What the Singapore banking sector has become after the Asian Financial Crisis

From six local bank groups down to three.

According to Bank of America Merrill Lynch, post the Asian Financial Crisis, the Singapore banking industry consolidated from six local bank groups to three bank groups. At the same time, the government embarked on a five-year liberalization program to ease restrictions on foreign banks in order to promote a more globally competitive local banking sector.

Here's more from BofAML:

Players & its ownership
DBS - DBS sets itself apart from the other two local banks (UOB, OCBC) in terms of share ownership. 29.5% of DBS’ shares are owned by Temasek, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund. Temasek has stakes in other financial services institutions; it is the largest shareholder in Standard Chartered Bank,  a competitor.

UOB - The UOB Group Chairman, Mr Wee Cho Yaw, exerts influence over 17% share of the bank. Mr Wee’s father was one of the founders of the predecessor bank. Mr Wee Cho Yaw’s son, Mr Wee Ee Cheong, is the current CEO.

OCBC - The Lee family exerts influence of nearly 19% of the shares. Lee Seng Wee was the Chairman of OCBC till 2003; his father was also the founder of the predecessor bank and the Lee Rubber Company.  

Join Singapore Business Review community
Since you're here...

...there are many ways you can work with us to advertise your company and connect to your customers. Our team can help you dight and create an advertising campaign, in print and digital, on this website and in print magazine.

We can also organize a real life or digital event for you and find thought leader speakers as well as industry leaders, who could be your potential partners, to join the event. We also run some awards programmes which give you an opportunity to be recognized for your achievements during the year and you can join this as a participant or a sponsor.

Let us help you drive your business forward with a good partnership!