Change in USD Agent Bank

We have appointed JPMorgan Chase Bank as our USD Agent Bank.

To ensure timely receipt of incoming USD remittances to your account, please inform the remitting party of the following payment instructions for USD remittances.

Agent Bank: JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., New York, USA

SWIFT BIC: CHASUS33

Please ensure that your USD remitters are informed of the above information as non-receipt of incoming USD remittances to your account may result in insufficient funds to meet your payment obligations (if any).

Should you require any clarifications, please contact your Relationship Manager or DBS Wealth Management Hotline at 1800 221 1111 or +65 6221 1111. 

Restrictions on Product Access for Retail Investors Residing in the EEA

Due to the regulatory requirements of the European Union, certain products offered by DBS will not be available to retail investors who are residents (regardless of nationality) in the European Economic Area (EEA)¹. If you are resident in the EEA, please read this section carefully before proceeding with any transaction.

The regulation on key information documents (KIDs) for packaged retail and insurance-based investment products (Regulation (EU) No. 1286/2014, commonly referred to as the PRIIPs Regulation) came into effect on 1 January 2018. Due to the PRIIPs Regulation, DBS is currently unable to offer structured notes and other products falling within the scope of the PRIIPs Regulation to retail investors resident in the EEA.

A retail investor is defined as a client who does not meet the criteria to qualify as a professional client. Such criteria are set out in Annex II of Directive 2014/65/EU (commonly referred to as MiFID II)². Please note that this is different from the “professional investor” and “accredited investor” criteria applicable in Hong Kong and Singapore respectively. For clients whose beneficial owners (or, in the case of trust accounts, the settlor) are resident in the EEA, by default, we have classified them as retail investors.

The PRIIPs Regulation obliges DBS, when advising on or selling a packaged retail and insurance-based investment product (PRIIP)³ to a retail investor in the EEA, to provide such investor with a pre-contractual product disclosure document in the form of a KID. As our product manufacturers are evaluating the impact of the PRIIPs Regulation, KIDs will not be available for any of the PRIIP products (regardless of issuer) on our product platform unless our product manufacturer informs us otherwise. As such, until further notice, DBS will not be able to avail these products from 1 January 2018 to retail clients in the EEA.

We encourage our clients to speak to their Relationship Manager to better understand their options and address their queries. For more information on the PRIIPs Regulation, please visit the European Commission website at go.dbs.com/priips. Please contact your Relationship Manager for enquiries.

¹ EEA countries include Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar*, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
* Gibraltar is not an EEA country but implement EEA/PRIIPs regulation due to some form of special status.
² http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32014L0065
³ A PRIIP is any investment where the amount repayable to the investor is subject to fluctuations because of exposure to reference values or to the performance of one or more assets which are not directly purchased by the investor. PRIIPs will include without limitation investment products such as investment funds, life insurance policies with an investment element, structured products and structured deposits.

SINGAPORE,08 April 2015 - DBS Bank Ltd and Manulife Financial Asia Limited are pleased to announce that they have entered into a 15-year regional distribution agreement covering four mutually significant markets, namely Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Indonesia. The agreement signed today will take effect on 1 January 2016.

This new exclusive life bancassurance partnership will combine DBS’ superior Asian banking franchise with the insurance and wealth management expertise of Manulife, a global leader with a long-term commitment to Asia. In the four markets, DBS’ large and growing six million retail, wealth and SME customer base will gain access to Manulife’s best-in-class suite of life and health insurance solutions, through the bank’s extensive network of over 200 branches and its sales force of over 2,000 professionals, as well as via its internet and mobile banking platforms.

Leading to the agreement with Manulife, DBS conducted a thorough insurance partner selection process, which attracted strong interest from a number of leading regional and multinational insurers. The process considered a number of factors, including customer focus, expertise, execution track record and potential for long term value creation.

Manulife is a leading provider of insurance and wealth management solutions. It is the sixth largest^[1] life insurer in the world, with a 118-year track record in Asia, and more than six million customers across 12 markets in the region. Manulife first established a presence in Singapore in 1898 and is the leading life insurance provider of retirement and wealth solutions in Hong Kong^[2], where it established operations in 1897.

The partnership is expected to bring significant benefits to both parties:

• DBS will further strengthen its regional life insurance distribution capabilities, including its position as a leading bancassurer in Singapore, while providing its customers with a full suite of innovative and customised insurance solutions.
• Manulife will gain exclusive access to DBS customers in four highly attractive insurance markets, which remain significantly under-insured with a sizeable insurance protection gap and underfunded retirement needs.

DBS CEO Piyush Gupta said: “Bancassurance is a key focus for DBS and an important part of our overall customer value proposition. Manulife’s strong customer focus and deep commitment to Asia are aligned with our own vision. We are already working with Manulife in Singapore, Hong Kong and Indonesia, and will soon be their flagship regional bancassurance partner and their largest bancassurance partner globally. Together, we look forward to building upon the momentum we have achieved in bancassurance.”

Manulife President and Chief Executive Officer, Donald A. Guloien, said: “We are delighted to be chosen as the bancassurance partner of DBS in four important markets in Asia.  DBS is a great organisation, with a great track record and a very bright future. We know DBS well, and want to be an integral part of their continued success as a leading financial services group in Asia. This 15-year agreement builds on our existing successful relationship with DBS. It accelerates our growth in Asia, deepens and diversifies our insurance business, and gives us access to a much wider range of customers.”

Domenic Fuda, Deputy Group Head of Consumer Banking & Wealth Management at DBS, said: “We are delighted to partner with Manulife, a leading global insurer in Asia. We see many complementary opportunities to provide various leading protection and savings products to our customers, helping individuals and families achieve peace of mind when it comes to health coverage and retirement savings."

Roy Gori, President and Chief Executive Officer, Manulife Asia, said: “The strength and vision of DBS and Manulife are highly complementary, particularly our shared focus on providing an extraordinary experience for our customers. DBS offers highly attractive distribution capabilities, an extensive customer base, and proven bancassurance capabilities.  We are excited by the prospect of expanding our relationship.”

Under the agreement, there will be an initial payment by Manulife to DBS of USD 1.2 billion^[3], which Manulife intends to fund with internal resources. This payment will be amortised by both parties over 15 years. There will also be ongoing, variable payments, which are based on the success of the partnership, and Manulife expects the agreement to be accretive to Core EPS in 2017. The initial payment for this regional agreement is expected to reduce Manulife’s regulatory capital ratio^[4] by 10 points on or before 1 January 2016.

A slide presentation is available at www.manulife.com/investorrelations

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What will happen to the insurance products/policies that I have bought previously?

   There will be no change to the policies you have purchased and continue to maintain. As long as you continue to service your policy, you can rest assured that you will continue to enjoy the product benefits, per the terms and conditions of your policy. DBS and our product providers are committed to ensuring that you continue to receive the high level of service and support from your existing provider.

2. Will there be any changes to the claims process?

   There will be no change to the claims process. As long as your policy is in force, you can raise a claim as you normally would with the insurance company that underwrites your policy.

3. Who can I contact if I have questions relating to my insurance products/policies?

   You can contact your relationship manager if you have further queries. Alternatively, you can also contact our customer service team at 1800 111 1111 or visit your nearest DBS/POSB branch.

¹ Source: Forbes Global 2000 Leading Companies – 7 May 2014
² Towers Watson MPF Express: as at 30 September 2014
³ Initial payment of SGD 1.6 billion has been converted to USD at 0.7351 USD/SGD (Source: Bloomberg as at 7 April 2015)
⁴ Refers to The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s Minimum Continuing Capital and Surplus Requirements ratio