Overview

2025 began with strong deal-making and trade flows, aligned with expectations of a positive global economic environment. ‘Liberation Day’ upended that. Businesses were forced to reassess investment plans amid heightened uncertainty.

Notwithstanding these headwinds, global supply chain shifts, regional integration and rapid AI acceleration created real opportunities across Asia. Resilience today is not an operational response. It is a strategic advantage. Three strategic pivots are defining how companies future-proof in this new reality: a ‘local for local’ market strategy, building operational resilience where it matters most; intentional supply chains and ecosystems, minimising disruption through deliberate design; and technology resiliency, enabling always-on operations and unlocking AI-driven innovation.

Our deep regional connectivity, market-leading industry expertise, innovative product solutions and differentiated client experience enabled IBG to partner clients across each of these pivots and deliver a resilient performance.

Resilient financials despite headwinds

Total income registered SGD 8.91 billion, a 3% decline from the prior year. Declines in Sora and highly competitive loan spreads lowered our net interest margins, outweighing sustained growth in non-interest income and the balance sheet.

Net interest income declined 7% to SGD 6.27 billion. Robust asset and deposit growth, coupled with nimble balance sheet management, partly offset the margin compression. Non-interest income grew 9% to SGD 2.64 billion, driven by record loan-related fees, broad-based growth in cash management fees and treasury customer income. Non-interest income hit new highs as we deepened client relationships and captured fees in event-driven business and market opportunities.

Allowances rose to SGD 241 million, due to higher specific allowances taken in the fourth quarter. Overall asset quality remained sound.

Profit before tax declined 10% to SGD 5.73 billion.

Leveraging connectivity for growth

Structural tailwinds from AI investment, green infrastructure in Asia and infrastructure investments in the Middle East fuelled capital demand as clients adapted to these megatrends.

Financial Institutions Group grew institutional investor relationships, particularly with private equity funds as we leveraged our expertise in multiple industries to finance operating assets and capture favourable fund flows. We expanded transaction services and financial market solutions to more non-bank FIs and institutional investors – including helping Middle East FIs broaden their investor base and global insurance companies tap Asian bond markets.

Real Estate’s global connectivity strategy across gateway cities, coupled with a focus on sustainable developments, dovetailed with our clients’ recycling of capital to enable stable, quality growth. Notably, we acted as global coordinator, mandated lead arranger and bookrunner for Singapore’s largest syndicated loan – an SGD 12 billion facility for Marina Bay Sands’ new development.

The global acceleration of Gen AI adoption spurred demand for compute capacity, semiconductors and infrastructure across the value chain, driving significant mergers and acquisitions and fundraising activity in the Telecoms, Media and Technology sector. Our industry expertise and connectivity helped us secure marquee deals, including arranging over SGD 8 billion in combined facilities for leading data centre provider AirTrunk.

Energy security underpinned these sectoral trends and powered Energy, Renewables and Infrastructure momentum. Clients enhanced energy resilience with renewables, battery storage, low-carbon infrastructure and grid upgrades, as well as natural gas deployment across India, Australia and Southeast Asia.

We strengthened strategic partnerships to deepen our network franchise and support our clients’ overseas expansion. We worked with Australia’s Trade and Investment Commission to support investments into Southeast Asia and with the Korea Ocean Business Corporation to expand Korea’s maritime and logistics sector regionally.

Clients affirmed our leadership, naming us Asia’s best bank for corporate banking and cash management at the Coalition Greenwich Awards. We were also named ‘Asia’s Best Transaction Bank’ by Euromoney and Global Finance.

A trusted SME partner

In 2025, we sharpened our focus on helping midsized corporates and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) stay resilient amid complexity.

Following Liberation Day, we supported clients with a high-level ministerial dialogue in Singapore, bringing together businesses and policymakers. Additionally, as a founding partner of the Singapore Business Federation’s Centre of the Future of Trade and Investment, we co-developed the “Navigating US Tariffs” playbook.

We deepened client relationships, supported their cross-border expansion, and helped them secure fresh capital through initial public offerings (IPOs) and debt issuance. Notably, we led the USD 400 million Ultragreen.ai and SGD 771 million Centurion REIT IPOs.

Taking a novel approach, we piloted a 60-hour livestream on TikTok to help 60 homegrown Singapore businesses tap social commerce and reach new consumers.

Innovating transaction banking to meet client needs

As clients navigated uncertainty, we listened closely to their evolving needs and responded with innovative solutions.

DBS is the first Singapore bank to serve as an RMB clearing bank. We also received approval to operate in the onshore over-the-counter bond market. Together, this will enable us to deliver more seamless access to RMB solutions across on- and offshore markets, helping clients diversify currency risk while leveraging Singapore’s position as a global foreign exchange centre and Asia trade hub.

In India, we became the only multinational bank authorised for direct tax collection, helping customers improve compliance efficiency by consolidating statutory and commercial payments on one system. In Taiwan, we launched DBS Globesend, a one-stop solution for cross-border low-value payments.

Our next-generation liquidity management solutions offer intelligent multi-currency pooling, real-time cross-border automation and unified dashboard visibility – empowering clients to transform their treasury operations and strengthen resilience.

This laser focus on client centricity and innovative products enabled our Global Transaction Services (GTS) business to capture key mandates and help our clients future-proof their operations. GTS accounted for 48% of IBG income.

Maturing the digital asset ecosystem

Through our leadership, we are shaping the digital asset ecosystem as more institutional and accredited investors embraced this asset class.

We marked several industry firsts including completing the world’s first over-the-counter cryptocurrency options inter-bank trade with Goldman Sachs; launched tokenised structured notes on the Ethereum blockchain; advanced work on smart contracts; and partnered Franklin Templeton on Singapore’s first tokenised money market fund.

We also completed a pilot under the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s Project e-HKD+ to enhance digital vouchers through tokenisation and programmability, and extended DBS Token Services to customers in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Staying the course on sustainability

Despite the closure of the Net Zero Banking Alliance, we remain committed to helping our clients transition to green energy. Importantly, we co-led an SGD 500 million transition loan to YTL PowerSeraya for the construction of Singapore’s first hydrogen-ready combined-cycle gas turbine.

Sustainable financing commitments, net of repayments, rose 14% to over SGD 102 billion. Landmark deals included serving as green loan coordinator and lead arranger for a USD 1.7 billion loan for DayOne.

Together with the Singapore Manufacturing Federation and partners, we launched a sector-specific decarbonisation playbook. Our ESG Ready Programme was the only Singapore case study in an OECD report on innovative approaches to advance SME sustainability.

We are honoured to be named ‘World’s Best Bank for Corporate Responsibility’ for the second time by Euromoney.

Differentiating through Generative AI

We are deploying Gen AI to deliver a better, faster, more personalised client experience.

With over a decade of experience in AI/ ML and data analytics, we accelerated the rollout of Gen AI use cases – including reducing processing times for trade conditions by 60%. We developed a digital co-pilot to help customer service officers support clients more effectively, reducing call handling time by up to 20%.

We also enhanced the DBS Joy chatbot with Gen AI. This Gen AI-powered virtual agent offers 24/7 tailored assistance, enabling relationship managers to focus on higher-value engagements. Since launch, DBS Joy has crossed 20,000 unique users, averaging 15,000 monthly chat sessions. Customer satisfaction scores improved 23% over a six-month period.

Looking ahead

Headwinds from lower rates, surplus liquidity and geopolitical uncertainty will persist. But Asia’s structural growth trends offer substantial opportunity – in Gen AI and emerging agentic AI, energy and food security, infrastructure development, intentional supply chains, expanding regional financial markets and the digital asset ecosystem.

IBG has deepened our capabilities in structuring and financing complex transactions; expanding industry expertise; broadening connectivity; financing Asia’s energy transition; and innovating our transaction banking and digital assets solutions. We are committed to leveraging these capabilities, our strong financials and prudent risk management to partner our clients to strategically navigate the changes and opportunities.

Looking forward, we remain focused on investing in businesses that deliver strong returns on equity, expanding product capabilities, and leveraging Gen AI to drive meaningful results and generate value for our stakeholders. We are confident that these strategies will help us successfully address future challenges.