LONDON (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) July 16, 1999--Standard&Poor's today assigned its single-'A'-plus long-term and 'A-1' short-term counterparty credit ratings to The Development Bank of Singapore Ltd. (DBS Bank). The outlook is stable. DBS Bank is characterized by a very strong domestic franchise, and sound funding, liquidity, capitalization, and underlying operating profitability. The government's 42% indirect ownership in DBS Bank is seen as neutral to slightly positive. Recent acquisitions, however, have increased the bank's exposure to weaker regional economies--resulting in rapid balance-sheet growth, and weakened asset quality and after-tax profitability. DBS Bank is Singapore's largest domestic bank, with a leading market share of loans and deposits, a strong retail-funding base, and a sound capital position. The bank's capital adequacy
