As part of its commitment to groom talent from within, DBS Group Holdings has appointed Lim Soon Chong as group head of global transactions services (GTS) with effect from August 1, succeeding John Laurens who will be retiring.

Tan Su Shan, DBS’ group head of institutional banking, says: “The rapid digitalization of trade, cash management and securities services, and the world’s increased focus on sustainability have opened doors to new avenues of growth for our global transaction banking business. This is an exciting time for Soon Chong to take the lead in propelling the business to greater heights. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank John for his committed leadership and invaluable contributions in establishing our transaction banking franchise as a global leader in trade, cash, securities services and digital in less than a decade.”

From left: John Laurens, Lim Soon Chong, and Sriram Muthukrishnan.

Since joining DBS in 2006, Lim has led a broad range of assignments, including in consumer, wealth, corporate treasury and risk management. Prior to his role in group transaction services, he was group head of investment products and advisory for the bank’s consumer banking and wealth management business, where he spearheaded numerous initiatives to enhance the bank’s wealth management and investment propositions.

Under his leadership, the business’ contribution to investment assets under management and fee revenue grew significantly. He also repositioned DBS’ mass retail investing, cash equities brokerage and financial planning businesses in Singapore and Hong Kong as digital-focused propositions.

To ensure a smooth transition, Laurens will remain as a senior adviser until December 31. He has been with DBS since 2014 and has been integral in building up the transaction banking business into a world-class franchise.

Lim currently double-hats as head of digital for DBS’ institutional banking group and group head of product management for the GTS business.

Following his new appointment as group head of GTS, Lim will continue as head of digital for DBS’ institutional banking group, taking charge of driving digital initiatives across the bank’s institutional banking business.

Sriram Muthukrishnan will take over Lim’s other role as group head of product management and will oversee DBS’ cash and trade businesses going forward. 

Muthukrishnan brings with him more than 20 years of banking experience and is currently DBS’ group head of trade product management. Since joining DBS in November 2018, he has led a complete turnaround of the bank’s trade finance and supply chain finance business – placing it among the global leaders in terms of profitability, growth, innovation and digitalization.

With effect from August 1, Muthukrishnan will take the lead for the bank’s cash and trade products and services across the region for both large corporates and small businesses.

Lim says: “Sriram’s extensive experience in corporate, institutional and transaction banking functions across the world’s leading financial hubs including Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai and India places him in good stead to drive DBS’ market leadership in our cash and trade businesses. We remain committed to efforts to rotate our senior leaders around different functions and markets to hone their business acumen and technical skillsets to ensure they are well equipped to navigate the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow.”