DBS named Global Bank of the Year by leading Financial Times publication, The Banker
Second time DBS recognised as global best this year
Winning The Banker’s Global Bank of the Year award adds to the slew of global accolades DBS has won this year. DBS now holds two global best bank awards concurrently – with its win of Global Finance’s Best Bank in the World in August – making it the first Asian bank in the world to attain this achievement. Earlier in the year, Euromoney also named DBS the World’s Best Digital Bank and the World’s Best Bank for SMEs.
Regarded as the industry standard for banking excellence, The Banker’s Bank of the Year awards judge the world’s leading financial institutions on their ability to deliver returns, gain strategic advantage and serve their markets. Brian Caplen, Editor of The Banker, said, "DBS is a very worthy winner of The Banker's Global Bank of the Year award. The bank is a world leader in digital transformation and has successfully shown how banks must change culture -- as well as technology -- to counter the threat to their business from big tech companies."
DBS’ digital transformation programme first began in 2014. It is now recognised by global industry peers as having one of the most comprehensive digital transformation programmes for a bank, encompassing being digital to the core, journey thinking, culture change, and a methodology to quantify the financial impact of digitalisation. The bank has seen higher returns on equity coming through, forecasting ROE to reach 13%, which would place it within the top decile of developed market banks. In the areas of customer and employee satisfaction, DBS was recognised as having best-in-class service in its sector in the last decade by Singapore Management University’s Institute of Service Excellence. DBS has also been included in Aon Hewitt’s Asia Pacific Regional Best Employer list since 2016.
The bank’s digitalisation drive has led to numerous innovations that have streamlined legacy processes, boosted productivity, and improved customer experience, amongst other benefits. In 2018, DBS ventured into chat commerce with “Foodster”, Southeast Asia’s first bank-led retail chatbot. The bank has also introduced consumer marketplaces for cars, property and electricity, and last year launched the POSB Smart Buddy – the world’s first in-school wearable tech savings and payments programme.
On the sustainability front, DBS Foundation continues to mentor social enterprises across Asia. It launched the DBS Social Enterprise Support Programme in October 2018, in conjunction with the third edition of its regional Social Enterprise Summit. This year, DBS also became the first bank in Southeast Asia to be included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Asia Pacific), and was also named to the FTSE4Good Global Index for the second consecutive year.
Piyush Gupta, DBS CEO, said, "Winning the Global Bank of the Year caps off a year of global accolades for the bank. This is testament to our strengths not just in Asia, but among banking leaders worldwide. In particular, I am very pleased that our commitment to reimagining banking is clearly setting us apart as a different kind of bank, one that is leading the way amid a time of rapid change and industry disruption. All of us at DBS are honoured to fly the Singapore flag high once again."
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About DBS
DBS is a leading financial services group in Asia, with over 280 branches across 18 markets. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, DBS has a growing presence in the three key Asian axes of growth: Greater China, Southeast Asia and South Asia. The bank's "AA-" and "Aa1" credit ratings are among the highest in the world.
Recognised for its global leadership, DBS has been named “Global Bank of the Year” by The Banker and “Best Bank in the World” by Global Finance. The bank is at the forefront of leveraging digital technology to shape the future of banking, having been named “World’s Best Digital Bank” by Euromoney. In addition, DBS has been accorded the “Safest Bank in Asia” award by Global Finance for ten consecutive years from 2009 to 2018.
DBS provides a full range of services in consumer, SME and corporate banking. As a bank born and bred in Asia, DBS understands the intricacies of doing business in the region’s most dynamic markets. DBS is committed to building lasting relationships with customers, and positively impacting communities through supporting social enterprises, as it banks the Asian way. It has also established a SGD 50 million foundation to strengthen its corporate social responsibility efforts in Singapore and across Asia.
With its extensive network of operations in Asia and emphasis on engaging and empowering its staff, DBS presents exciting career opportunities. The bank acknowledges the passion, commitment and can-do spirit in all of our 26,000 staff, representing over 40 nationalities. For more information, please visit www.dbs.com.