MEDIA STATEMENT

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When Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy protection on 15 September 2008, a credit event occurred in High Notes 5 as Lehman Brothers was one of the eight entities in the 'First-to-Default' basket of this Note. This triggered the early redemption of High Notes 5 and the unwinding process has begun. The bank views customer concerns as a matter of priority and to address all concerns and queries, a dedicated 'Investor Care Centre' has been set up. To provide continued assurance that the bank will act in the customers' best interests, in addition to the bank's compliance and audit processes, DBS will be also appointing independent external consultants to review complaint handling and the final credit event redemption amount for High Notes 5.

 

About DBS
DBS is one of the largest financial services groups in Asia with operations in 16 markets. Headquartered in Singapore, DBS is the largest bank in the country as measured by assets, and a leading bank in Hong Kong. DBS' "AA-" and "Aa1" credit ratings are among the highest in the Asia-Pacific region.

As a bank that specialises in Asia, DBS leverages its deep understanding of the region, local culture and insights to serve and build lasting relationships with its clients. DBS provides the full range of services in corporate, SME, consumer and wholesale banking activities across Asia and the Middle East. The bank is committed to expand its pan-Asia franchise by leveraging its growing presence in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan to intermediate the increasing trade and investment flows between these markets. Likewise, DBS is focused on extending its end-to-end services to facilitate capital within fast-growing countries in Indonesia and India.

DBS acknowledges the passion, commitment and can-do spirit in each of its 15,000 staff, representing over 30 nationalities. For more information, please visit www.dbs.com.