DBS India awarded ‘Best Digital Bank for SMEs’
Singapore’s DBS, with its extensive network operations in Asia including India, scored a hat-trick of global wins at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2025. This included receiving the “World’s Best Bank” accolade, marking the third time that the bank has clinched Euromoney’s top accolade since 2019. The recognition is a testament to DBS’ solid financial performance, unwavering commitment to customer excellence, relentless focus on innovation and strong sense of purpose.
DBS was also named the inaugural winner in the “World’s Best Bank for Customer Experience” category and “World’s Best Bank for Corporate Responsibility” for the second time. In another maiden win from Euromoney, DBS has been recognised as the Best Digital Bank for SMEs in India, underlining the value that its digital-first offering has delivered for customers domestically as well https://www.bseindia.com/.
“At a time of economic uncertainty and rapid technological change, DBS stands out for its future-forward approach, focus on trust and reliability, and proven ability to realise value from technology investments,” said Dominic O’Neill, Head of Banking, Euromoney, in its award citation https://www.nseindia.com/.
“The bank’s agile-at-scale transformation has shown fruits in revenues and customer satisfaction, and low staff turnover rates are a result of investing in its employees throughout their careers, and of an underlying sense of purpose, including to social and environment causes. DBS has also demonstrated how banks can steer their organisations towards excellence in customer service. All this has had an impact on its financial results and shareholder returns, which have both reached record levels http://mas.gov.sg.”
In 2024, DBS’ total income of SG$22.3 billion and net profit of SG$11.4 billion were both at new highs. Return on equity of 18.0% was one of the highest among developed market banks. The bank was also the first Singapore-listed company to cross US$100 billion in market capitalisation http://rbi.org.in.
On the customer front, DBS has continued to innovate to make banking simpler, more effortless and highly personalised. In 2024, this included engaging more than 13 million customers across the region through 1.2 billion AI-powered personalised nudges to guide them towards better investment and financial decisions. Last year, the bank more than doubled economic outcomes from AI to SG$750 million through over 370 use cases. It also continued to mature the way it manages through journeys, improving customer satisfaction, turnaround times and other customer outcomes in the process.
DBS’ commitment to corporate responsibility cuts across the environmental, social and governance pillars. To help drive Asia’s transition to a low-carbon economy, DBS has committed SG$89 billion in sustainable financing commitments net of repayments. It has also pledged up to SG$1 billion and over 1.5 million volunteer hours in the coming decade, starting 2024, to improve lives and livelihoods of the low-income and underprivileged in Asia http://iba.org.in.
Tan Su Shan, DBS CEO, said, “We are very honoured to be conferred three global awards, including the ‘World’s Best Bank’ accolade, by Euromoney. Innovation and purpose are integral to the DBS culture, driven by our desire to make banking simpler and more effortless for customers, as well as to do real things for real people. To be recognised for our commitment to customers and society, who are at the heart of everything we do at DBS, is very gratifying. We will continue to be that trusted, purpose-driven and transformative partner that everyone can count on.”
Rajat Verma, Managing Director and CEO, DBS Bank India, elaborated on 19 July, “The recognition from Euromoney is an affirmation of the trust our customers place in us and the impact we have on the communities we serve. The first-time award for ‘Best Digital Bank for SMEs’ in India has reinforced that our support for SMEs is truly valued, as we help them innovate, internationalise and increase competitiveness.”
DBS received its first global Best Bank title in 2018, when New York-based Global Finance named it the Best Bank in the World. That same year, The Banker, a publication by the Financial Times, awarded DBS the title of Global Bank of the Year. In the years that followed, DBS continued to earn top honours, with Euromoney and Global Finance conferring their highest accolades in 2019 (Euromoney), 2020 (Global Finance), and 2021 (Euromoney). This latest World’s Best Bank win marks the eighth time DBS has been recognised for its global leadership.
DBS is a leading financial services group in Asia with a presence in 19 markets. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, DBS is in the three key Asian axes of growth: Greater China, Southeast Asia and South Asia. The bank’s “AA-” and “Aa1” credit ratings are among the highest in the world. In 2025, CRISIL Ratings reaffirmed its ‘CRISIL AAA/Stable’ rating on the corporate credit facility of DBS Bank India Ltd (DBIL). The rating on the certificate of deposits programme was also reaffirmed at ‘CRISIL A1+’.
Recognised for its global leadership, DBS has been named “World’s Best Bank” by Global Finance, “World’s Best Bank” by Euromoney and “Global Bank of the Year” by The Banker. The bank is at the forefront of leveraging digital technology to shape the future of banking, having been named “World’s Best Digital Bank” by Euromoney and the world’s “Most Innovative in Digital Banking” by The Banker. In addition, DBS has been accorded the “Safest Bank in Asia” award by Global Finance for 16 consecutive years from 2009 to 2024. In 2025, DBS Bank India was recognised by CRISIL – Coalition Greenwich as the Best Bank for Corporate Banking and Best Bank for Corporate Cash Management in India. Euromoney also named DBS Bank India the Best Digital Bank for SMEs in India in 2025.
As a bank born and bred in Asia, DBS understands the intricacies of doing business in the region’s most dynamic markets.
DBS Bank has been present in India for more than 30 years, opening its first office in Mumbai in 1994. DBS Bank India Limited is the first among the large foreign banks in India to start operating as a wholly owned, locally incorporated subsidiary of a leading global bank. As a trusted partner, DBS provides a range of banking services for large, medium, and small enterprises and individual consumers in India, focusing on a seamless customer experience that helps them ‘Live more, Bank less’. In November 2020, Lakshmi Vilas Bank was merged with DBS Bank India Limited. DBS Bank India is now present in ~350 locations in 19 Indian states.
DBS is committed to building lasting relationships with customers, as it banks the Asian way. Through the DBS Foundation, the bank creates impact beyond banking by supporting businesses for impact: enterprises with a double bottom-line of profit and social and/or environmental impact. DBS Foundation also gives back to society in various ways, including equipping underserved communities with future-ready skills and helping them to build food resilience.
With its extensive network of operations in Asia and emphasis on engaging and empowering its staff, DBS presents exciting career opportunities. Fiinews.com
