Bank to the Future

Discover how DBS has consistently evolved to redefine itself over half a century, on Bank to the Future, a documentary ​produced by Channel NewsAsia.

1968

DBS is established

As a young nation strove to forge its path in the 1960s, a small group of people were tasked with the unique responsibility of financing Singapore's fledgling industries and growing new ones.

1980

DBS launches Autosave

Back in the 1970s, customers with a checking accounts could not earn interest, while those with a current account did not have checking facilities. To make life simpler, we broke new ground and launched DBS Autosave in 1980 - the first interest-bearing current account in Singapore.

1983

DBS opens first Taiwan branch in Taipei

The Taiwan branch, our seventh office internationally, would contribute to trade activities in the Republic of China-US-Japan trade triangle and facilitate trade between the Republic of China, Singapore and ASEAN countries.

1985

DBS is lead manager for SIA IPO

While Singapore Airlines (SIA) flew its customers across the world, we were helping SIA go global in a different way!

1986

DBS launches Raffles City

Did you know it took us over 17 years to plan and build Raffles City? We wanted to bring life to the CBD area after working hours and grow tourism in Singapore.

1989

DBS opens representative office in Jakarta

Our expansion across Asia continued with the opening of a representative office in Jakarta. We also obtained approval to establish a joint-venture bank in Jakarta.

1993

DBS lead manages Singtel IPO

A nation of investors was birthed with the Singapore Telecom (Singtel) IPO. We lead-manged the milestone SGD 4.3 billion IPO jointly with a consortium of local banks.

1994

DBS sets up representative office in India

The start of a long-standing strategic presence in India: we were the first Singapore bank to set up a representative office in India in 1994, upgrading it to a formal bank branch a year later.

1997

DBS launches comprehensive internet banking

Remember the days of Netscape Navigator and dial-up Internet? Right from the early days of the World Wide Web, we recognised how this could make banking simpler for you.

1998

DBS acquires POSB

We acquired POSB, a move in line with the government's call for local banks to merge so as to create fewer, but larger and stronger banks that are able to compete on the international stage.

2001

DBS acquires 100% interest in Dao Heng bank

In line with our pan-Asian strategy, we acquired 100% interest in Dao Heng bank and its subsidiary Overseas Trust bank.

2002

DBS launches first REIT in Singapore

DBS is a pioneer in the REITs space, having successfully launched CapitaMall Trust, the first REIT in Singapore, in 2002. We have not looked back since.

2007

DBS is first Singapore bank to incorporate in China

Headquartered in Shanghai, we were one of the first few foreign banks, and the first Singapore bank, to incorporate a fully owned local subsidiary in China.

2008

DBS launches industry-first banking package for social enterprises in Singapore

We believe in supporting businesses that seek to address social needs, so that the larger society and in particular, those in need can benefit.

2008

DBS celebrates 40th anniversary with project to help the children of Asia

A basketball court for primary school children in the remote village of Juara in Malaysia. Lessons to children in a Cambodia village school about sanitation. These were some of the projects our employees completed as part of our 40th anniversary celebrations.

2008

DBS acquires "good bank" assets of Bowa Bank

Further expanding our footprint across Asia, we acquired the "good bank" assets of Bowa Bank and grew our presence in Taiwan.

2009

DBS Hong Kong launches social entrepreneurship platform

Continuing our support of social entrepreneurship, DBS Hong Kong launched its flagship community programme, "DBS Social Enterprise Experience", to provide a learning platform for youths to hone their business  skills and cultivate social entrepreneurship.

2010

DBS launches industry first "money safe" guarantee

It's important our customers have peace of mind. So for those worried about transacting over the internet, despite high security standards held by the industry, we took the lead and introduced an industry-first "money safe" guarantee.

2012

DBS launches Marina Regatta

We launched the inaugural Marina Regatta to bring life to the Marina Bay area.

2012

DBS moves to MBFC Tower 3

It was a moment marked with excitement, pride and nostalgia as we bade farewell to our Shenton Way headquarters of 38 years and made the historic move to our new head office at Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 3.

2014

DBS launches DBS Foundation

To play our part in shaping a better future for Asia, we cemented our committment to social enterprises with the launch of our SGD 50 million foundation.

2016

DBS is World's Best Digital Bank

We believe that banks tomorrow will look fundamentally different from banks today. That’s why DBS is deeply immersed in the digital agenda.

2016

DBS launches digibank India

Digibank India was the first mobile-only, paperless, signatureless and branchless bank incorporating ground breaking technology, from biometrics to artificial intelligence.

2016

DBS launches DAX

We further our commitment to shape the future of banking with the launch of a new innovation facility, DBS Asia X, in Singapore.

2017

DBS receives approval to establish wholly-owned subsidiary in India

The approval to establish a locally incorporated wholly-owned local subsidiary in India a year after we launched digibank was another milestone in our journey in India.

2017

DBS joins RE100

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing mankind and we are committed to taking a leadership role in promoting sustainable development.

2017

DBS launches world's largest banking API platform

From McDonald's to PropertyGuru to Homage - a wide range of companies have hopped onto our API platform to develop solutions that will bring more convenience and value to our customers.

2017

DBS launches POSB Smart Buddy

In line with Singapore's Smart Nation agenda, we started getting children future-ready by introducing POSB Smart Buddy, the world's first in-school wearable tech savings and payments programme.

2017

DBS launches digibank in Indonesia

Following our successful launch in India, we brought digibank to Indonesia in 2017. The groundbreaking mobile-led bank is paperless and signatureless, bringing together an entire suite of innovative technology so customers can enjoy a whole new way of banking.

2018

DBS recognised for gender equality

We're proud to have been named to Bloomberg's 2018 Gender-Equality Index, and recognised for our leadership among firms worldwide in creating a work environment that supports gender equality.

2018

World’s Best Digital Bank, World’s Best bank for SMEs

DBS is recognised by Euromoney as the World’s Best Digital Bank for the second time. In a first for the bank, DBS is also named by Euromoney as the World’s Best Bank for SMEs.

2018

DBS is Best Bank in the World

In a first for a Singapore and Asian bank, DBS Bank has overtaken larger, more established banks to be named Best Bank in the World. The prestigious top award was conferred to DBS by Global Finance in its World’s Best Global Banks 2018 Awards.

2018

DBS is Global Bank of the Year

Cementing its position at the top of the global class, DBS is named Global Bank of the Year by The Banker, a leading publication of the Financial Times.

2019

DBS is the World’s Best Bank

In a feat unmatched by other banks globally, DBS becomes the first bank to concurrently hold three global best bank awards. This was achieved after DBS was named “World’s Best Bank” by leading global financial publication Euromoney in its 2019 Awards for Excellence.