DBS bank confident of 15-17% ROE in next 3 to 5 years, CEO says

SINGAPORE’S biggest bank DBS Group is confident of achieving a return on equity (ROE) of 15 per cent to 17 per cent in the medium term or over the next three to five years, its chief executive officer Piyush Gupta said on Thursday (Mar 28).

“Rates have come down from the 5.5 per cent. We think the new normal is closer to 3 per cent but even in that environment, we think we continue to deliver 15 to 17 per cent ROE,” he told shareholders at an annual general meeting.

Drivers include faster growth among its high ROE businesses such as wealth management and global transaction services.

DBS, which is also South-east Asia’s largest bank by assets, posted a record ROE of 18 per cent last year, which Gupta said was one of the highest among the biggest banks globally. ROE in 2022 was 15 per cent.

Meanwhile, DBS will allocate between S$300 million and S$500 million in capital to its India operations over the next three to four years and grow profitable consumer and small and medium-sized enterprises banking businesses there, Gupta said.

DBS is also bullish on China’s greater bay area, and China in the long term, Gupta said. The bank announced in end-December that it was raising its stake in China’s Shenzhen Rural Commercial Bank in a S$376 million deal. REUTERS

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