Singaporean banker Piyush Gupta, 64, is leaving his post as chief executive of DBS Group after more than 15 years at the helm of Southeast Asia’s largest bank by assets.
Tan Shu Shan will succeed Gupta as CEO when he retires at the next annual general meeting on March 28th next year, the bank announced on Wednesday (August 7). The group’s board has appointed Tan as deputy CEO, in addition to her present role as group head of institutional banking.
Indian-born Gupta, who started his career at Citibank India in 1982, joined DBS as CEO in 2009, and is credited for growing the group into a leading financial services group and a pioneer in digital banking in the region.
Tan, 56, has had more than 35 years of experience in consumer banking, wealth management and institutional banking. Besides Singapore, she has worked in major financial centres such as Hong Kong, Tokyo and London.
Tan joined DBS in 2010 and spent the first three years building the foundations of the wealth management business. She subsequently spent almost equal lengths of time managing the consumer banking, wealth management and institutional banking businesses, which account for 90% of the group’s income.
Tan led the day-to-day efforts to operationalize the bank’s digitalization strategy across the businesses she ran. She has been president commissioner of DBS Indonesia since 2014.
Outside DBS, Tan has served on several boards in government, education and women’s leadership and was a nominated member of Parliament in 2012-14. A graduate of Oxford University, she has attended leadership programmes at Harvard and Stanford.
Decade-long process
Her appointment is the culmination of a decade-long succession process. A strong field of internal candidates was put through an extended development programme to develop their experience, exposure and skills for the role. They were also benchmarked against potential external candidates. Following the evaluation, Tan was deemed the strongest of all the candidates.
Says DBS chairman Peter Seah: “Under Piyush’s leadership, DBS has been transformed into a high-performing, high-returns institution recognized simultaneously for stability and innovation.
“Su Shan’s strategic orientation, track record in building businesses, familiarity with technology, leadership ability as well as strong stakeholder management and communication skills make her the ideal successor. Importantly for us, she also embodies the DBS culture. I am pleased that a Singaporean with global experience has emerged as the best candidate to lead an iconic Singapore institution and build on the legacy that Piyush will leave us.”
Gupta notes that Tan has worked closely with him for more than a decade. “She was instrumental in building the wealth management, consumer banking and institutional banking businesses since she joined, and took personal ownership to operationalize our digitalization strategy. With her appointment, we can be assured that the trajectory of DBS’ transformation will continue well into the future,” he says.
For her part, Tan says: “I am deeply honoured to have been selected to succeed Piyush. Leading the continued transformation of DBS is a tremendous privilege and responsibility. Some months after Piyush joined as CEO, he called to persuade me to join DBS. I responded to that call and quit the foreign bank I was working at the next day. Joining DBS felt like a homecoming – it is the bank I grew up with, and also the company where I first interned. The last 14 years have been a tremendous ride. I am proud of the founding mission of DBS – financing Singapore’s growth – and will continue to ensure that it is a brand that stands tall not just in Asia but also the world stage.”
Record H1 profit
Also on Wednesday, DBS Group said first-half net profit rose 9% to a new high of S$5.76 billion (US$4.34 billion), with return on equity at 18.8%. Total income increased 11% to S$11 billion from broad-based growth in net interest income, fee income and treasury customer sales. The cost-income ratio was 39% and profit before allowances rose 10% to a record S$6.79 billion. Second-quarter net profit rose 4% year-on-year to S$2.8 billion.
"While recent market volatility and ongoing geopolitical tensions have resulted in heightened uncertainty, we have built resilience against the risks of an economic slowdown and lower interest rates," Gupta says. "Our high general allowance reserves, reduced interest rate sensitivity, strong capital position and ample liquidity will position us to continue supporting customers and delivering shareholder returns.”
