Aberdeen Asset Management Asia said on Monday it recently bought shares in Southeast Asia’s largest bank DBS <DBSM.SI>, saying management has embarked on a strategy that may succeed in realising the bank’s potential.

Aberdeen, which manages US$69 billion ($95 billion) in Asian assets, holds large stakes in Singapore lenders Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp <OCBC.SI> and United Overseas Bank <UOBH.SI>. But it has not held DBS shares for nearly a decade.

Aberdeen bought around US$2 million worth of DBS shares last month, said sources familiar with the matter, who declined to be identified because they were not authorised to speak to media.

“We recently initiated a small position in DBS for our Singapore country funds following a couple of meetings with the new CEO in February and April this year,” Aberdeen strategist Peter Elston said in response to a Reuters query.

“We had previously avoided DBS, feeling it deserved its discount to the other two... However, we are now hearing the right noises from management in terms of a strategy to realise the bank’s still considerable potential,” he added.

Piyush Gupta, who joined DBS as CEO in November last year, wants to expand in Southeast Asia and India to lessen the bank’s dependence on Hong Kong and Singapore for most of its earnings.

He also plans to add hundreds of relationship managers to cater to Asia’s growing ranks of mass affluent and has hired high profile Morgan Stanley <MS.N> banker Tan Su Shan to head its private banking arm.