Bulletin: DBS To Strengthen Regional Footprint With Acquisition Of Citi's Taiwan Consumer Business

SINGAPORE (S&P Global Ratings) Jan. 28, 2022--DBS Group Holdings Ltd.'s planned acquisition of Citigroup's consumer banking business in Taiwan will make the Singapore-based lender the largest foreign bank in Taiwan by assets. We believe the business benefits are balanced against asset risks and capital costs. It will strengthen DBS' regional footprint without materially affecting its overall credit quality. Our rating on DBS Bank Ltd.(DBS; AA-/Stable/A-1+) does not change. The acquired portfolio from Citi mainly comprises mortgages, credit card lending, and unsecured loans. It constitutes less than 3% of group loans. DBS plans to fund the transaction internally with excess capital. This will likely reduce its common equity Tier 1 ratio by 70 basis points to about 13.8%, comfortably above the

...January 28, 2022 SINGAPORE (S&P Global Ratings) Jan. 28, 2022--DBS Group Holdings Ltd.'s planned acquisition of Citigroup's consumer banking business in Taiwan will make the Singapore-based lender the largest foreign bank in Taiwan by assets. We believe the business benefits are balanced against asset risks and capital costs. It will strengthen DBS' regional footprint without materially affecting its overall credit quality. Our rating on DBS Bank Ltd.(DBS; ##-/Stable/A-1+) does not change. The acquired portfolio from Citi mainly comprises mortgages, credit card lending, and unsecured loans. It constitutes less than 3% of group loans. DBS plans to fund the transaction internally with excess capital. This will likely reduce its common equity Tier 1 ratio by 70 basis points to about 13.8%, comfortably above the regulatory minimum. We believe DBS' risk-adjusted capital ratio will remain above 8%. Citi's consumer portfolio would scale up DBS' Taiwan subsidiary, particularly in the wealth management...

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