DBS Deploys Latest and Best-In-Class Network With Technology From Cisco Systems.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 5, 2000

New US$15 Million IP-based Network Will Provide Platform to

Expand Customer Services and Reach New Markets

Part of DBS' Strategy to E-Enable Entire Organization

DBS Bank, the largest bank in Southeast Asia, is investing US$15 million in technology from Cisco Systems to move its internal processes and applications to a new, next-generation Internet Protocol (IP) network.

The upgrade to the bank's enterprise-wide network is part of a strategy to e-enable the bank's networking infrastructure throughout Asia, expanding customer services and helping the bank reach new markets. The new IP-based network is one of the fastest in the financial industry in Southeast Asia, enabling media-rich content and applications to handle e-commerce, e-business, increased customer care and workforce optimization tools.

"Cisco's expertise, based on its own deployment of web-based solutions, has been critical in taking us to this new level of Internetworking," said Yee Jee Hong, Managing Director and Head of IT Group, DBS Bank. "We have established our leadership position today through a combination of leading-edge technology adoption and close attention to customer service and now we are preparing for the next phase, the total e-enablement of the DBS organization with the aim of becoming a leader in the Internet economy.

"This new, next-generation network brings the power of advanced Internet-style networking to the heart of our organization. Our new IP-based network will enable the efficient delivery of superior e-business applications to our customers, whether they're corporations or consumers, twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week. It means that our banking products are as accessible as possible. It lets our own employees work more efficiently, boosts the responsiveness of our customer service, and enables the creation of new products and services that will be tailored to run automatically from their point of access all the way through to the back-end processing.

"Our intention has always been to best serve all customers through the widest range of delivery channels, whether automated teller machines, Internet Kiosks, mobile banking, or our online services. The new technology we've worked hard to implement here ensures that all our customers - computer-savvy or not - experience the benefits of our high performance infrastructure. So when we talk about speeding up our network and ensuring scalability, we're actually boosting all our available banking channels through our transition to the e-world as e-business becomes more pervasive," added Yee Jee Hong.

The first phase of the new network infrastructure is being deployed by Datacraft Asia, a Cisco Gold Certified Partner, and will boast best-in-class networking equipment based on IP. The new network will offer a 10-fold increase in bandwidth in the WAN core, 80-fold increase in bandwidth in the bank's two data centers and a 100-fold increase in bandwidth to the desktops. The network will enable DBS to deploy next-generation services to its employees, suppliers, partners and customers throughout Asia. This new network will enable New World business applications, which are characterized by global availability, critical realtime applications in the trading environments, bandwidth-intensive webcasting applications, Internet-enabled contact centers and e-learning.

"The Internet economy is creating an environment where today's financial leaders will need to extend their strategies to exploit IT in order to compete with new global competitors and virtual enterprises whose only existence is online. As more 'bricks and mortars' are replaced by 'clicks and orders' the demand on today's financial organization to leverage advanced technology has never been so pressing," said Lou McElwain, Managing Director, ASEAN, Cisco Systems. "A comprehensive Internet strategy based on the latest technological advantages is now critical to business survival. DBS Bank has been a good example of a pioneer in the Internet, its strategy to move forward will ensure it stays in that position and establishes itself as a true global player."

DBS was the first bank to introduce Internet banking in Singapore in 1997, with an innovative security solution and, in 1999, was the first bank to introduce the Internet Kiosk. Today it has 62 web-based interactive touch-screen terminals offering a range of secure, online banking services. The DBS website was recently rated the top Internet Banking website in Asia Pacific by London-based web auditing firm, the Lafferty Group.

Cisco believes a complete banking strategy must include sound tactics for implementing new delivery channels. It must provide competitive customer care through Internet-enabled call centers and online interfaces, and it must ensure fast delivery of new products and services. The strategy should also include suppliers. Integrating the bank's ordering and inventory systems with its suppliers can provide significant cost savings and allow business to run more efficiently. The third area of Internet strategy must focus on the enterprise. Applying Internet technologies to internal operations (workforce optimization) not only provides huge cost savings, but also creates a more productive workforce.

Cisco's technology powers some of the biggest financial institutions in the world including ANZ, AXA, Citicorp., Banco do Brasil, Bank of America, Bank of China, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Chase Manhattan, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Merrill Lynch and WestPac.

About DBS Bank

DBS Group Holdings is the holding company for the largest banking group in Southeast Asia. Its flagship DBS Bank in Singapore is ranked among the top banks in Asia, the 70th largest in the world, a recognized leader in Internet banking and e-commerce and the market leader in Singapore-dollar loans and deposits.

Beyond Singapore, the DBS Group serves corporate, institutional and retail customers through subsidiaries in Hong Kong, The Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand, and international banking services through a network of overseas branches and offices. For more information, check out our website at http://www.dbs.com.

About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. Cisco news and information are available at http://www.cisco.com.

Note to Editors: Cisco, Cisco Systems and the Cisco Systems logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.