Top-5 Banks in Singapore

Singapore is an international city located along the strategic Straits of Malacca. It is a financial hub that is known for its pro-business policies. Due to the world’s busiest port and external trade, Singapore has become a banking center with more than 200 local and international banks operating in the country. Here is the list of top 5 banks in Singapore.

1. Developmental Bank of Singapore

In 1968, the Government of Singapore established The Developmental Bank of Singapore (DBS) to manage industrial financing activities. DBS bank has over 100 branches all across the island. It is the largest bank in Southeast Asia with branches in many countries including the US, UK, China, and India. The bank provides services such as consumer banking, insurance, equity, debt financing, and asset management. According to a 2016 estimate, the total assets of DBS bank stood at $333 billion and net income at just above $10 billion. In 2017, S&P rated DBS at AA-.

2. Post Office Savings Bank

Founded in 1877, The Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) is the oldest continuously operating bank in Singapore. POSB now function as DBS’s subsidiary after its acquisition by DBS in 1998. The main focus of POSB is on individual and personal banking and it has over 4 million customers.

3. United Overseas Bank

United Overseas Bank (UOB) was founded in 1935. Before the independence of Singapore, the UOB was known as United Chinese Bank. It has 68 branches in Singapore. UOB has over 24000 employees. UOB is one of the largest banks in Southeast Asia and it has over 500 offices in 19 countries. The UOB provides personal and commercial financial services as well as private equity, insurance, and asset management services. According to a 2016 valuation, assets owned by UOB were valued at above $235 billion. In 2017, S&P rated UOB at AA- and Moody’s rated it at Aa1.

4. OCBC Bank

In 1932, three banks merged to create the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC Bank). It has branches in 18 countries. It is headquartered in OCBC Centre. It has around 30000 employees and over 570 branches all over the globe. Global Finance Magazine consistently ranks OCBC among the top safest banks. It has many subsidiaries including OCBC securities, Great Eastern Holdings, and Lion Global Investor among many others. In 2019, the total Assets of OCBC were estimated to be over S$491 and its net income was S$6.3. In 2017, S&P rated OCBC at AA- whereas Moody’s rated it at Aa1.

5. Standard Chartered Bank Singapore

Standard Chartered Bank Singapore is the subsidiary of British bank Standard Chartered. It is among the largest banks in the world. In 1859, Standard Chartered started its business in Singapore and in 1999 it was issued the license of Qualifying Full Bank in Singapore. It operates 17 branches in Singapore and more than 1200 branches all over the world. It has over 1400 employees. In 2019, the total assets of the bank were valued at over $27 billion and its net profit was about $104 million.

Other useful articles: