Younger DBS shareholders drawn by dividends turn up at AGM for the first time

SINGAPORE - Young investors were among first-time attendees at DBS’ annual general meeting (AGM), drawn to the bank’s dividends and a desire to take a more active role in managing their portfolios.

Over 1,700 shareholders attended the two-hour event held at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre at 2pm on March 31.

One attendee, who wanted to be known only as Ms Kang, turned up at the AGM for the first time, even though she has been a DBS shareholder for the past 10 years.

She was able to attend in person this year as she had some free time; in previous years, she had relied on a friend to cast her proxy votes.

Ms Kang, who is in her early 30s, said: “I wanted to see what the AGM was like. I like to hear what they have to say. It’s peak entertainment when shareholders and the board go back and forth during Q&A but there are also very valid questions from people who actually care (about the company).”

She added: “I think it’s important that the board addresses the questions.”

Ms Kang said she does not expect the best returns in 2026, given the current macroeconomic environment, elevated geopolitical tensions and potential interest rate cuts.

Another first-timer, Mr Tuan Ding Ren, said he was curious about what takes place at AGMs.

DBS was one of the counters the 25-year-old student added to his investment portfolio a year ago to build up his retirement funds and it has become one of his largest holdings.

“I invest in DBS because it is the leader (among the Singapore banks), is one of the most stable stocks, gives good dividends and has good leadership, which I witnessed myself today,” he said.

He also owns OCBC and UOB shares, and plans to increase his shareholding in them in the future.

DBS announced a total dividend of $3.06 a share for the full year of 2025, up 38 per cent from the previous year.

Its fourth-quarter final dividend alone was 81 cents a share, comprising an ordinary dividend of 66 cents, up 6 cents from the third quarter, and a capital return dividend of 15 cents.

DBS plans to continue paying capital return dividends of 15 cents a share per quarter in 2026 and 2027, subject to unforeseen circumstances.

Another investor, Mr Don Khoe, said he had previously sold his DBS shares but decided to buy the stock again a few months ago after liquidating his US positions and rebalancing his portfolio to mainly Singapore dollar positions. He also holds some UOB shares.

Mr Khoe, 31, who attended the AGM with his spouse, said he found shareholders’ questions interesting, especially those that pointed to how DBS could improve its customer service.

But business controls professional Taw Song Yong, who has not attended the bank’s AGMs despite being a shareholder, also gave it a miss this year, saying that he finds the formalities and process long-winded and prefers to read up about company developments on his own.

Mr Taw, 34, said he might consider attending if the AGMs were less formal and more interactive.

“I think AGMs will be slideshows after slideshows. Maybe if there’s a carnival, it would be more interesting.”

He added: “From what I know, companies like Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway hold very interesting AGMs. I might go for such ones.”

The DBS AGM saw shareholders raise concerns about the bank’s exposure to the Middle East amid the war in Iran.

Speaking at the meeting, her first as DBS chief executive, Ms Tan Su Shan said the bank’s exposure to the region is minimal.

“We’ve done a lot of stress tests with our business heads. In terms of first-order impact, (it is) very little, because our core market is Asia, (and) our exposure to the Middle East is very, very limited,” she said.

Still, she warned of stagflation risks – where inflation remains high, even as growth slows – especially if oil prices continue to stay elevated at more than US$100 a barrel from prolonged conflict.

“The second-order impact – which is around inflation, consumer slowdown, supply chains – can cause problems.

“We are watching sectors such as autos, oil and gas, and shipping, to assess how they may be affected if the Strait of Hormuz is shut and upstream supply is disrupted,” she said, adding that while there are concerns about small and medium-sized enterprises, governments are likely to step in with support.

It could be tough for the bank to replace net interest income lost as a result of interest rates going down, she said.

For now, DBS is seeing increased customer activity in transaction services and is focusing on high-growth segments, including banking financial institutions such as insurers and fund managers, as well as transaction banking.

“These are all high return on equity businesses and we will continue to grow these three segments,” she said.

Wealth management is also a key focus area for DBS.

Ms Tan highlighted that wealth clients remain loyal to the bank because “we embed them with foundational estate planning and long-term solutions”.

In 2026, DBS was named the world’s best private bank by Euromoney – marking the first time an Asia-based bank had earned the title.

“The fact that we are the first Asian bank to be recognised as the world’s best private bank speaks to it,” she said. “Our team is working very hard to get new-to-bank customers and also to deepen our relationships.”

Ms Tan further noted that the Monetary Authority of Singapore plans to become a global gold trading hub amid a rise in interest in the precious metal from retail and institutional investors.

“We are playing in all three segments – physical gold, paper gold and tokenised gold – and we’re also in the business of structured products for gold. We think Singapore can be a good hub for physical, digital and paper gold.”