DBS Group Holdings Reviews in Singapore, Singapore Area

Pros

1. Extremely close knit working relations, even between interns and the actual stuff
2. No cut-throat, pressure cooker environment; fairly lax and patient.
3. Chock full of resource and learning opportunities, only if you take the initiative to do so
4. Suitable competitive pay for university interns.
5. Supervisors willing to teach, only if you ask.

Cons

1. Most work done was menial- type this, fax that, print this, record that, fetch this, send that.
2. Presence of horrific maltreatment of interns, even stuff of urban myths. My fellow intern was made to routinely fetch coffee and food for the team, at one time even to clean and repair the air-con.
3. Big gaps in between where the intern was simply left to do nothing.
4. Learning MUST be pro-active, if you don't take maximum effort to do so, the internship is a waste of time.
5. Subtle currents of politicking present.
6. Interns at DBS hold less prestige. This maybe due to the bank accepting polytechnic students as interns, which could perhaps lower the brand superiority of DBS as compared to the IBs.
8. Bureaucratic and rigid. Employees follow the proverbial rule book down to a T, many lack the ability to think critically, if not, are dissuaded to do so.
9. Lack of forward planning. Certain strategies and products were marketed and promoted without the relevant QC. Led to the presence of many disgruntled customers.
10. Employees lack pride in their job, especially those wedged in between senior management and lower levels; lack of difference in middle management could have resulted in this.

Pros

Premier Bank in Asia, with a fairly organized training program for summer interns. Patient and friendly supervisors that work with even the most inexperienced interns.

Cons

As a foreigner, I felt somewhat alienated from the close knit, almost strictly Singaporean co-workers. Didn't develop as tight of relationships as I would have liked.

Pros

They observe work life balance, give good employees benefits.

Cons

Promotion are not fair and square. There is also no yearly salary increment. The staff work like hell, but in the end management manipulate ratings of the staff''s appraisals.

Advice to Senior Management

Please look into developing internal talents and yearly salary increment, as inflation and standard of living is rising every year.

Pros

Lots to learn, good senior management, good training and working policies, lots of leave, transportation to and from work by shuttle bus

Cons

Long hours in my department, Departmental politics, Too much work to handle in IT, distant location in Changi, might be mundane work

Advice to Senior Management

Take a good look at why some depts have high turnover rates. As the pay is less than foreign banks, the workload should be measured accordingly as well.

Pros

It has great culture and environment. The people here are very friendly and helpful. There is also good corporate identity.

Cons

Compensation is pathetic and perhaps even humiliating. If not so for senior positions, it is so for junior positions. Fresh graduates get 30% less from DBS than from other banks.

Advice to Senior Management

DBS Bank has seen very good performance in recent years. You can afford to pay your employees more. Do it.

Pros

DBS is a bank on the rise. No doubt it has a lot of legacy issues to deal with but it is definitely on the right path to establishing itself as a significant player in the Asian market. The Bank's position in the Singaporean market in the areas of Treasury and Markets, Corporate Banking, and Capital Markets are unassailable. DBS is very strong in these areas and is performing very well. Furthermore, with the addition of Piyush as CEO who is an exceptional visionary and executor, DBS not only has a clear vision for the future but now has someone who can actually get it done. For people who are interested to work for DBS, the things you can look forward to are:
 - Strong universal banking capabilities in Asia thus allowing for a great number of opportunities an exposure assignments.
- Excellent working culture in the sense that people can be very nurturing and respectful
- A lot of leave (though the caveat is that you won't necessarily be able to use it all)
- Great senior management who are not only competent but personable and empathetic
- Constant flow of incoming deals

Cons

As I mentioned, legacy. The Bank has a laundry list of legacy issues to iron out which include dated IT systems, and redundant staff stemming from years of mismanagement. As such, things can take a while to get moving at times and paper work is never ending. Furthermore, compensation can leave a lot to be desired. Though it is the highest paying of all the local banks in Singapore, it still does not compare to some of the other foreign banks who not only have better pay but also superior benefits.

Advice to Senior Management

Stay the path and continue molding the organization into a lean and mean machine!

Pros

the brand name of the company

Cons

my boss was a slave driver who did not promote work life balance.
and my supervisor did not care if i could cope with my work load.
there was very little engagement.

Advice to Senior Management

more engagement and recognition for staff especially in operations which requires working on public holidays.

Pros

DBS has good job security for personel, the pay is OK. People on the outside think it is a good place to work, so there is a bit of ego that goes with working there. It is also well repected name to have on the resume especially in Asia. Senior managemnt is usually top calibre. I assume as a GLC they do have to hire well at the top. It is an OK place for new grad, but you must get out after 18-24 months.

Cons

DBS is a big dinosaur, as in slow to respond to new ideas and inflexible. The middle management is overall farily poor. Middle management at DBS then to hoard information. Cronisim and boys club mentatliy in middle management is raife. If you can get away with it you can hide in the management structure and do no work and make no decisions and get paid a semi decent salary. As such, there is alot of dead/old wood here.

Advice to Senior Management

Look to cut middle management fat.