Singapore's top banker Piyush Gupta leaves DBS Bank

Singapore: Singapore's top banker Piyush Gupta has stepped down as DBS Bank chief executive after 15 years of spearheading the lender's journey through various financial markets, including setting up of a wholly-owned subsidiary in India.

"Piyush Gupta has driven a total transformation of DBS over these 15 years. His achievements speak for themselves – the accolades that DBS has received over the years, including recognition by Euromoney in 2016 as the first bank to be named World's Best Digital Bank. In 2018, DBS was named the World's Best Bank and has received the award multiple times since then," said Temasek Holdings CEO Dilhan Pillay.

Tan Su Shan has succeeded Gupta. Tan, who is the first female CEO in DBS' history and was previously the bank's deputy CEO, is expected to continue DBS' focus on high return on equity businesses and global growth, reported The Straits Times.

Temasek Holdings Limited, a 51-year-old Singaporean state-owned multinational investment group, is a major shareholder of DBS.

In a statement read out at DBS' annual general meeting (AGM) on March 28, Pillay said that the partnership between DBS chairman Peter Seah and Gupta created "significant value" for the bank, its franchise, its shareholders and the financial services sector.

He added that DBS will continue to be in the good hands of Seah and Tan, and that Temasek is confident they will "continue to drive DBS' relentless focus on excellence for value to all its stakeholders".

Meerut-born Gupta, who is 65 and a naturalised Singapore citizen, is stepping down from a high point in the bank's history.

South-east Asia's largest bank by assets reported in February a record performance in 2024, with full-year net profits up 11 per cent year-on-year to SGD 11.4 billion.

Since Gupta first took on the role of CEO in November 2009, DBS' share price has increased more than 280 per cent to SGD 46.47 at the close on March 28.

DBS' market capitalisation crossed SGD 100 billion in May 2024, a first for a Singapore-listed company, the bank said in its annual report. By year-end, its market value had risen further to SDG 124 billion.

Total shareholder returns for 2024 were 51 per cent, comprising a share price gain of 44 per cent and a dividend return of 7 per cent. It was the highest in DBS' history outside crisis-rebound years, the bank said.

Gupta noted that higher fee income helped the bank offset the decline in interest income as interest rates fell during the year.

He said that DBS' wealth management business was a strong growth driver for the bank, having benefited from "a lot of new money which came in". Assets under management grew 17 per cent year-on-year in 2024 to SGD 426 billion.

There were, however, some low points in Gupta's 15-year career with the bank.

In 2023, for example, DBS suffered a series of digital disruptions that led to him receiving a 27 per cent pay cut for the year.

In 2024, he was paid SGD 17.6 million, compared to SGD 11.2 million after the pay cut in 2023.

Gupta noted at the AGM that the board took "very serious cognisance" of the bank's technology outages in 2021 and 2023, and put in measures to strengthen its technological risk management.