Singapore-based DBS has hired a former Ping An executive as its new chief information officer. 

DBS has appointed Eugene Huang as chief information officer (CIO), according to a statement, effective May 10. In the role, he will become a member of the bank’s group executive committee and report to CEO Piyush Gupta.

Huang has 36 years of technology and banking experience. He joins from Shenzhen-based Ping An where he led a 22,000-strong team to provide a full suite of IT offerings across infrastructure, cybersecurity, middleware and client-facing applications. He was concurrently chairman and CEO of Ping An Technology, the Chinese insurer’s tech arm.

Prior to that, he was deputy general manager, chief technology officer and chief operating officer at OneConnect Financial Technology, a tech services platform launched by Ping An in 2015. Previously, he also worked at Citi, HSBC, Salomon Smith Barney and Credit Suisse First Boston.

Predecessor

Huang succeeds Han Kwee Juan who has been acting CIO since November 2023. Thereafter, Han will return to his other existing role as Singapore country head from June 1.

«Eugene possesses a rare blend of deep business experience and technology expertise – as well as international exposure – which will serve DBS well as we continue to enhance our system resiliency while innovating for the future,» commented Gupta.

IT Issues

Huang’s hire follows the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) recent decision not to extend a six-month pause on DBS’ non-essential activities, according to a statement, that was imposed after a series of digital banking outages in 2023. MAS also required DBS to retain 1.8 times of risk-weighted assets for operational risk until the bank demonstrates the ability to maintain service availability and reliability.  

According to a «Straits Times» report, customers once again reported difficulties accessing digital services on May 2 for over two hours.

«[Huang’s] immediate focus will be to build on the work the bank has done since last year to strengthen our technology resiliency,» Gupta added. «He will be a strong addition to our leadership bench, and I look forward to his contributions as we continue to deliver on our promise of providing reliable and seamless banking to our customers.»