• Published on 6 September 2024
• 602 Views
• Print

DBS names new Singapore consumer banking head from 1 January 2025

DBS announced the appointment of Calvin Ong as head of consumer banking Singapore, with effect from 1 January 2025. He will succeed Jeremy Soo, who will retire from executive duties at the end of the year and stay on as an advisor.

Ong, 42, is currently head of investment products and advisory in the bank’s consumer banking and wealth management group (CBG/WM). A graduate of Oxford and Harvard universities, Ong joined DBS as a management associate in 2007. Since then, he has had several rotations across the bank, including private equity, group planning, treasury and markets and corporate treasury. In eight years in corporate treasury, he was a key member of the management team responsible for the transformation of DBS’ balance sheet management, capital and funding, and structured corporate transactions. He rose through the ranks to become deputy corporate treasurer.

At CBG/WM, where he has been since 2021, he led the investment products and advisory business and significantly grew investment fee income across the wealth continuum, amid market volatility.

In his new role as head of consumer banking Singapore, Ong will oversee DBS/POSB’s consumer banking and wealth management (Treasures) platforms to further enhance the way the bank meets customers’ banking, payment, investing and financial planning needs across all digital and physical touchpoints.

Shee Tse Koon, DBS Group head of consumer banking and wealth management, said: “The management change reflects DBS’ deep bench strength and our commitment to grooming talent from within. Calvin’s exposure to different parts of the bank over the years has enabled him to develop the depth and breadth of knowledge to propel the Singapore consumer banking business to greater heights. I would also like to thank Jeremy for his committed leadership and invaluable contributions in fortifying our Singapore franchise by putting customers at the heart of everything we do.”

A banking veteran, Soo joined DBS in 2003. As the head of Singapore consumer banking, a role he has held for the last 17 years, he played an instrumental role in operationalising the digital transformation of the franchise. This included the successful implementation of the bank’s new way of working, dubbed Managing Through Journeys (MtJs), enabling the consumer banking franchise to become a more agile and data-driven organisation.

During his tenure, Soo also spearheaded many first-in-industry innovations, which included the launch of the bank’s mobile wallet DBS PayLah!, and partnerships that have driven the adoption of digital payments in hawker centres, wet markets and heartland shops. He is also a strong advocate for inclusive banking, providing subsidised banking services to low-income and migrant workers in Singapore.

Re-disseminated by The Asian Banker