SINGAPORE – DBS Bank chief executive Piyush Gupta will retire in 2025 after 15 years at the helm of South-east Asia’s largest bank.

DBS banker Tan Su Shan will replace Mr Gupta, 64, when he retires at the next annual general meeting on March 28, 2025.

Ms Tan said: “I’m very grateful for this big opportunity. I’m also very mindful that this is a huge responsibility.” This will be the first time the bank has filled the top job internally.

The board has also appointed Ms Tan as deputy CEO, in addition to her present role as group head of institutional banking, it announced on Aug 7.

Ms Tan, 56, has had more than 35 years of experience in consumer banking, wealth management and institutional banking, with stints in Hong Kong, Tokyo and London.

She joined DBS in 2010 and spent the first three years building the lender’s wealth management unit before running the consumer banking and wealth business and the institutional banking division. The businesses account for 90 per cent of DBS’ income.

DBS chairman Peter Seah told the bank’s results briefing on Aug 7 that the board had engaged an independent consultant to assess candidates for the CEO role.

The process started after Mr Gupta said in 2021 that he would like to retire by the time he turns 65 in 2025. Mr Seah said: “Su Shan stood out as the best... The board’s decision to appoint Su Shan was unanimous.”

Other contenders for the role included DBS head of consumer banking group and wealth management Shee Tse Koon and Singapore country head Han Kwee Juan, according to various recent media reports.

Mr Seah noted that Ms Tan “came in and built a very strong foundation for wealth management. She’s been a very well-respected private banker. She’s covered the two big parts of the bank that contribute the lion’s share of the bank’s income, and she has performed well”.

Ms Tan was heavily involved in the bank’s digital transformation, including initiatives such as its PayLah! e-wallet and rewards app and the DBS Ideal business banking platform.

Mr Gupta, DBS’ longest-serving CEO, said he was grateful for the opportunity to lead the institution and fly the Singapore flag high: “Even though I’ve been the face of DBS in many ways, banking is a team sport. The most important part of this team has been the DBS board.”

Calling Mr Seah the “unsung hero” of the bank’s transformation journey, he added: “His leadership – whether to drive our culture, the strategy, the execution, the digital journey – has been immense.

“For investors and the public at large, you should take confidence from the fact that we have tremendous continuity at the board. Peter himself has been persuaded to stay on and make sure that there is continuity at the board level.”

Mr Gupta noted that his successor, Ms Tan, has strong business instincts and team-building skills, and is able to work very well with customers.

“She’s also been an integral part of our digital transformation journey. She’s been there from day one – whether it is driving (digital transformation) in the consumer bank, or subsequently driving it in transaction banking, she’s had a critical role to play,” he said.

The bank also has a largely home-grown senior management team of about 20 people, many of whom have been with DBS for a long time, said Mr Gupta, adding: “That is an immense strength of DBS.”

Mr Gupta joined DBS after a 27-year career at Citigroup. His tenure is almost twice as long as the bank’s next longest-serving CEO, Mr Ngiam Tong Dow, who held the top role for eight years.

His leadership has transformed the bank into a technology-driven financial powerhouse, consistently delivering strong financial performance, including a return on equity of 18 per cent in recent years.

Under his care, DBS’ market value hit the $100 billion mark on May 2 – unprecedented for a Singapore firm. On Aug 7, the lender reported a 6 per cent rise in second-quarter net profit to $2.79 billion, beating market forecasts.

Despite these achievements, Mr Gupta’s time at DBS has not been without challenges. The bank has faced several significant digital service disruptions, including its worst outage in a decade in 2021 and additional incidents in 2023.

The leadership transition over the next eight months will involve Ms Tan shadowing Mr Gupta in areas such as investor relations and working with external regulators.

Mr Gupta noted: “There are other areas which have a bearing on the future. So our business plans for next year, our capital management strategies, our strategic direction, I’m going to let her increasingly take ownership and onus for driving that, while I focus on making sure that we can deliver this year.”

Ms Tan recounted that POSB was her first bank account, and DBS was where she did her first internship as a university student, and so she leapt at the opportunity to join the bank when asked by Mr Gupta and Mr Seah.

“It felt like a homecoming,” said the former Citi and Morgan Stanley banker. “I’m very grateful to have been inspired and mentored by great team leaders… Everybody has told me that Piyush has very big shoes to fill, and of course he does.

“But guess what? We wear different kinds of shoes, so our styles may be different, but some things will not change going forward.”

Asked how DBS’ priorities might shift after she becomes CEO, Ms Tan said: “Honestly, our priorities shouldn’t really change.

“Markets will change – the market is very volatile, as we all know. Rates will change, geopolitics will change, so the macro economy will change. Generative AI will change a lot of the way we work.

“But what doesn’t change is our culture and the collaborative spirit that enables us to be agile, adapt, and transform when we need to.”

• Additional reporting by Angela Tan