First Singapore and Asian Bank to receive top honour from Global Finance
MUMBAI, 28 August 2018 – In a first for a Singapore and Asian bank, DBS Bank has overtaken larger, more established banks to be named Best Bank in the World. The prestigious top award was conferred to DBS by Global Finance in its World’s Best Global Banks 2018 Awards.
Receiving the Best Bank in the World award underlines DBS’ increasing international recognition and stature on the world stage, particularly for its leadership in digital transformation. In July, the bank was crowned World’s Best Digital Bank by Euromoney for the second time in three years. It was also named World’s Best Bank for SMEs.
Said Joseph D. Giarraputo, publisher and editorial director of Global Finance, “The global economy remains in flux, with US-led trade disputes exacerbating uncertainty. The world’s best banks are forces of continuity even as they adapt to rapidly changing regulatory and market conditions.”
“To become the Best Bank in the World requires a special combination of safety and innovation in today’s rapidly evolving financial services industry. DBS Bank is pointing the way to the future for the entire industry with its digital transformation, strong financials and good corporate citizenship. Southeast Asia’s largest bank, and most valuable company, continues to win new customers by using its own technology to make banking simpler and more efficient.”
Since 2014, DBS has embarked on a transformation programme believed to be the most comprehensive for a bank, encompassing being digital to the core, journey thinking, culture change and a methodology that measures the impact of digitalisation on its bottom line.
Its groundbreaking innovations in recent years include launching POSB Smart Buddy, the world’s first in-school wearable tech savings and payment programme. Last year, DBS rolled out the world’s largest banking application programming interface developer platform. On the community front, the DBS Foundation has mentored and nurtured numerous social enterprises across Asia. Internally, the bank has also inculcated a startup culture and mindset among its 26,000 employees, so they can deliver a kind of banking that is simple and effortless, enabling customers to live more and bank less.
Piyush Gupta, DBS CEO, said, “As we seek to reimagine banking, we are gratified by the global recognition of our efforts. Receiving the Best Bank in the World award is a great honour and shows once again that Singapore punches above its weight. It is a moment of pride that we are honoured to share with all our customers, employees and shareholders.”