DBS Group Holdings Limited (SGX: D05), or DBS, needs no further introduction – not only are they the largest bank by assets in Singapore, they are also a leading financial services group in Asia.
Together with its headquarters in Singapore, DBS has a business presence in a total of 19 markets, with its focus in 3 regions: Greater China, Southeast Asia, and South Asia.
Apart from having one of the highest credit ratings in the world (where it is being rated ‘AA-‘ and ‘Aa1’), DBS is also being named as the ‘World’s Best Bank’ by Global Finance and Euromoney, ‘Global Bank of the Year’ by The Banker. This is on top of the bank being accorded the ‘Safest Bank in Asia’ award by Global Finance for 16 consecutive years (from 2009 to 2024).
Following UOB (which have released its 1Q FY2025 business update yesterday morning, and you can read my review here), DBS is the 2nd of the trio of Singapore listed banks to release its business update for the 1st quarter of FY2025 ended 31 March early this morning (08 May) – this business update is the first with Ms Tan Su Shan as the CEO since she took over from Mr Piyush Gupta following the conclusion of the bank’s AGM on 28 March, even though Mr Piyush was the CEO for almost the entire period under review (from 01 January to 31 March 2025). In case you’re wondering, OCBC will be reporting its 1Q FY2025 business update tomorrow (09 May) morning.
In this post, you will find my review of DBS’ latest key financial figures and ratios, as well as its dividend payout to shareholders (for information, DBS is the only bank among the 3 to pay out a dividend to the shareholders on a quarterly basis):
Key Financial Figures (1Q FY2024 vs. 1Q FY2025)
| 1Q FY2024 | 1Q FY2025 | % Variance | |
| – Net Interest Income (S$’mil) | $3,505m | $3,681m | +5.0% |
| – Net Fee & Commission Income (S$’mil) | $1,043m | $1,275m | +22.2% |
| – Other Non-Interest Income (S$’mil) | $1,009m | $949m | -5.9% |
| Total Income (S$’mil) | $5,557m | $5,905m | +6.3% |
| Total Expenses (S$’mil) | $2,079m | $2,214m | +6.5% |
| Net Profit (S$’mil) | $2,951m | $2,897m | -1.8% |
Glancing through DBS’ latest set of financial figures, while there are some negatives, but on the whole, it was largely an impressive one in my opinion.
On the upside, its net fee & commission income saw a 22.2% year-on-year jump to a record S$1.28 billion, led by wealth management (which leapt by 39% year on year to a new high of S$724 million from higher sales of investment products and bancassurance from a constructive market environment and seasonal factors) and loan-related fees (which rose to a record of S$227 million with increased deal activity). DBS’ total income, at S$5.9 billion for 1Q FY2025, was also a new record for the bank.
However, its other non-interest income fell by 5.9% year on year to S$949 million, and its net profit dipped by 1.8% year on year to S$2.9 billion, due to higher tax expenses from the implementation of the 15% global minimum tax (which was in the profit guidance when the bank released its 4Q and FY2024 results back in February 2025).
Key Financial Ratios (4Q FY2024 vs. 1Q FY2025)
In the following table, you’ll find a comparison of 3 key financial ratios (net interest margin, return on equity, and non-performing loans ratio) reported by DBS for the current quarter under review (i.e., 1Q FY2025 ended 31 March 2025) against that reported in the previous quarter 3 months ago (i.e., 4Q FY2024 ended 31 December 2024) to find out if they have continued to remain resilient:
| 4Q FY2024 | 1Q FY2025 | Difference (in Percentage Points – pp) | |
| Net Interest Margin (%) | 2.15% | 2.12% | -0.03pp |
| Return on Equity (%) | 15.8% | 17.3% | +1.5pp |
| Non-Performing Loans Ratio (%) | 1.1% | 1.1% | – |
On the whole, DBS’ key financial ratios for 1Q FY2025 remained stable.
Notably, its return on equity improved by 1.5pp to 17.3% (in my opinion, its at a very high level), with non-performing loans ratio remained at 1.1% (for those of you who are wondering, the bank’s non-performing assets saw a 6.9% year-on-year decline to S$4.9 billion).
Dividend Payout to Shareholders (1Q FY2024 vs. 1Q FY2025)
As mentioned in the beginning of this post, DBS is the only one among the 3 Singapore-listed banks to pay out a dividend to the shareholders on a quarterly basis (something which income investors like myself desire, as it gives me a more regular stream of income).
The following is the Singapore bank’s dividend payout declared for the 1st quarter of FY2025 compared against that declared a year ago:
| 1Q FY2024 | 1Q FY2025 | % Variance | |
| Dividend Per Share (S$’cents) | 54.0 cents | 75.0 cents | +38.9% |
DBS’ dividend for 1Q FY2025 comprise of a quarterly payout of 60 cents/share, as well as a special ‘capital return dividend’ (announced by the bank when it released its 4Q and FY2024 results back in February 2025) of 15 cents/share every quarter in FY2025.
If you are a shareholder of DBS, do take note of the following dates on its dividend payout:
Ex-Date: 16 May 2025
Record Date: 19 May 2025
Payout Date: 27 May 2025
CEO Ms Tan Su Shan’s Comments and Outlook (from the Bank’s Press Release)
“We had a strong start to the year with broad-based business growth led by wealth management, and ROE above 17% despite the impact of the global minimum tax. Recent escalations in trade tensions have heightened macroeconomic risks and market volatility. As uncertainty persists, we will stay nimble to capture opportunities while prudently managing risks. We have strengthened our general allowance reserves, and together with our strong capital and liquidity positions, we have a solid foundation to continue supporting customers.”
Closing Thoughts
On the whole, I must say it’s a remarkable set of results reported by Singapore’s largest bank.
As far as its financial results is concerned, it managed to break records on multiple fronts, namely in its net fee & commission income (which jumped by 22.2% to a record S$1.28 billion, attributed to new highs achieved in its wealth management and loan related fees), its total income (which saw a 6.5% year-on-year improvement to S$5.9 billion), along with its profit before allowances (of S$3.7 billion) and profit before tax (of S$3.4 billion).
While its net profit dipped by 1.8% to S$2.9 billion as a result of the 15% global minimum tax, but it was much within expectations as it has been mentioned when the bank released its full-year results back in February.
On its key financial ratios, DBS’ return on equity saw a 1.5pp improvement compared to the previous quarter to 17.3%, with non-performing loans ratio maintained at 1.1% (its non-performing assets also declined by 6.9% compared to a year ago).
With that, I have come to the end of my review of DBS’ latest 1Q FY2025 business update. Do note that all the opinions expressed in this post are purely mine which I’m sharing for educational purposes only. They do not constitute any buy or sell calls for the bank’s shares. You should always do your own due diligence before making any investment decisions.
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Disclaimer: At the time of writing, I am a shareholder of DBS Group Holdings Limited.
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