Annual Report - Institutional Banking

	Operations Review Institutional Banking, Treasury and Capital Markets - Institutional Banking
	Leadership depends on bringing value to customers. In our Institutional Banking Group, knowledge and experience mean delivering innovative banking solutions to customers in a wide range of industries. Our goal is to provide a complete menu of financing options, advisory services and fund raising programmes to help our corporate customers meet every financial need - at the right time, for the right price. Against the more subdued operating conditions in Singapore, we nevertheless maintained our long-standing, dominant market share in Singapore dollar loans in most sectors. Our market share of trade services transactions increased despite lower volumes due to reduced economic activity in the region. In the manufacturing sector, we targeted customers in electronics, transport equipment, downstream petrochemical and engineering industries. In the building and construction sector, our focus was helping customers manage and consolidate their activities in the face of declining asset values.	As other banks reviewed and rationalised their activities, we focused on strengthening ties with larger corporates, including multinationals and Government-Linked Companies. We are building strong, lasting relationships with our customers and capital market transactions featured actively in our dealings throughout the year. For example, we arranged a S$244 million club loan for Sembawang Utilities and Terminal Pte Ltd, the first Singapore project financing transaction for local infrastructure. We also led an innovative US$100 million Structured Revolving Credit Facility for APP Paper Trading (S) Pte Ltd to finance inventory and receivables.
	Knowledge and experience mean delivering innovative financial solutions to customers in a wide range of industries.
	We coordinated the efforts of a syndicate of banks, leading to the successful launch of the MAS Electronic Payments System (MEPS) for Singapore dollar payments. And, in 1998, we achieved ISO 9002 certification for funds transfer operations. The Bank has developed an improved PC-based platform to bring our whole range of cash management solutions right onto our customers' desktop. Known as IDEAL (Integrated Direct Electronic Link), this web-browser-based platform is extremely user friendly. Through IDEAL, our customers can access the Bank's cash management products at a click of the mouse. Building a world-class bank Individual and Enterprise Banking Institutional Banking, Treasury and Capital Markets Regional Development Logistics Supporting the Community Table of Industrial Distribution of Loans and Advances Institutional Banking Capital Markets and Advisory Treasury and Markets	DBS Bank's suite of integrated cash management solutions is tailored to meet our customers' need to ultimately manage their cash flow more efficiently. The scope of solutions ranges from collections on one end to payments on the other, with cash and liquidity management being the core control module. It also includes the generation of necessary reports which can be interfaced to customers' own accounting system. The Bank's custody services continue to win top ratings from Global Custodian, iCB (Euromoney), GSCS Benchmarks and Global Investor. Revenue from portfolio and transaction fees was affected by the regional crisis; but, the Bank extended its securities lending programme which now covers five markets in Asia. We expect the introduction of the book-entry Debt Securities Clearing and Settlement System for new Singapore dollar bond issues in 1998 to have a favourable impact on future volumes.