6matters on the record across its booking centres, 2016 to 2024
1.9/536 UHNW client ratings across its booking centres
The editor's opinion
Why DBS rates 3.0 out of 5
DBS rates 3.0 out of 5. Its two rated booking centres, in Singapore and Hong Kong, all hold three stars, so weighting them by the UHNW client ratings each has received leaves the overall rating at the same level. Its booking entities carry six matters on the record, the most recent in 2024; each is listed below with the centre it concerns. Across its booking centres, 36 UHNW client ratings average 1.9 out of 5.
Noam Cohen, Editor, Bank IntelligenceReviewed 6 November 2026, Q4 2026 edition. Each booking centre is rated on its own file, from the public record and what clients and their advisers tell us in confidence. The overall rating brings those ratings together; retail products, branches and apps play no part.
Where DBS stands out
Remediation of past findings has been verified by the regulator. Singapore
Deposits are covered by a statutory protection scheme. Singapore
The custody terms are public and address most of what a family needs to know. Singapore
A broad range of private banking services is published for this booking unit. All centres
Most fees are published. All centres
Custody assets are protected by statute in the booking centre, with conditions a family should read. Hong Kong
The bank states publicly what it does with third-party payments. Hong Kong
Ownership and control are fully public. Hong Kong
What to weigh
A significant regulatory finding stands on the record in the last ten years. All centres
The last adverse finding is recent. All centres
An owner's home jurisdiction carries a mixed official assessment against money laundering. All centres
Legal protection of custody assets in this centre is still to be documented here. Singapore
No published information on a desk for external asset managers. Singapore
How the bank handles third-party payments is not public. Singapore
Hong Kong
Deposit protection for this booking unit is not confirmed in the documents on file. Hong Kong
The terms that would govern custody of your assets are not public. Hong Kong
Singapore · DBS Bank Ltd.21 client ratings · 58% of the weight
Hong Kong · DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited15 client ratings · 42% of the weight
PPLI.com rating, weighted across the centres3.0
Each booking centre keeps its own rating, set on its own file. The overall rating is the average of those ratings, weighted by the number of UHNW client ratings each centre has received. A centre whose rating is still in preparation is shown but not counted.
The rating expresses the opinion of PPLI.com on the date shown. It is not a statement of fact about the bank, not a credit rating, not a forecast of failure and not investment advice.
The booking centres
DBS in 2 booking centres
Each booking centre is a separate legal entity, with its own licence, deposit protection, services and fees, and keeps its own PPLI.com rating. Everything on file for them is brought together on this page; open a centre for its own file.
What regulators, prosecutors and courts have decided against the booking entities of DBS, gathered from the files of all its booking centres, with the status, the amounts as published and a link to the original document. Each entry names the centre it concerns. Claims and investigations still under way are marked as open.
20245 July 2024
Pecuniary penalty of HK$10,000,000 for AMLO contraventions (ongoing monitoring, enhanced due diligence, record keeping), conduct April 2012 to April 2019
The HKMA's investigation found that DBSHK failed to continuously monitor business relationships, to conduct enhanced due diligence in high-risk situations and to keep records for some customers during various periods between April 2012 and April 2019. The Monetary Authority imposed a pecuniary penalty of HK$10,000,000. The MA took into account remedial actions, the absence of a prior AMLO record and cooperation.
The Monetary Authority (MA) has imposed a pecuniary penalty of HK$10,000,000 against DBSHK for contraventions of the AMLO.
DBSHK took remedial actions and made efforts to improve its AML/CFT controls (as stated by the HKMA).
Supervisory measure: six-month pause on non-essential IT changes and new business ventures; no reduction of branches and ATMs
Supervisory measure, not a penalty. MAS imposed a six-month pause on DBS Bank Ltd's non-essential IT changes and on new business ventures, barred reductions of its Singapore branch and ATM networks, and kept the 1.8 times capital multiplier. On 30 April 2024 MAS said it would not extend the pause; the multiplier stays in place.
MAS has imposed a six-month pause on DBS Bank Ltd's non-essential IT changes
Booking centre: Singapore · DBS Bank Ltd.Monetary Authority of SingaporeSupervisory measureSix-month pause; branch and ATM restriction until MAS is satisfied with remediationPrimary source
202321 June 2023
Composition penalty for AML/CFT breaches identified after the Wirecard irregularities
MAS imposed a S$2.6 million composition penalty on DBS Bank Ltd for AML/CFT breaches between July 2015 and February 2020 involving 11 corporate customers, identified in examinations after the Wirecard AG irregularities. MAS cited failures to keep beneficial ownership information current, update risk ratings, establish source of wealth and inquire into unusually large transactions.
MAS has imposed a composition penalty of S$2.6 million on DBS
Supervisory measure: further additional capital requirement (1.8x operational risk RWA) after March and May 2023 disruptions
Supervisory measure, not a penalty. MAS raised the multiplier on DBS Bank's operational risk RWA from 1.5 to 1.8 times after the 29 March and 5 May 2023 disruptions; MAS said the combined requirement was about S$1.6 billion of additional regulatory capital (this total includes the February 2022 amount; the two are not added together).
The additional capital requirement imposed at this time underscores the seriousness with which MAS treats this matter.
MAS expanded its directed review of DBS's IT resiliency.
Booking centre: Singapore · DBS Bank Ltd.Monetary Authority of SingaporeSupervisory measureAdditional regulatory capital requirement total SGD 1.60 billionMultiplier retained (MAS, 30 April 2024; DBS offering document, 17 February 2025)Primary source
20227 February 2022
Supervisory measure: additional capital requirement (1.5x operational risk RWA) after November 2021 digital banking disruption
Supervisory measure, not a penalty. MAS required DBS Bank Ltd to apply a 1.5 times multiplier to its risk-weighted assets for operational risk after the November 2021 digital banking disruption, about S$930 million of additional regulatory capital based on 30 September 2021 figures.
MAS has required DBS Bank to apply a multiplier of 1.5 times to its risk-weighted assets for operational risk.
Booking centre: Singapore · DBS Bank Ltd.Monetary Authority of SingaporeSupervisory measureAdditional regulatory capital requirement SGD 930 millionPrimary source
201611 October 2016
Financial penalties for 10 breaches of MAS Notice 626 (AML) in 1MDB-related review
In its 1MDB-related review MAS imposed financial penalties of S$1 million on DBS Bank Ltd for 10 breaches of MAS Notice 626 on anti-money laundering. MAS also admonished the bank, directed management to address control deficiencies and discipline staff, and required an independent party to confirm rectification.
MAS has imposed financial penalties amounting to S$1 million on DBS for 10 breaches of MAS Notice 626
MAS directed DBS to appoint an independent party to confirm that rectification measures were effectively implemented and to report findings to MAS; disciplinary measures against staff.
What clients meet at DBS across its booking centres, read from complaint registers, ombudsman decisions and court records, independent reporting and what clients and their advisers tell PPLI.com in confidence. Announcements by the bank, awards and marketing material are left out.
UHNW client ratings
1.9 out of 5, based on 36 client ratings across its booking centres.
Singapore1.7 out of 521 ratings
Hong Kong2.1 out of 515 ratings
What clients report
Singapore. FIDReC, the Singapore dispute resolution body, handles complaints against DBS Bank Ltd but publishes no register of decisions by firm. In [2024] SGHC 292, decided on 13 November 2024, the High Court dismissed a custody client's application over USD 300,263 of charges said to have been capitalised into convertible bonds, because he had not shown that the additional bonds were ever issued and had not pursued the issuer, trustee or liquidator. The judgment notes that the account terms excluded fiduciary obligations over custodised assets. In August 2025 the Monetary Authority of Singapore banned a former collections officer of the bank for six years for unauthorised searches of its customer information system, and took no action against the bank.
Hong Kong. The ransomware attack on the vendor Toppan Next Tech, reported by Reuters in April 2025, exposed statements of about 8,200 DBS clients, mostly of DBS Vickers in Singapore, not clients of the Hong Kong bank.
Worth raising with the bank
Singapore. Ask what controls now limit staff access to client records, given the MAS prohibition order of August 2025 on a former collections officer who searched the bank's customer information system without authorisation.
Singapore. Ask whether the custody terms for your account exclude fiduciary obligations over custodised assets, as the account terms did in the custody case the High Court decided in November 2024.
Hong Kong. Ask whether the remediation that the HKMA took into account in its July 2024 penalty included a review of existing high-risk relationships, and when it was completed.
Financial standing
Credit ratings published by the agencies for the companies named in the centre files, dated by the latest agency or bank document that confirms them
A ransomware attack on the vendor Toppan Next Tech exposed statements of about 8,200 DBS clients, mostly of DBS Vickers in Singapore rather than the Hong Kong bank.
The High Court on 13 November 2024 dismissed a custody client's application against the bank over charges said to have been capitalised into convertible bonds, for lack of evidence that the additional bonds were issued.
What it costs
What DBS charges, centre by centre
Fees are set by each booking entity, so they are shown centre by centre. Two of the two centres of DBS publish a fee schedule, read on 6 November 2026 from the documents linked under each table. To compare banks fairly we put every published fee in US dollars at the same indicative rates and apply it to the same reference amounts, then rate each fee against the average of the other banks that publish it. Five stars is the lowest fee, one star the highest. Terms a family actually negotiates are often different, and a bank can change its schedule at any time.
The published fees side by side
Fee
Singapore
Hong Kong
Other banks
Custody and safekeepingeffective rate on USD 25 million
0.20% a year
0.20% a year
0.30% a yearaverage of 38 other banks
Discretionary mandateeffective rate on USD 12.5 million, balanced profile
1.25% a year
Not in the schedule
1.23% a yearaverage of 25 other banks
Equity tradecommission on a USD 250,000 trade, major exchange
0.35%
0.35%
0.81%average of 47 other banks
Third party fund subscriptionfee on a USD 250,000 subscription
3.00%
Not in the schedule
1.34%average of 42 other banks
Minimum annual feeper year, or fee below the asset threshold
USD 8,393 a year
USD 10,000 a year
USD 4,231 a yearaverage of 38 other banks
Outgoing international transferper transfer, standard
USD 15
Not in the schedule
USD 58average of 61 other banks
Transfer of securities to another bankper position
USD 84
USD 13
USD 127average of 38 other banks
Bond tradecommission on a USD 500,000 trade
Not in the schedule
1.00%
0.94%average of 42 other banks
Lombard loan marginmargin over the reference rate
Not in the schedule
HKD/USD: Prime Rate + 5% p.a; Foreign Currencies: Cost of Fund + 9% p.a.
Not compared
Charge on large cash balancesper year above the stated threshold
Not in the schedule
A negative interest rate is applied on the cash balances held in the MCSA for certain currencies.
Not compared
Each fee is rated against the average of the other banks that publish it: five stars is the lowest, one star the highest. The schedules, their dates and what each leaves out are listed centre by centre below.
The reference relationship, at DBS Private Bank's list prices
USD 206,250 a year
82 basis points for custody and a discretionary mandate (custody USD 50,000, discretionary mandate USD 156,250)
against 22 other banks on custody and mandate fees
Price level of the published fees7 fees compared with the other banks that publish them
Not in the published schedule: advisory mandate, bond trade, currency conversion, account maintenance, closing the account, lombard loan margin.
Third party payments. The schedule states: “In addition to these fees/charges, the Bank and/or its associates also receive other monetary and non-monetary benefits.”
Hong Kong · DBS Bank (Hong Kong) LimitedCentre file
Price level of the published fees5 fees compared with the other banks that publish them
Not in the published schedule: discretionary mandate, advisory mandate, third party fund subscription, currency conversion, account maintenance, outgoing international transfer, closing the account.
Third party payments. The schedule states: “The Bank and/or any of its associates is/are entitled to receive commission and other fees from the fund house...”
How the comparison works: USD 25 million booked with the bank: half under a discretionary balanced mandate, half in custody with advice; 24 equity trades of USD 250,000 and 8 bond trades of USD 500,000 a year; 6 currency conversions of USD 1 million; 24 outgoing international transfers. Tiered fees are applied to those amounts tranche by tranche, stated minimums are applied, and amounts are converted at indicative rates of 2026-11-06. Read how we compare fees.
The bank at a glance
Identity, protection and services
Ownership
Group parentDBS Group Holdings Ltd (listed, SGX) Source
ControlWidely held; no shareholder with 10% or more Source (10 February 2026)
Holder of 10% or moreTemasek Holdings (Private) Limited, 28.3% in DBS Group Holdings Ltd Source (10 February 2026)
Holder of 10% or moreMaju Holdings Pte. Ltd., 17.08% in DBS Group Holdings Ltd Source (10 February 2026)
Ownership is shown as published, with its date. It describes who owns the bank; it does not, by itself, suggest any wrongdoing by the bank or its owners.
Booking entities
SingaporeDBS Bank Ltd.MAS · Licence holder · LEI ATUEL7OJR5057F2PV266Licence: Local Bank (locally incorporated bank, Singapore); also Exempt Capital Markets Services Entity, Exempt Financial Adviser, Exempt Trust Company, SGS Primary Dealer, Designated Payment System Settlement Institution Source
Hong KongDBS Bank (Hong Kong) LimitedHKMA (banking); SFC (registered institution) · Locally incorporated subsidiary · LEI JB11ZK3Z2RFU15QNWV97Licence: Licensed bank, incorporated in Hong Kong Source
Offered at one or more booking centresOffered by the group, not confirmed at a centreNot located, which does not mean unavailable Checked on the bank's own pages for each centre.
Access and costs
Minimum relationshipSingapore: 5 million Source Hong Kong: USD 5 million Source
US personsSingapore: Not published Hong Kong: Not published
Fee scheduleSingapore: Published, revised from 01 September 2026 (AUM and service fee revisions effective 1 January 2026; transfer fee effective 01 Oct 2025) SourceCompared below Hong Kong: Published, Effective from 25 August 2025 SourceCompared below
Third party paymentsSingapore: Published Source Hong Kong: Published Source
Transfer out termsSingapore: Published Source Hong Kong: Published Source
Protection of client assets
Deposit protectionSingapore: Full banks in Singapore, including local banks and qualifying full banks, are members of the SDIC Deposit Insurance Scheme unless exempted by MAS: S$100,000 per depositor per member. Membership taken from the SDIC rule; the named member list is to be checked. Only eligible Singapore-dollar deposits are insured; deposits in US dollars or other currencies are not covered. Hong Kong: Not published
Custody lawSingapore: Not published Hong Kong: Client securities held by licensed or registered persons must be safeguarded under the Securities and Futures Ordinance and the Securities and Futures (Client Securities) Rules, as referenced in SFC Code of Conduct para 11.1.
Custody termsSingapore: Published Source Hong Kong: Not published
Before opening an account
Can our external asset manager trade on the account while withdrawals remain limited to our signatories? Singapore
If an issuer or sub-custodian fails, who pursues the claim under our custody agreement? Singapore
Custody agreement. The applicable legal framework is set out above. Ask for the agreement that would govern your account and check how securities are titled, whether any sub-custodian is used, and when the bank may take a lien. Hong Kong
Relationship minimum. The published figure cited above is USD 5 million. Ask whether it applies to the proposed mandate and whether assets in related accounts, entities or currencies count toward it. Hong Kong
Exit costs. The fee comparison shows USD 13 per position for a securities transfer. Ask what rate would apply to your mandate and whether the receiving bank or a sub-custodian would charge separately. See published fees. Hong Kong
Your experience
Rate DBS
If you bank with DBS in any of its booking centres, or advise clients who do, your experience forms part of its PPLI.com rating. Please say which centre you deal with. Every response is read by the editor and treated in strict confidence.
Before we publish a significant negative finding that is not already public, we give the bank the facts and time to comment, on the same timetable for every bank. Decisions of regulators and courts are shown as they were published. Corrections we verify are published with the date of the change. Write to [email protected] quoting the reference of the booking centre concerned: Singapore BK-SG-DBS-182C6D; Hong Kong BK-HK-DBS-HK-EBB017.
Reviewing this file with us
Families and their advisers read this file before they open an account. It can only be as complete as the documents we can find, and much of what sets a private bank apart, from its custody terms to the way a client team works, is rarely published.
If you represent DBS, one of our Bank Intelligence analysts can go through the file with you: correct anything that is out of date, add terms and documents that are not yet public, and set out what has improved since our last edition. The review is a paid engagement for the analyst's time and research.
The rating itself stays with our editor and follows what the documents show, so we cannot promise a particular result. When a review changes the file, this page notes that the bank took part, with the date and what was added.
Brought together by the PPLI.com research desk from the files of its booking centres and the public sources listed. The rating is our editorial opinion; read how the overall rating is built.
Important information. Editorial opinion of PPLI.com on the date shown, based on public information, client experience and editorial judgment. Not a statement of fact, a credit rating or investment, legal, tax or financial advice; verify with the bank and your own advisers before acting. No liability is accepted for reliance on this content. Bank names and logos are used for identification only. Ratings are updated every quarter. This is the Q4 2026 edition, and a rating can change between editions if something material happens. Full disclaimer
Rating signed by Noam Cohen, Editor, Bank IntelligenceReviewed 6 November 2026Methodology 2.4Overall rating weighted by UHNW client ratings
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