DBS names new country head for Malaysia

Mr Abdul Raof Latiff (left) will take over the reins from June 1, while Mr Lim Soon Chong will succeed him in his former roles.

DBS Bank has appointed a new Malaysia country head to take over from Mr Jeffrey Ling, who will be retiring from the role but taking on a senior advisory role.

Mr Abdul Raof Latiff will take over the reins from June 1.

Besides heading up the Malaysia operations, Mr Latiff will continue to oversee DBS' institutional banking ecosystems and strategic platform partnerships.

He previously held several senior regional positions at global banks, including Citigroup, JP Morgan and HSBC. He has more than 25 years of banking experience in areas such as transaction banking, foreign exchange and treasury functions.

Mr Latiff, who joined DBS in 2017, has helped to develop and drive digital transformation of the bank's institutional banking franchise.

He is DBS' group head of digital for institutional banking and group head of global transaction services product management.

Mr Lim Soon Chong will succeed him in these roles, having been appointed from Jan 1 for a smooth transition. He will helm the digital, cash and trade product agendas of DBS' institutional banking group.

During his 15-year career at DBS, Mr Lim has taken on assignments across consumer, wealth, risk management and corporate treasury spaces. He was also previously DBS' group head of investment products and advisory for the consumer banking and wealth franchise.

Meanwhile, Mr Ling, who has been with DBS since 1995, will stay on as a senior adviser to continue engaging DBS' key clients in Malaysia.

DBS said: "(He) has been integral in transforming DBS Malaysia from a small-and medium-cap focused business into a large corporate franchise covering sovereign wealth funds, privately owned conglomerates and government-linked corporations."

Ms Tan Su Shan, DBS' group head of institutional banking, said: "The new appointments reflect our commitment to groom talent from within, and enable us to continue to provide more development opportunities to our senior team across the region."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 02, 2021, with the headline DBS names new country head for Malaysia. Subscribe