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 said on Thursday.

“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 per cent to 17 per cent ROE,” DBS Group CEO Piyush Gupta 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 biggest 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 S$300 million to S$500 million capital to its India operations over the next three to four years and grow profitable consumer and small and medium 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 it was raising its stake in China’s Shenzhen Rural Commercial Bank in a S$376 million deal. REUTERS