The new face of DBS

DBS has embarked on an ambitious journey since its new chief executive, Piyush Gupta, took the reins last November. He inherited a bank that was dominant in Singapore, but which had struggled to define a strategy for international growth. Put simply, the Singapore market was too small and the global market too big, so Gupta decided on a third way to become Asia’s bank.

It is still early to say if his plan will work, but Gupta, who is now chief executive of both DBS Group and DBS Bank, certainly has the right credentials to get the job done. A veteran Citi banker before joining the Singapore lender, he has worked throughout the...