DBS Group Holdings Ltd has reduced CEO Piyush Gupta’s compensation by S$4.1 million following multiple digital banking outages last year which led to a reprimand by the central bank. Gupta’s variable pay was slashed by 30% despite DBS reporting record full-year results. The pay cut reflects the lender’s accountability for last year’s outages, showing a strong commitment to minimize future disruptions.
DBS’ net profit for 2023 surpassed S$10 billion, with a return on equity of 18%. The bank also announced a bonus share issue, raised its final dividend, and expressed plans to further reward shareholders. Despite the pay cut, DBS’ shares saw a 2.8% increase, highlighting market confidence in the bank’s performance. The reduction in Gupta’s compensation and the bank’s robust results demonstrate a pledge to uphold service reliability and address disruptions from the previous year. The actions signify DBS’ focus on minimizing future issues and striving for continued performance under challenging circumstances. The results also indicate a potential turning point as interest rates are projected to decrease, an issue that other major Singapore banks are likely to face as well.