Gupta battles to make DBS’s pan-Asian dreams a reality

The DBS chief executive is developing a more focused take on his bank’s traditional pan-Asian aspirations. Singapore, India and Greater China are the key growth points, concentrating on commercial banking (especially for SMEs) and wealth management. Chris Wright reports.

DBS HAS LONG been the most outspoken of southeast Asian banks on the goal of being a regional player. For more than a decade, different chief executives have outlined their vision for a regional champion. Jackson Tai used to talk of a pan-Asian bank, headquartered in Asia, run by Asians for Asians; under Piyush Gupta, appointed in September 2009, the mantra has become “the Asian bank of choice for the new Asia”. Much still has to be done before one could truly consider DBS the pan-Asian power it aspires to be.

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