DBS Bank Ltd.

Market leader in Singapore Strong deposit funding, resulting in higher margins amid rising interest rates Improved asset quality buffer in a turning credit cycle Sizable direct exposure to Greater China, where economic prospects have become less certain and credit risk is rising The stable outlook on DBS Bank Ltd. reflects our expectation that the bank will maintain its high systemic importance in Singapore and that its stand-alone credit profile (SACP) will remain 'a' over the next one to two years. We believe both positive and negative rating actions are unlikely over the next one to two years because the bank's SACP needs to decline by at least two notches before the rating is affected. We may revise our assessment of

...Sizable direct exposure to Greater China, where economic prospects have become less certain and credit risk is rising Outlook: Stable The stable outlook on DBS Bank Ltd. reflects our expectation that the bank will maintain its high systemic importance in Singapore and that its stand-alone credit profile (SACP) will remain 'a' over the next one to two years. We believe both positive and negative rating actions are unlikely over the next one to two years because the bank's SACP needs to decline by at least two notches before the rating is affected. We may revise our assessment of DBS' SACP downward if the bank's asset quality weakens substantially, possibly due to a significant deterioration in its mainland China portfolio as the country deleverages and rebalances its growth model. A lower SACP will lead to the downgrade of the bank's hybrid securities that we notch down from the SACP. However, this is not our base-case scenario. We may revise the SACP upward if we assess that the risk of...

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