The bank is more efficiently run versus its peers and has more of a focus to reward shareholders, says Tareck Horchani of Maybank Securities

 

[SINGAPORE] DBS Group Holdings&rsquo blistering share rally this year has widened its market value lead over its peer OCBC to a level never seen before.

 

A 21 per cent advance in shares of Singapore&rsquo s largest bank in 2025 has boosted its market capitalisation by about S$26 billion, taking its gap over the second-largest lender in the Republic to S$75 billion. Analysts are mostly bullish on DBS&rsquo dividend and wealth management outlook.

 

DBS is more efficiently run versus its peers and has more of a focus to reward shareholders, said Tareck Horchani, head of prime brokerage dealing at Maybank Securities in Singapore.

 

&ldquo As importantly, in segments such as wealth management, transaction banking, cash management, and AI-deployment, they have scale and dominate the verticals versus their competitors. This should keep their valuation premium,&rdquo he added.

 

In the latest reporting season, DBS beat earnings estimates as strong lending income, trading gains, and record-high assets under management offset the drag from lower interest rates. 

 

The bank is also deepening its wealth strategy, leveraging Singapore&rsquo s push to ease family office rules. The lender is set to report results early next month.

 

Among the three listed banks in Singapore that also includes UOB, DBS enjoys the most amount of buy ratings from stock analysts, according to Bloomberg-compiled data. The stock also has the highest estimated dividend yield among its peers, at just shy of 6 per cent.

 

JPMorgan Chase last month raised its recommendation on DBS to overweight from neutral, saying the dividend outlook can lead to a long-term re-rating.

 

Since the start of the third quarter, analysts have revised up earnings estimates for DBS by about 2 per cent. In comparison, UOB and OCBC saw a drop of 3.6 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively. DBS&rsquo market cap lead over UOB has also expanded to the widest ever.