $16 million green trade facility with PT Indomobil Sukses Internasional and a $100 million syndicated green loan for the State Grid Corporation of China.
In 2023, the bank published a report detailing its decarbonization commitments. It has reduced its own carbon emissions by 12% year on year by installing solar panels in several branches and ran a programme of purchasing carbon credits to support renewable energy projects.
As part of its efforts in driving impact beyond banking, the DBS Foundation awarded Rp8.2 billion to four Indonesian social enterprises in 2023.
Taiwan’s Best international bank: DBS
DBS worked on several key deals in Taiwan in 2023. It acted as the sole bridge loan provider to WT Microelectronics (WM), in addition to being mandated as one of the lead arrangers for the take-out syndicated loan. It also advised WTM on its acquisition of Future Electronics. The $3.8 billion 100% cash deal was the first large cross-border M&A deal in the semiconductor distributor industry in Taiwan. The bank also acted as the sole lender for a $380 million bridge facility to support AcBel Polytech’s acquisition of ABB’s power division.
The bank launched its global cash management tool, RAPID, during the review period. This integrates banking capabilities between DBS and its clients’ enterprise resource planning systems.
DBS reported a 59% year-on-year increase in total revenue in Taiwan for 2023, including a 50% increase in loan balances, a 60% rise in deposit balances and a five-fold jump in credit card issuance.
Asia’s Safest Bank, 2009 – 2023, Global Finance
Best Bank in the World 2022, Global Finance
World's Best Bank 2021, Euromoney
Best Bank in the World 2020, Global Finance
World's Best Bank 2019, Euromoney
Global Bank of the Year 2018, The Banker
