The experienced banker Piyush Gupta from Citibank was Tuesday appointed the Chief Executive Officer by DBS Group, Southeast Asia's largest bank by assets. Presently, Mr. Gupta is CEO of Citi for South East Asia-Pacific, covering ASEAN, Australia, New Zealand and Guam.

The appointment of Mr. Gupta was described as 'perfect' for the growth of the Singapore lender's franchise, as he has broad-based banking experience, both in frontline and support functions.

Mr. Gupta, who initially had held leadership positions as country manager of Citi in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia, also successfully managed businesses in good and challenging times.

Apart from this, he also served on number of committees, like the Indonesian Government's Debt Restructuring Committee, Foreign Banks' Association in Indonesia and the Boards of AMCHAM Malaysia and Singapore.

DBS chairman Koh Bon Hwee expressed optimism that Mr. Gupta will contribute to the reinforcement of the bank's franchise, and grow its footprint in Asia.

It is astonishing that DBS has managed without any CEO since April, after the death of Richard Stanley, who was diagnosed with serious myelogenous leukaemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow, in late January this year.

Mr. Stanley passed away from an infection arising from his leukaemia treatment.