DBS Debacle and Accountability

Tying remuneration policies to drive the correct behavior and corporate accountability is the lesson from a recent pay cut imposed on the CEO of a leading Singapore bank.

- Jennifer Paldano Goonewardane

In February 2024, the CEO of Singapore's biggest bank, DBS, was told of a 30 percent cut to his variable pay for 2023 by the bank's Board. Headquartered in Singapore, DBS is a leading financial services group in Asia, with over 280 branches across 18 markets. Anyone would reckon the slash was in response to poor performance and bottom lines. But Piyush Gupta, at the bank's top post since 2009, has been a remarkable and respected leader with multiple accolades for growing the bank's fortunes under his stewardship. So much so that the windfall in 2023 was spectacular. DBS made a profit of S$ 10.31 billion in 2023, a 26 percent increase from 2022, which recorded a profit of S$ 8.19 billion. Its 2023 fourthquarter net profit had surged beyond expectations by two percent to S$ 2.39 billion compared to S$ 2.34 billion for the same period in 2022.

Then, why was Gupta targeted? What triggered the response? In March 2023, DBS encountered a ten-hour digital service outage, preventing customers from making transactions and ATM withdrawals. However, their woes had been ongoing before 2023 and continued intermittently after the March 2023 major outage. The authorities in Singapore responded, and so did the bank's Board. The senior management was held responsible for the lapses with cuts to their variable pay. As a result of the cut, Gupta would lose S$ 4.1 million in variable pay (outside of the base pay), which consists of cash bonuses and deferred shares. Gupta took the most significant slice of the cut, while others in the bank's senior management team received a 21 percent variable pay cut. In a contrary action, the bank's junior employees will receive a one-off bonus to meet the rising cost of living, for which the bank has allocated S$ 15 million for 2023.