Who the clients are
70%
of its high-net-worth clients are entrepreneurs and business owners.
Best AI-enabled bank with a heart, Long-term growth
DBS’ vision is to be the Best AI-enabled bank with a heart
DBS earned a record S$11.0 billion in 2025 on record income of S$22.9 billion, and in the second quarter of 2026 its total income passed S$6 billion for the first time. Its interest income is falling with rates, and its plan is to grow the income that does not: wealth management, transaction banking, treasury customer sales, and its coverage of global financial institutions.
Data analytics and AI generated economic value of approximately S$1 billion in 2025.
DBS-GPT aids two-thirds of employees, and over 20,000 corporate and SME customers have used DBS Joy, a Gen AI chatbot, since July 2025.
A Gen AI coding assistant cut data scientists’ coding time by up to 20% on certain tasks.
In the second quarter of 2026 DBS’s net interest income fell 2% and its net interest margin narrowed by 18 basis points to 1.87%, but fee income rose 25%, treasury customer sales and other income 30%, and total income crossed S$6 billion for the first time.,
Treasury customer sales and other income: Treasury customer sales were at a new high.
Fee income: Wealth management fees rose 42% to S$919 million.
Markets trading income: S$469 million.
Expenses: S$2,347 million, a cost-income ratio of 39%.
Net interest income: S$3,581 million, as lower rates cut the margin.
Net profit: A record S$3,079 million.
Changes are on the second quarter of 2025. Total income was S$6.09 billion, up 6%.,
DBS’s wealth segment passed S$500 billion of assets under management for the first time in 2026. These clients choose DBS for its One Bank approach and its corporate banking franchise.
70%
of its high-net-worth clients are entrepreneurs and business owners.
S$516billion
of wealth segment assets under management, up 16% at constant currency, and past S$500 billion for the first time.
+42%
in the second quarter on the year before, to S$919 million, and a record S$1.83 billion in the first half, up 33%.
By the end of 2025 DBS had deployed over 2,000 models and more than 430 use cases of AI and machine learning, and counts approximately S$1 billion of economic value from its data analytics and AI.
One tile for each of the more than 430 use cases.
2000+
models deployed.
Two thirds
of employees are aided by DBS-GPT in brainstorming, research, writing, translation, and summarisation.
20,000+
unique corporate and SME customers have used DBS Joy, a Gen AI chatbot, since July 2025.
Up to 20%
less coding time on certain tasks for data scientists using a Gen AI coding assistant.
DBS’s net interest income fell 3% in the first half of 2026 as rates came down, yet its total income rose 3% to a record because fee income grew 20% and wealth management fees 33%. We recommend sorting a plan’s income by what it depends on, and building the lines that do not depend on outside conditions, so that the total keeps rising when the outside line falls.
70% of DBS’s high-net-worth clients are entrepreneurs and business owners, and they choose it partly for its corporate banking, which is why it runs as One Bank. We recommend looking for where two of a business’s customer groups are the same people, and organising the service around them, so that neither team treats a shared customer as someone else’s.
DBS reports over 2,000 models and more than 430 use cases delivering about S$1 billion of economic value, and it counts adoption too: DBS-GPT aids two-thirds of employees. We recommend putting a value on AI work in the same currency as other investments, so that it is managed by what it returns and not by how many tools exist.
Headwater is not connected with DBS Group Holdings Ltd. DBS, DBS-GPT, and DBS Joy are trade marks of their owners. Updated 29 September 2026.