DBS appoints veteran banker to head Indonesian unit, plans to grow business

SINGAPORE - DBS Group Holdings announced on Friday (Feb 6) that it has appointed veteran banker Paulus Sutisna, 50, as president director of DBS Indonesia, subject to regulatory approvals.

Mr Sutisna joins DBS from HSBC Indonesia, where he was previously head of client management for global banking and co-head of cash management.

He will be a member of the DBS Group management committee.

Mr Sutisna is a career banker, with over 25 years of banking experience, honed across a range of front and mid-office functions, said DBS. While the bulk of his career was in customer-facing roles in corporate banking and transaction banking, he also had stints in credit and risk management functions, the bank added.

Prior to HSBC, Sutisna spent over 20 years in various functions in Citibank, including the role of managing director and head of the multinational franchise in Indonesia.

DBS said Indonesia is one of its six key markets, and an integral part of the bank's Southeast Asia strategy.

With 40 branches in the country, DBS Indonesia has a growing franchise in the areas of trade finance, cash management, SME banking and wealth management. It was named "Best Wealth Manager, Indonesia" by financial publication The Asset in 2013 and 2014. DBS Indonesia was also recognised as the "Best Foreign Exchange Provider" by Global Finance from 2013 to 2015.

Said DBS CEO Piyush Gupta, "Indonesia is an important market for us, and we intend to further accelerate our organic growth plans in the country."

"Given Paulus' extensive banking experience and wide Indonesia connections, I believe he will be able to help us build on our successes, and deliver even greater connectivity and value to our clients."

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