DBS Private Bank breaks into top 5 in Asia-Pacific

Singapore.27 Oct 2016

Only Singapore private bank in top 10 APAC AUM rankings


Also enhances wealth portal, DBS iWealth, which offers clients a faster, smarter and more personalised way to manage their wealth


Singapore, 27 Oct 2016 - DBS is now the fifth largest private bank in Asia-Pacific by assets under management (AUM), according to the latest study by Private Banker International, a leading journal for the global wealth industry, in its annual “PBI Top 20 Asia-Pacific Assets Under Management (AUM) Rankings”. The bank broke into the top 5 in Asia-Pacific, after jumping three spots from its No. 8 placing in last year’s rankings.

The growth of DBS’ wealth management franchise is robust, fuelled by the organic growth of emerging Asian new wealth and also by the successful execution of its wealth continuum. After the successful acquisition of Société Générale Private Banking Asia in 2014, DBS Private Bank continued to grow from strength to strength. It has also consistently achieved growth of about 20% annually since 2010. As of June 2016, DBS’ high net worth assets under management (HNWIs with more than SGD1.5 million each in investible assets) and assets under management for all wealth customers stand at SGD104 billion and SGD151 billion respectively.

Said Tan Su Shan, Group Head of Consumer Banking & Wealth Management at DBS Bank, “We are delighted to be ranked among the top five in Asia and to represent Singapore in the rankings. Despite facing a challenging volatile market, our wealth business remains robust. We are committed to growing our wealth business and as the safest bank in Asia, amid current market conditions, we are in prime position to further capture market share.”

As we execute against our strategy to achieve our ambition of becoming the wealth manager of choice, we will continue to focus on enhancing the delivery of our financial and banking capabilities to our clients. This includes our initiatives to deliver the next generation client experience in providing advice and our latest enhancements made to our best-in-class digital wealth platform, DBS iWealth.”

Said John Schaffer, Correspondent at Private Banker International, “DBS has shown significant promise by bolstering its ranking from last year’s position of 8th (USD73 billion) to 5th (USD79 billion). This comes in spite of a slowdown of AUM figures for private banks in APAC. DBS has bucked the trend this year, which saw some top-tier banks’ AUM performance dip or become stagnant. DBS’ performance reflects the bank’s focus on client centricity, as well as its focus on digital banking innovation - which is particularly pertinent for private banking clients in APAC.”

Just this week, DBS also made a number of key enhancements to its wealth portal, iWealth. The new and improved DBS iWealth provides clients with all-in-one access via a single platform to conduct their banking transactions, manage their wealth and also trade.

The enhancements made to DBS iWealth were implemented after a number of focus groups conducted with its clients, who asked for products and services that are relevant to their investment needs and risk appetite, information and execution that are delivered at speed, and simple processes.

The enhanced wealth platform empowers clients with quick and intuitive access to services, product information and research. Insights and analysis can be customised according to clients’ preferences and holdings. Equities and funds trading have been incorporated into the platform, enhancing the range of asset classes that are available online. Some of the key features of DBS iWealth include:

• Single dashboard for up-to-date view of a client’s banking, trading and wealth management portfolio
• Clients can trade stocks in seven key markets and stay on top of trends with customised charting tools, market analysis, stock search and filters
• “Online Funds Trading” provides clients with quick access to over 400 funds, as well as fund information, research data and expert analysis
• Insights from research based on clients’ preferences and holdings
• Timely notifications and price alerts for clients to keep track of their portfolio

Said Tan, “The digital revolution has changed the way our clients live, work and play, and we are focused on always being relevant to our clients. Client experience and usability are key for us, and we have taken bold steps to enhance the delivery of financial and banking capabilities, giving our clients a faster, smarter and more personalised way to manage their wealth.”

DBS iWealth will also be available on the mobile platform in early 2017. For more information on DBS iWealth, please visit go.dbs.com/new-iwealth

In 2015, DBS Private Bank was named the world’s ‘Most Innovative Private Bank’ by three of the industry’s leading journals. Most recently, DBS was named ‘Best Asian Private Bank’ by FinanceAsia and ‘Best Wealth Manager, Asia’ by The Asset, and more notably, as the ‘World’s Best Digital Bank’ by Euromoney, the first time an Asian bank has won an award in a global category by this publication.

Annex 1

ASIA PACIFIC ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT OF HNW CLIENTS*  (USD BILLION)
  20152014
1UBS Wealth Management275272
2Citi Private Bank (1)210255
3Credit Suisse152145
4HSBC Private Bank112112
5DBS Private Bank (2)7973
6Julius Baer7575
7Morgan Stanley Wealth Management7270
8JP Morgan Private Bank (3)6590
9BNP Paribas Wealth Management64.559.3
10Deutsche Bank Wealth Management(4)56105
11OCBC (Bank of Singapore) (5)5551
12Goldman Sachs5245
13Standard Chartered Private Bank4545
14Barclays Wealth & Investment Management (6)2936
15LGT Private Bank2522.3
16Hang Seng (7)25Not listed
17UOB Private Bank (8)2019.5
18ABN AMRO Private Bank (9)1920.5
19EFG Private Bank1618
20J Safra Sarasin1515
 TOTAL1,461.51,528.6
    

Source: Private Banker International

Notes: Based on figures from Q4 2015 - where publicly available and from internal sources. Where a range of AUM is used, PBI has taken the lower figure in calculating total AUM. Exchange rates as at 31 Dec 2015.

(1) Includes AUM of HNW clients with net worth of USD1m and above. Citi also completed the sale of its Japan consumer operations in November 2015
(2) Includes AUM of HNW clients with net worth of USD1m and above
(3) Estimate; JPMorgan has merged its private wealth management and private banking businesses and raised the client threshold from $5m to $10m
(4) Wealth management unit only (asset management included in 2014 figure)
(5), (6), (7), (8), (9) Estimates

*HNW clients are those with investable assets of >$1 million. Includes private banks active in Singapore and Hong Kong booking centres.
**Total for 2014 does not include Hang Seng Bank


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About DBS
DBS - Living, Breathing Asia

DBS is a leading financial services group in Asia, with over 280 branches across 18 markets. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, DBS has a growing presence in the three key Asian axes of growth: Greater China, Southeast Asia and South Asia. The bank's capital position, as well as "AA-" and "Aa1" credit ratings, is among the highest in Asia-Pacific.

DBS is at the forefront of leveraging digital technology to shape the future of banking, and has been named “World’s Best Digital Bank” by Euromoney. The bank has also been recognised for its leadership in the region, having been conferred “Asia’s Best Bank” by The Banker and Euromoney, and “Asian Bank of the Year” by IFR Asia. The bank has also been named “Safest Bank in Asia” by Global Finance for eight consecutive years from 2009 to 2016.

DBS provides a full range of services in consumer, SME and corporate banking. As a bank born and bred in Asia, DBS understands the intricacies of doing business in the region’s most dynamic markets. DBS is committed to building lasting relationships with customers, and positively impacting communities through supporting social enterprises, as it banks the Asian way. It has also established a SGD 50 million foundation to strengthen its corporate social responsibility efforts in Singapore and across Asia.

With its extensive network of operations in Asia and emphasis on engaging and empowering its staff, DBS presents exciting career opportunities. The bank acknowledges the passion, commitment and can-do spirit in all of our 22,000 staff, representing over 40 nationalities. For more information, please visit www.dbs.com.