DBS CEO Tan Su Shan receives S$9.6 million pay package for 2025, in first year at helm

[SINGAPORE] DBS chief executive officer Tan Su Shan received S$9.6 million in total compensation for the 12 months ended Dec 31, 2025, covering both her first nine months at the helm and the period she served as deputy CEO earlier in the year.

Tan’s remuneration comprised S$975,250 in salary, a S$3.7 million cash bonus, S$4.9 million in deferred compensation and S$68,694 in non-cash components, including club, car and driver benefits, DBS’ annual report released on Monday (Mar 9) indicated.

The figure excludes a retention award of S$737,250, which the bank said serves as a retention tool and compensates employees for the time value of deferred compensation.

The S$9.6 million figure compares with the S$17.6 million pay package former CEO Piyush Gupta received for FY2024, his final full year in the role, before Tan took over in March 2025.

For FY2025, Gupta received S$4.2 million in compensation for the period he served as CEO from Jan 1 to Mar 28, 2025. This comprised S$369,048 in salary, a S$1.8 million cash bonus, S$2 million in deferred compensation and S$42,297 in non-cash components.

Tan succeeded Gupta on Mar 28, 2025.

“Under her leadership, the bank continued to deliver a solid financial performance,” DBS said. “This was despite the challenging operating environment marked by macroeconomic uncertainty and rate headwinds.”

For FY2025, DBS reported a 3 per cent fall in full-year net profit to S$10.9 billion on Feb 9, due mainly to the implementation of the global minimum tax in Singapore.

Total income and profit before tax nevertheless rose to record highs of S$22.9 billion and S$13.1 billion, respectively.

Return on equity stood at 16.2 per cent – down from 18 per cent in FY2024 – but within the bank’s 15 to 17 per cent medium-term target range and several percentage points above local and global peers, DBS noted.

The lender’s market capitalisation crossed US$100 billion in June 2025 and stood at US$124 billion at the end of the year, placing it among the top 25 banks globally by market capitalisation, it added.

On an aggregate basis, DBS’ senior management received S$83.1 million in total compensation, including Tan’s package. The median increase in total compensation for senior management who were members of the Group Management Committee in both 2024 and 2025 was 9.5 per cent.

The lender does not disclose the salaries of its top five key executives, apart from the CEO, for competitive reasons.

Shares of DBS fell 1.8 per cent to S$54.01 at the open on Monday.