The Singapore-headquartered group noted that wealth fees rose 45 per cent last year from their 2023 level. More than a year ago, DBS acquired Citi Taiwan.

DBS said yesterday that wealth management fees helped drive commercial book net fee income in 2024 up by 23 per cent year-on-year to a record S$4.17 billion ($3.07 billion).

Wealth fees surged 45 per cent to a new high of S$2.18 billion from “broad-based growth” in investment products and bancassurance, as well as the consolidation of Citi Taiwan, DBS said in a statement. (In August 2023, DBS completed its purchase of this business from Citigroup, part of a number of moves by the US bank to offload retail banking in various countries.)

Full-year 2024 consumer banking and wealth management income rose 13 per cent to S$10.2 billion from higher net interest income, wealth management fees and card fees, partly driven by the consolidation of Citi Taiwan. Card fees grew 19 per cent to S$1.24 billion from higher spending and the Citi Taiwan impact. 

Across the whole of the Singapore-headquartered group, DBS said net profit rose by 11 per cent to S$11.4 billion, with return on equity at 18 per cent.

Investment banking fees fell 19 per cent as a result of slower equity capital market activities, DBS said.

Markets trading income rebounded by 27 per cent to S$922 million as foreign exchange, interest rate and equity derivative activities benefited from market volatility.

Expenses rose 10 per cent year-on-year to S$8.90 billion, led by higher staff costs. Citi Taiwan accounted for three percentage points of the increase. 

Liquidity at DBS remained “ample,” it said, with a liquidity coverage ratio of 147 per cent and net stable funding ratio of 115 per cent, both above the regulatory requirement of 100 per cent. DBS said its reported Common Equity Tier-1 ratio – a standard international measure of a bank’s capital buffer – was 17.0 per cent, based on transitional arrangements, above regulatory requirements.