DBS sets up $50m foundation

DBS Bank yesterday launched a $50 million foundation as it scales up to make a positive impact on the communities in the region.

From the $50 million, the foundation expects to have an income of $2.5 million-$3 million a year which it can spend on initiatives to address the region's evolving social needs, said Piyush Gupta, DBS chief executive.

The foundation will support community programmes, provide grants to nurture social enterprises, as well as donations for natural disaster relief.

Having a foundation shows the bank's long-term commitment to encourage and nurture social innovation like giving grants to social enterprises, he said at a media briefing.

These are companies which cannot raise capital easily because their returns are not just economic, but they have a social impact like employing the disadvantaged, he said.

With the foundation, the social enterprises can be assured of consistent and reliable funding support.

"It reinforces the long-term commitment of the bank ... for many companies the funding goes up and down with their fortunes," he said.

He addressed the issue of the growing income divide and said governments alone cannot tackle wealth distribution, companies have to embrace the shift from shareholder value to shared values.

Mr Gupta sees income inequality widening leading to increasing tensions within society, with the issue being compounded by the rise of social media and technology.

"Like it or not, there's going to be a fundamental change in the nature of jobs, the kind of jobs people do and the kind of jobs that are available. The Western world is struggling now five years with a job market recovery," he said.

"It's in our view that some of it is not just cyclical but structural - there's a change in the nature of work itself. And if that theory is right, then this issue of income inequality and the haves and have-nots is actually going to get exacerbated over coming periods of time."

Since 2012, DBS has provided over $1.8 million in grants to 56 social enterprises across the region. Of this, more than $550,000 has been given to eight social enterprises in Singapore including Adrenalin, A-changin, Bizlink and Billion Bricks.

DBS also remains the only bank to offer virtually free banking services to social enterprises in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, India, Indonesia and Taiwan.

The DBS Foundation is chaired by Euleen Goh, DBS Group Holdings board member. Ms Goh is also non-executive chairman of the Singapore International Foundation.

Said Ms Goh: "In this era of 'New Capitalism', we must deliver value to all our stakeholders. This means doing what's right by our customers, employees and the community as well as our shareholders. With a sense of shared purpose and meaning, not only will our people be more engaged, as an organisation, we can also make a greater impact in the communities we operate in."