Relearning the ropes

DBS GROUP HOLDINGS is on a roll. Singapore's largest listed company (by total market value) has become an investor's must-hold and features in many fund managers' portfolios. Yet, in its annual meetings with shareholders, the bank often gets brickbats, some of which aren't related to its operations. Deftly handling the annual meetings for the past nine years as chairman of the board, has been Peter Seah. Helming the group can't be easy - after all it's not just South-east Asia's biggest bank but the world's 40th largest by market capitalisation, according to S&P.

But ask Mr Seah about his biggest headaches running the bank and the 71-year-old veteran banker says it's that he has had to relearn the business. "Probably an understatement to say it's challenging; banking is a business that I've pretty much spent my whole life in but it's still a major challenge - not just the size of the bank but the evolution of the business," he tells BT in a wide ranging conversation. Mr Seah was a banker for 33 years before retiring in 2001 as vice-chairman and chief executive of the former Overseas Union Bank, which was acquired by United Overseas Bank (UOB). He joined the DBS board in 2009 and became chairman in 2010.

Banking has evolved dramatically over the last 50 years, from simple deposit-taking and reselling them as loans, to trade financing to now a complex business offering everything from derivatives to digital services, he notes.