NEXT-DBS CEO REUTERS says Singapore’s muscles are difficult for digital banks Reuters

By Anshuman Daga

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Digital banks in Singapore will find it difficult to make room in the city-state’s saturated market, said Piyush Gupta DBS Group (OTC :), the largest lender in Southeast Asia.

Online-only banks will start operations in Singapore next year, marking the biggest bank breakdown the financial center has had in two decades.

“In Singapore, it’s not so easy to expand the space for digital banking,” Gupta told a Reuters Next conference on Friday, noting Singapore’s 98% bank entry and a strong set of digital products for holders.

“It can also be seen in markets like Brazil and China that the relative market share, size and growth has not changed much,” he said.

Singapore’s Internet platform Sea Ltd and Southeast Asia’s Grab venture with Singtel will begin operations in a limited way from 2022 after obtaining a full digital banking license https://www.reuters.com/article/singapore-bank- idUSL1N2IK0T1 in December.

But Gupta said the new regulator’s guidelines in the coming years would ensure that Singapore’s regulatory guidelines would prevent it from gaining market share by making large losses over time.

“You definitely have to compete. People will come in with aggressive pricing products and so on. But overall I think we’re pretty well positioned and we should hold on to ours,” he said. he said.

Over the past decade, Gupta has pushed DBS to invest billions of dollars in upgrading its technology infrastructure as it integrates cloud computing and digitizes its services.

DBS earns the most from Singapore and Hong Kong.

Since Gupta took office in 2009, DBS has entered the ranks of Asia’s top wealth managers, bought an Indian bank and a Chinese bank in the past year, and entered into businesses such as a digital exchange and a global carbon exchange. as he seeks new income.

Gupta said the bank’s business momentum has been strong despite the fact that the Omicron coronavirus variant has spread around the world and hit markets, as investors are concerned about the impact of economic growth.

“When I look at our loan book and line of credit, they’re pretty strong, and that’s true for the whole region, including China, where macro numbers are slowing down. But for a player like us, we’re seeing a pretty good boost in our business. there, ”he said.

“As we look at our pipelines and our business projections for 2022, I think we will continue to see a pretty similar boost throughout the year.”

Last month, DBS surpassed market estimates with a 31% increase in net profit from July to September, helped by an increase in share revenue and improved asset quality.

TECHNOLOGY DECISION

Referring to last month’s technical disruptions in DBS’s online banking services, including its payment app, Gupta apologized to customers and said they were entitled to expect more from the bank.

DBS identified a problem with its access control servers.

“But the good news is that everything behind the door was secure. Nothing was touched, so our data was fine, there were no cyber-hackers and our payments were fine,” Gupta said.

“So we’re doing a full review of the process from end to end. And then we’re going to come up with some insights and discoveries about what we can do better as we move forward.”

Gupta, 61, said he had no plans to retire soon. He had a 27-year term Citigroup (NYSE 🙂 Before joining DBS.

“A lot of my opponents are definitely setting the US benchmark in the 70’s. So I have a lot of time to go and there’s nothing immediate.” To view the Reuters Next conference, please register here https://reutersevents.com/events/next