DBS Group Holdings share price to break new record?

Lifetime Membership Class is permanent, form is temporary. Fueled by the series of interest rate hikes since 2022, DBS Group Holdings achieved a slew of record net profits for the past few years, pushing DBS Group Holdings share price to new heights like never before. For many DBS investors, this journey must be surely surreal as CEO Piyush Gupta cemented his legacy as one of the finest, if not the finest, CEO in the history of DBS. But then again, all good things must come to an end.

It’s the end of an era for Singapore’s largest bank as CEO Piyush Gupta announced his retirement in March 2025. Succeeding the charismatic business leader will be Ms Tan Su Shan. In light of the impending departure of Piyush Gupta, how will DBS Group Holdings share price unravel in the coming months?

Looking back, most investors thought Gupta had it easy when he was appointed to be CEO in 2009. After all, DBS Group Holdings is backed by Temasek Holdings. However, it should be noted that Gupta joined at a time of great chaos for DBS as Gupta’s predecessor, Richard Stanley, had unexpectedly died from cancer just 11 months into the job. Prior to the appointment of Richard Stanley, the previous CEO (Jackson Tai) had caused DBS to suffer reputational damages and losses arising from the bank’s involvement in collateralised debt obligations. Moreover, the operating climate for the banking industry back then was roiled by the Global Financial Crisis. Against that sort of backdrop, you could imagine the work has been cut out for Gupta.

To be frank, I was initially quite skeptical of Gupta when he took over as CEO. Although he might had been well-known in the banking industry due to his time in Citigroup, he was virtually an unknown in Singapore and most of the man in the street had not heard of him nor his track record. Nevertheless, he managed to convince his doubters in no time.

When he took over the reins in 2009, DBS Group Holdings share price was trading at the $11 to $12 bandwidth. By the end of 2017, DBS managed to knock Singtel off the perch to become the largest market capitalization stock in SGX. Under Gupta’s tenure, DBS managed to achieve this feat due to the surging form of DBS Group Holdings share price.

One of the key reasons on why Gupta has been perennially popular among DBS investors is because the acquisitions made during his time were often transformative for DBS Group Holdings share price. If investors turn back the clock, OCBC used to give DBS a run for its money in the arena of wealth management through its Bank of Singapore and Great East Holdings. However, DBS’s 2014 acquisition of Societe Generale wealth management business in Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai and the 2016 acquisition of ANZ’s wealth management and retail banking business in Singapore, Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan and Indonesia have turbocharged DBS moat in this area.

Then in 2022, DBS doubled down the effort to expand its wealth management segment through the acquisition of Citigroup Taiwan, which led to its investment assets to more increase more than three-fold to $12 billion. These strategic acquisitions in wealth management businesses enabled DBS Group Holdings share price to remain robust for the past decade. Apart from wealth management assets, DBS also acquired stakes in Shenzhen Rural Commercial Bank in China and Lakshmi Villas Bank in India.

Apart from his foray in complex acquisitions of bank assets, Gupta is also widely known for his aggressive digital transformation of DBS Bank. Yet, the digitization strategy of DBS has proven to be a pain point for many older folks in Singapore, especially those who are less tech savvy, as the Singapore bank reduces its branch network in bid to save cost and drives efficiency. Additionally, the digitization strategy came at a cost as a series of service disruptions in recent years saw MAS imposing a six-month pause (1 November 2023 to 30 April 2024) on DBS Bank Ltd’s non-essential IT changes. During that period, DBS was also not allowed to acquire new business ventures during this period or reduce the size of its branch and ATM networks in Singapore.

In my view, the regulatory action by MAS could be a major factor in Gupta not listing its Remit, which is a platform for international money transfers. Now that DBS is cleared to carry on its non-essential business activities, what is the possibility of Gupta listing the asset in SGX and the potential impact on DBS Group Holdings share price in the coming months before his retirement?Note that this is an opinion article and not meant to be a financial advice. Please do your due diligence or engage financial advisors before investing in the stock market. Furthermore, I am not vested and have never invested in DBS Group Holdings share before. Whether DBS Group Holdings share price will surge or collapse has no impact on me. Thus, this article is not meant to induce readers to make any form of investment decisions.

DBS Group Holdings share price looks to Remit IPO?

Year-to-date, DBS Group Holdings share price rose by just 17% despite the bank consistently posting record earnings for the past few years. In fact, full-year net profit for FY2023 was an eye-popping $10.3 billion, a record for the bank. Yet, the robust financial results had not turbocharged DBS Group Holdings share price. Perhaps the looming US Federal Reserves rate cuts had led to cautious sentiments among investors, thereby moderating the form of DBS Group Holdings share price.

In my previous article, I wrote that even if the full-year net profit for FY2023 crossed $10 billion, it could be difficult for DBS Group Holdings share price to reach the magical $50 mark through financial results alone. To unlock the value of DBS Group Holdings share price, the management may need to list Remit.

With Gupta retiring in 6 months time, the possibility of him listing Remit should be [This is a premium article. The rest of the content is blocked and can be accessible by SG Wealth Builder Members only. To read the full content, please sign up as member.]

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