D05SGX

DBS Group Holdings

What it does

DBS reports 4 businesses. In FY2025, consumer and wealth brought in 46% of income, institutional banking brought in 39% of income, markets trading brought in 6% of income and others brought in 9% of income.

By region, Singapore made up 64%, then Hong Kong at 15%.

From DBS Group Holdings, DBS Group Holdings 4Q25 and FY2025 performance summary.

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How it makes money

Where DBS's FY2025 income came from, what it cost to earn, and what was left for shareholders.

Total incomeS$22.9B

ExpensesS$9.3B

Net profitS$10.9B

Net profit as % of income47.7%

▸ DBS Group Holdings, FY2025: from income to profitD05

Income by

Income
Costs, allowances and tax
Profit
% = share of total income

Source: DBS Group Holdings, DBS Group Holdings 4Q25 and FY2025 performance summary (9 Feb 2026), pp. 12, 17 and 27. FY2025 is the year to 31 Dec 2025. Figures as reported, in S$ millions in the tooltips and table.

Technical: expenses were 40.8% of total income and net profit 47.7%. Allowances for bad loans took 3.5%.

Plain: of every dollar DBS earned, about 41 cents went on running the bank and about 48 cents ended up as profit for shareholders.

Income by business

Consumer and wealthS$10.5B · 46%Profit before tax S$4.5B
Institutional bankingS$8.9B · 39%Profit before tax S$5.7B
Markets tradingS$1.4B · 6%Profit before tax S$568M
OthersS$2.1B · 9%Profit before tax S$2.3B

Income by region

SingaporeS$14.7B · 64%Profit before tax S$9.2B
Hong KongS$3.5B · 15%Profit before tax S$1.9B
Rest of Greater ChinaS$2.2B · 10%Profit before tax S$928M
South and Southeast AsiaS$1.7B · 7%Profit before tax S$522M
Rest of the worldS$836M · 4%Profit before tax S$549M

See the numbers

FY2025	S$M	% of income
Net interest income	14,500	63.3%
Net fee and commission income	4,898	21.4%
Other non-interest income	3,502	15.3%
Total income	22,900	100.0%
Expenses	−9,349	40.8%
Amortisation of intangible assets	−23	0.1%
Allowances for credit and other losses	−791	3.5%
Share of profits of associates and JVs	262	1.1%
Profit before tax	12,999	56.8%
Income tax	−2,065	9.0%
Minority interests	−1	0.0%
Net profit to shareholders	10,933	47.7%

Expenses include a one-off S$100M provision for DBS Foundation and other charitable causes. Excluding it, DBS reports net profit of S$11,033M and profit before tax of S$13,099M.
Tax was 30% higher than in FY2024. DBS links the rise to the 15% global minimum tax.
Profit before tax by business excludes the S$100M charity provision, so it adds up to S$13,099M.
Profit by region excludes the S$100M charity provision, so net profit adds up to S$11,033M.

Moat rating

Wide moat

7.8 / 10

Return on equity averaged 15.9% over FY2021 to FY2025, 8.6 percentage points above a 7.34% cost of equity, and beat it in every year.

For five years running, DBS earned well above what its shareholders could reasonably expect. That excess is what a moat looks like in the numbers.

The numbers

8.8 / 10

Return on equity against cost of equity, money-centre banks

Average ROE: 15.9%
Average excess return: +8.6 pp
Years above the hurdle: 5 of 5

Spread 8 × 60% + durability 10 × 40% = 8.8

The sources

6.8 / 10

Where DBS's advantage comes from

1. Brand and pricing power7 / 10
S$610B of customer deposits fund S$445B of loans, a loan-to-deposit ratio of 72.9% at end-2025.
Plenty of savers leave their money at DBS. That gives it cheap funding to lend out at a profit.
2. Barriers to entry8 / 10
Banking needs a MAS licence and regulatory capital. DBS's CET-1 ratio was 17.0% at end-2025.
You can't just open a bank. The regulator decides who gets a licence and how much capital they must hold.
3. Switching costs7 / 10
Salary crediting, mortgages, cards and PayLah! sit in one relationship, so leaving means moving many accounts at once.
Moving your salary, home loan and cards to another bank is a hassle most people never get round to.
4. Network effects4 / 10
Everyday payments run on shared rails like PayNow, which every participating bank can use.
PayNow works across banks, so DBS gains little extra just because more people use it.
5. Economies of scale8 / 10
Cost-to-income ratio of 40.4% in FY2025, on total assets of S$897B.
DBS spends about 40 cents of every dollar it earns on running the bank. Its size spreads tech and branch costs thin.

Return on equity: DBS Group Holdings, Annual Report 2025, five-year summary, p. 175. Hurdle: Aswath Damodaran, NYU Stern, Cost of capital by sector (US), data as of January 2026. Damodaran's US money-centre bank figure, used as a proxy. A Singapore-specific cost of equity could differ.

Lens scores are rasinbunlover's judgment, reviewed 19 Oct 2026. A wide moat is a reason to dig deeper, not a verdict on the price. For education only. Not financial advice.

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Price data: Yahoo Finance, delayed. A ticker on this site is not a recommendation. For education only. Not financial advice.