DBS Secures Landmark RMB Clearing Role

DBS has become the first Singapore bank appointed by the People’s Bank of China to serve as an RMB clearing bank, a milestone that materially strengthens the city-state’s role in offshore renminbi infrastructure and deepens DBS’ strategic relevance in regional capital flows. The approval was announced on Monday during the Singapore-China Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation meeting in Chongqing. The appointment comes as corporates and investors increasingly seek to diversify currency exposure and build resilience amid geopolitical and rate volatility. Clearing bank status gives DBS direct access to onshore RMB liquidity, enabling more efficient settlement and broader cross-border usage of the currency across trade, investment, and treasury activities. Holistic Onshore-Offshore RMB Offering With direct access to China’s onshore RMB pools, DBS can now deliver a more integrated RMB proposition, spanning payments, liquidity management, and access to RMB-denominated instruments across both onshore and offshore markets. Leveraging Singapore’s position as a global foreign exchange hub, the bank aims to offer clients improved liquidity access, enhanced settlement options, and greater flexibility in capital and risk management. OTC Bond Market Approval Widens Investor Access In parallel, DBS has received approval to operate in China’s onshore over-the-counter bond market. This allows the bank to facilitate onshore bond trading while providing custody services offshore, streamlining access for overseas investors and improving trading efficiency in China’s domestic bond market. The latest approvals extend DBS’ long-standing participation in China’s cross-border financial infrastructure. DBS China has been a direct participant in the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System since 2015, while DBS Singapore was admitted as an overseas direct participant in September 2025, reinforcing the bank’s end-to-end RMB settlement capabilities. From Panda Bonds to Global Investor Channels DBS is already a leading foreign underwriter in China’s Panda Bond market, supporting international issuers seeking RMB funding. On the investment side, it enables offshore participation in onshore RMB assets through channels such as Bond Connect, interbank bond market settlement agency services, and QFII-RQFII programmes, contributing to the gradual integration of China’s capital markets with the global financial system. Implications for Issuers and Investors Lim Soon Chong, Group Head of Global Transaction Services at DBS, said: «As companies seek to build financial resiliency and diversify their currency risk, this appointment ensures that we can deliver deeper liquidity and enhanced settlement capabilities to multiple clients, including corporates, investors, and respondent banks.» Andrew Ng, Group Head of Global Financial Markets at DBS, added: «This will create a more seamless bridge between what we can do for them in on– and offshore RMB markets… enabling greater market access for issuers and investors alike – allowing them to tap RMB opportunities with greater confidence and agility.»