DBS has set aside S$32 million to be issued as special one-time bonus of S$1,000 to all staff except senior managers, it said on Monday (Feb 10).
“A special one-time bonus of S$1,000 each will be paid to all staff except senior managers as an additional reward for their contribution to the record performance,” it said.
At a media briefing for the lender’s fourth-quarter results on Monday, DBS chief executive Piyush Gupta said the bonus will go to around 90 to 95 per cent of staff, “as a special bonus for a record high in the performance”.
OCBC and UOB announced last December that they would each be giving out a one-off payment to its junior employees, for the second year in a row, to help them cope with ongoing cost-of-living pressures.
About S$7.5 million will be distributed among close to 11,000 employees across OCBC and its subsidiaries, including Bank of Singapore and OCBC Securities. These employees will receive the payout from February to April 2025.
DBS also announced a capital return dividend of S$0.15 per share per quarter to be paid out over financial year 2025; it expects to pay a similar amount of capital in the next two years.
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“The board committed to managing down the stock of excess capital over the coming three years,” said the lender.
It added: “The capital return dividend is the latest in a series of capital management initiatives undertaken by the board in recent years, which included regular increases in the ordinary dividend including through a bonus issue, occasional special dividends and a share buyback programme. The board will continue to consider all forms of returning capital.”
For the bank’s fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2024, it posted a net profit that was 11 per cent higher at S$2.52 billion, compared with S$2.27 billion from the year-ago period.
DBS’ full-year net profit was brought to a new record high of S$11.29 billion, up 12 per cent from the year-ago period.
