DBS CEO Piyush Gupta’s salary down 27% at S$11.2M after pay cut

SINGAPORE: The DBS annual report, released on Wednesday, March 6, showed that DBS CEO Piyush Gupta’s salary declined by 27%.

Mr Gupta’s total pay for the financial year ending Dec 2023 amounted to S$11.2 million, which was less than the previous year’s S$15.4 million, The Business Times reports.

Breaking down his compensation, Mr Gupta’s base salary remained steady at S$1.5 million, similar to the previous year. However, his cash bonus decreased to S$4.1 million from S$5.8 million in FY2022.

Additionally, deferred remuneration, which includes a portion in shares, decreased to about S$5.6 million, down from S$8 million the previous year.

These shares, valued at approximately S$4.6 million, exclude retention shares valued at S$832,650. Retention shares are designed to incentivize employees and compensate for the time value of deferral.

However, it’s worth noting that DBS employees do not receive dividends on unvested shares.

In addition to his salary and bonuses, Mr Gupta received non-cash benefits such as a club membership, car, and driver, valued at S$72,992.

DBS had earlier announced a reduction in variable pay for its management committee members, attributing it to taking accountability for digital disruptions in 2023.

The variable pay of the group management committee was collectively reduced by 21%, with Mr Gupta taking a deeper cut of 30%.

The bank’s FY2023 financial results, released alongside the announcement of Mr Gupta’s pay cut, revealed a 3% decrease in fourth-quarter net profit to S$2.27 billion.

Despite this, DBS declared a dividend of S$0.54 per share for the period, up from S$0.42 per share in the previous quarter, resulting in a full-year ordinary dividend of S$1.92 per share.

DBS also proposed a bonus issue of one bonus share for every existing 10 ordinary shares held, aiming to increase capital returns to shareholders.

DBS will hold its annual general meeting (AGM) on March 28, where shareholders will vote on various resolutions, including approving S$4.8 million in fees for non-executive directors’ remuneration, a slight increase from the previous year’s S$4.6 million.

Looking ahead, DBS expects its earnings to remain stable at “around 2023 levels,” anticipating slightly lower net interest margins offset by loan growth. The bank also foresees credit costs normalising, although it maintains resilient asset quality.

Chng Sok Hui, DBS’s chief financial officer, said, “In the event that credit costs deteriorate beyond our assumptions, we have the capacity to release general allowance overlays that had been prudently built up in previous years.” /TISG

Read also: CEO Piyush Gupta: 4 out of 5 DBS disruptions were bug or software-related