DBS names Anthony Lim chairman as Peter Seah retires after 16 years, on the day third quarter profit slips 5% to SGD 2.81 billion

Who is the new chairman of DBS? Anthony Lim, a DBS board member since 2020, will become Chairman of DBS Group Holdings and DBS Bank on 1 January 2027, the bank announced on 5 November. He succeeds Peter Seah, who retires on 31 December after 16 years as chairman and will stay on as Senior Advisor for a year.

DBS paired the succession with its third quarter results. Net profit for the quarter fell 5% from a year earlier to SGD 2.81 billion, as markets trading income collapsed, but nine-month profit rose 2% to a record SGD 8.82 billion and return on equity held at 17.0%. The new chairman inherits a bank at the top of Singapore's market, and a profit line now squeezed by lower interest rates.

Who is Anthony Lim

Lim is an insider. He joined the DBS boards in April 2020 and sits on the Board Executive Committee and the Board Risk Management Committee, and he chairs the Compensation and Management Development Committee, the board body that oversees senior pay and succession. DBS described the appointment as part of "the Board's ongoing renewal process", which means continuity rather than change of direction.

Before DBS, Lim spent his executive career in investment and banking. He held senior leadership roles at GIC, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, and at Bankers Trust, with assignments in Singapore, London and New York, before retiring from executive roles in 2017. He holds board appointments across the public, private and philanthropic sectors, according to DBS. "I am honoured by the Board's confidence in appointing me Chairman of DBS," Lim said.

The choice says something about how DBS manages leadership. Chief executive Tan Su Shan already took over from her predecessor, and Seah tied his exit to that handover. "One of the Board's most important responsibilities is ensuring continuity of leadership," he said, adding that with the CEO transition complete, the bank is entering its next chapter from a position of strength. Picking a sitting director who chaired the committee running that transition keeps the same hands on succession.

Peter Seah's 16 years at DBS

Seah has chaired DBS since 2010, a period in which the bank changed scale. DBS said its income has more than tripled and its net profit has increased more than fourfold since then. In July 2026 its market capitalisation crossed SGD 200 billion, making it Singapore's largest listed company "by a significant margin" and about six times its size at the end of 2009.

DBS also pointed to the bank's reputation under his chairmanship: it has been named World's Best Bank nine times and Asia's Safest Bank for 18 consecutive years, and it has won Best Managed Board awards at the Singapore Corporate Awards. It said the bank also became one of the world's leading banks by return on equity. "I am therefore able to hand over the reins to Anthony with confidence, knowing that DBS is in very capable hands," Seah said.

Tan Su Shan thanked Seah and welcomed his successor. "We also warmly welcome Anthony as our new Chairman," she said. Seah will remain available to the bank as Senior Advisor through 2027, which keeps a long-serving chairman's experience within reach during the first year of a new chair.

The bank he leaves is also larger in footprint. DBS describes itself as a leading financial services group in Asia with a presence in 19 markets, and it carries credit ratings of AA- and Aa1. Its third quarter release was datelined Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, China and Taiwan, a reminder that the chairman of DBS now oversees a regional banking group with operations across Asia, not only Singapore's largest listed company at home.

Since 2010, DBS income has more than tripled and net profit has risen more than fourfold. The next chairman's task is to keep that record intact as rates fall.

DBS third quarter 2026 results

The third quarter release shows a bank whose core franchise is growing while its earnings face pressure. Total income fell 1% from a year earlier and 4% from the previous quarter to SGD 5.85 billion. Net profit of SGD 2.81 billion was 5% lower year on year and 9% below the second quarter. The main reason was trading: markets trading income fell 65% to SGD 152 million, which DBS put down to unfavourable market conditions.

The rest of the business held up. Net interest income rose 4% to SGD 3.71 billion on balance sheet growth, even as the net interest margin narrowed nine basis points to 1.87%. Net fee income rose 6% to SGD 1.43 billion, with wealth management fees up 9% to SGD 864 million. Expenses fell 1% to SGD 2.37 billion, and the cost-income ratio was 41%. The key figures for the quarter were:

• Net profit: SGD 2.81 billion, down 5% year on year
• Total income: SGD 5.85 billion, down 1%
• Net interest margin: 1.87%, down nine basis points
• Wealth management fees: SGD 864 million, up 9%
• Markets trading income: SGD 152 million, down 65%
• NPL ratio: 0.9%, improved from 1.0%

Balance sheet growth was strong. Loans rose 11% in constant currency terms to SGD 479 billion and deposits rose 10% to SGD 650 billion from a year earlier, and wealth segment assets under management climbed 5% in the quarter to a record SGD 544 billion. Asset quality improved, with non-performing assets down 3% to SGD 4.63 billion and allowance coverage at 134%, or 202% after collateral.

Two smaller lines softened the trading slump. Commercial book other non-interest income grew 19% to SGD 685 million, mainly from higher treasury customer sales, and specific allowances were SGD 191 million, or 17 basis points of loans. Liquidity stayed comfortable, with a liquidity coverage ratio of 146%, a net stable funding ratio of 115% and a leverage ratio of 5.7%.

What the numbers and the handover mean

Over nine months, DBS reported a record. Net profit rose 2% to SGD 8.82 billion, total income rose 2% to a new high of SGD 17.9 billion, and net fee income jumped 15% to SGD 4.37 billion, led by wealth management fees that grew 24% to a record SGD 2.69 billion. Return on equity was 17.0%. Tan said the result came "despite average Sora having halved from a year ago and heightened geopolitical uncertainty", referring to Singapore's benchmark overnight rate.

Shareholders are being paid. DBS declared a total dividend of 81 Singapore cents per share for the quarter, made up of an ordinary dividend of 66 cents and a capital return of 15 cents. Its reported CET1 ratio was 15.9% under transitional arrangements, and DBS noted that a cut by MAS on 4 November in the operational risk multiplier, from 1.8 times to 1.5 times, would have lifted the ratio to 16.1%.

The outlook is more guarded. "While the global economy has remained resilient, the outlook has become more uncertain amid elevated energy prices, tighter financial conditions and geopolitical risks," Tan said, adding that DBS will stay nimble as it enters 2027. For Lim, that is the brief: a bank with record wealth income and strong capital, but whose margin is shrinking with interest rates. Our earlier reports on the DBS and BCA merger rumour and DBS PayLah's expansion to Taiwan show how closely the region watches its strategy.

DBS chose a quiet handover on a busy day: a long-serving chairman out, a sitting director in, and results that show both the bank's strength and its exposure to lower rates. Lim takes over a franchise with record wealth fees and a record nine-month profit, and a margin that is narrowing. How the board balances growth, dividends and capital through 2027 will be his first test as chairman.