DBS CEO Calls Repricing of AI Financing Risk ‘Healthy’
Southeast Asia's largest bank has originated S$25 billion in AI-related deals this year, mostly for hardware infrastructure, as investors demand higher returns and tighter structures.
You have probably watched a sector pour billions into data centres, chip fabs and memory arrays while wondering when the bill comes due. DBS Group Holdings, Southeast Asia's largest bank by assets, has now originated approximately S$25 billion in AI-related financing deals in 2026, and its chief executive says the market is finally asking the right questions. Speaking to Bloomberg Television, Piyush Gupta's successor – who took the helm in March 2025 – described a repricing underway as investors demand higher returns and examine financing structures more closely. She called the shift healthy because it forces companies to prove that spending on AI infrastructure will generate sufficient long-term returns to repay lenders and bondholders while providing returns to equity investors.
The bank frequently acts as lead manager for syndicated loans, which involve multiple lenders jointly providing financing, while retaining only a small portion of the loans on its own books. Most of the financing supports hardware infrastructure: semiconductors, memory chips and data centres. PwC estimates that cumulative data centre spending across Asia-Pacific could reach US$8 billion, though the source does not specify the timeframe. Rising interest rates and higher bond yields have increased the cost of financing large-scale AI infrastructure projects, and the CEO warned that financially weaker companies could face credit rating downgrades as markets reassess their exposure to AI-related investments.
What the repricing means
The remarks came on the sidelines of a DBS conference focused on AI and geopolitical developments. During her opening remarks, the CEO highlighted significant interest rate volatility and sharp fluctuations in AI-related stocks, which have contributed to uncertainty among equity investors. She also expressed concern about escalating conflicts in the Middle East and those involving Russia, citing growing geopolitical tensions as another source of pressure on financial markets. "Frankly, I find it exhausting just to look at so much tension and so much stress in the system," she said.
Investors now want assurance that spending on AI infrastructure will generate sufficient long-term returns. The CEO described the repricing as healthy because it ensures that large financial commitments remain sustainable. The shift matters because stock market gains remain concentrated among a handful of companies, and major technology companies continue to invest billions in AI infrastructure even as the cost of capital rises.
DBS's own AI results
The CEO has made AI a key priority since taking the role in March 2025. Global Finance named DBS the World's Best AI Bank for 2025, recognising its adoption of AI across its operations. According to the CEO, the bank is beginning to see results from major AI initiatives aimed at improving internal workflows and processes. These include growth in fee income and faster account openings, although she did not disclose specific figures.
Separately, the CEO said DBS's wealth management business continues to benefit from long-term trends, including rising wealth creation in Asia, deepening capital markets and intergenerational wealth transfers. While market volatility may affect short-term fund flows, she said growth in net new money has remained consistently strong.
What this means for L&D and innovation leaders
The repricing of AI financing risk signals a shift from speculative enthusiasm to disciplined capital allocation. For learning and development leaders, the implication is clear: organisations that cannot demonstrate measurable returns from AI investments – whether in infrastructure or capability building – will face higher costs and greater scrutiny. The DBS example shows that even a bank recognised as the world's best AI bank by Global Finance is framing its AI work in terms of fee income growth and faster account openings, not abstract transformation narratives.
If your organisation is building AI literacy programmes or deploying generative AI tools, the question investors and boards will ask is the same one DBS's CEO says lenders now demand: what are the sufficient long-term returns, and how do you prove them? The repricing is healthy because it forces teams to move beyond pilot theatre and show that AI spending – whether on compute or on people – generates outcomes that justify the capital. For innovation and digital transformation leaders, this means tying every AI initiative to a measurable business metric and preparing to defend those metrics as the cost of capital rises and geopolitical volatility persists.
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