By Gabriel Chen
Reporter
gabrielc@sph.com.sg

 

MOST of the recent senior appointments by DBS have been Citibankers or who have had long stints with the US bank.

These include DBS chief executive Piyush Gupta, the incoming chief executive of its Hong Kong business, Mr Sebastian Paredes, the head private banking and asset management, Ms Tan Su Shan, and DBS Singapore’s country manager, Mr Sim Lim.

But talk among some bankers indicates that the latest high-profile hire by Singapore's largest bank may not have a Citi background.

ANZ Bank executive Tan Kong Khoon is said to be in the running for the high-profile post of DBS consumer banking head, according to banking sources.

Mr Tan, a Singaporean, is the Australian bank’s general manager for retail banking and wealth management covering Hong Kong and North Asia.

Before that, he was president and chief executive of Bank of Ayudhya, Thailand’s fifth largest commercial bank.

Mr Tan spent three years with the Thai bank, before stepping down on Dec 31 last year to pursue what was then officially said to be “other opportunities”.

And prior to that, Mr Tan served as Standard Chartered Bank’s regional head of consumer banking for China and Hong Kong.

DBS’s consumer banking hot seat has been left vacant after veteran banker Rajan Raju resigned a few days ago to join Deutsche Asset Management.

Mr Tan’s hiring will be a coup for DBS given his strong familiarity with Asia and especially greater China, a key priority for DBS. DBS spokesman Karen Ngui said that the bank did not comment on market speculation.
Not much is known about Mr Tan on the personal front.

Past interviews, which are few and far between, do not reveal much about his life outside work.

On the business side, industry watchers observe that Mr Tan presided some important changes at Bank of Ayudhya.

For example, in 2007 Ayudhya struck a strategic deal with General Electric unit GE Capital, which proceeded to acquire a 25.4 per cent stake in the Thai bank.

Bank of Ayudhya chairman Veraphan Teepsuwan commented on Mr Tan’s departure last year, saying that “over the past three years, Khun Tan Kong Khoon has led the bank through an important transition phase.

“The Bank of Ayudhya management team under his leadership has significantly strengthened the foundation of the bank for future growth.”

DBS had earlier said that Ms Linda Wong, Mr Jeremy Soo and Mr Domenic Fuda will assist in managing the consumer banking business until a successor was announced.