What the Singapore banking sector has become after the Asian Financial Crisis

From six local bank groups down to three.

According to Bank of America Merrill Lynch, post the Asian Financial Crisis, the Singapore banking industry consolidated from six local bank groups to three bank groups. At the same time, the government embarked on a five-year liberalization program to ease restrictions on foreign banks in order to promote a more globally competitive local banking sector.

Here's more from BofAML:

Players & its ownership
DBS - DBS sets itself apart from the other two local banks (UOB, OCBC) in terms of share ownership. 29.5% of DBS’ shares are owned by Temasek, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund. Temasek has stakes in other financial services institutions; it is the largest shareholder in Standard Chartered Bank, a competitor.

UOB - The UOB Group Chairman, Mr Wee Cho Yaw, exerts influence over 17% share of the bank. Mr Wee’s father was one of the founders of the predecessor bank. Mr Wee Cho Yaw’s son, Mr Wee Ee Cheong, is the current CEO.

OCBC - The Lee family exerts influence of nearly 19% of the shares. Lee Seng Wee was the Chairman of OCBC till 2003; his father was also the founder of the predecessor bank and the Lee Rubber Company.

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