Saturday, April 11, 2009

Mr Stanley, or 'Rich' as he was popularly known in the banking and finance sector, succumbed to acute myelogenous leukaemia, a cancer condition he was diagnosed with just in January.

DBS Group Holdings said he died at 8.36 am. In a statement to the Singapore Exchange, DBS said Mr Stanley's family 'kept vigil all night long and were by his side as he slipped away peacefully.'

The former Citibanker is survived by his wife, Ms Koh Li Peng and three children - a son doing his national service, a teenage daughter and a younger son.

Mr Stanley joined DBS in May last year and was diagnosed with leukaemia just nine months into his job.

News of his death surprised many, especially coming after DBS chairman Koh Boon Hwee had assured shareholders and investors on Thursday that the popular American is 'on track' to return to work after responding positively to treatment.

But a bank statement on Friday said that 'the unpredictability of the disease has led to severe complications due to infection' and Mr Stanley's condition had deteriorated rapidly.

'Unfortunately, his weakened immune system made him susceptible to infection. His condition rapidly deteriorated over the last 48 hours and this morning, he succumbed to the infection,' sid DBS on Saturday.

While Mr Stanley was on medical leave, DBS chairman Koh Boon Hwee took on an active management oversight role and has been working closely with the senior management team. The bank said that Mr Koh will continue to do so 'and there will be no change in the bank's strategic direction.'

Before he became ill, the native New Yorker presided over one of the most trying times in the DBS' history, which included the High Notes 5 structured product fiasco and DBS' decision to cut 900 jobs, or 6 per cent, of its staff at both its Singapore and Hong Kong units, its first mass layoff since 2001.