DBS appoints Tan Teck Long as chief risk officer, with Elbert Pattijn to retire

DBS Group Holdings is set to get a new chief risk officer (CRO), it said on Friday.

Company veteran Tan Teck Long has been appointed to fill the role, with effect from July 1, as Elbert Pattijn retires after more than a decade at the company.

He will join the bank's group executive committee and will report to chief executive Piyush Gupta.

Mr Tan, who started at the company as a trainee in 1993, is now chief operating officer for the lender's institutional banking group and is also responsible for large- and mid-cap corporate customers.

With industry experience in both corporate and investment banking as well as in risk management, his previous roles include that of senior credit approver. He has also headed the DBS loan workout unit for restructuring weak credit cases.

Mr Gupta said in a media statement: "Teck Long's appointment is testament to our ability to groom leaders from within. His long-standing career with DBS had a balance of business and risk roles, and I am confident that he will bring this experience to bear meaningfully in his new role."

Mr Pattijn joined DBS in late 2007 as its head of corporate and investment banking and became CRO the year after, during the throes of the global financial crisis.

One of his early tasks in this position was to bring together various risk management departments at the bank. He has also worked to improve risk methodologies and models and digitalise parts of the risk management processes, DBS noted.

Mr Gupta said: "Over the last 10 years, DBS has become a much stronger organisation. We are today recognised as a leading player in Asia, and are at the forefront of digital. This has been possible because of the advances we've made in risk management under Elbert's leadership.

"We wish him all the best in his retirement."

DBS closed up on Friday by S$0.12, or 0.45 per cent, to S$26.61, before the announcement.