During a teach-in, DBS gave insights into its efforts to grow its SME banking franchise. The characteristics of SME banking are higher cost-to-serve and lower potential profit per account as one goes down the line in terms of client size. The trick is to differentiate the resources committed to each tier of clients and leverage the bank's capabilities, balance sheet and relationships to cement the client relationship.
We maintain our Add rating and GGM-based target price (1.39x CY14 P/BV, COE 9.5%). Like the other Singapore banks, DBS has seen share price weakness recently because of concerns over its exposure to a growing pool of Greater China loans in recent years. We think that the worries are overblown. The share price could recover when DBS shows that it can avoid China-related NPLs as China goes into a credit cycle.
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