Singapore - Singapore's DBS Group Holdings Ltd said its chief executive officer Richard Stanley, who was diagnosed with leukemia in late January, died Saturday morning. "After a brief fight, Rich passed on at about 8:45 (0045 GMT) this morning," DBS said.

Stanley's condition had deteriorated rapidly and he was in critical care Friday night, DBS said in an earlier statement to the Singapore Exchange.

Stanley, 48, had been responding to treatment and after two rounds of chemotherapy his doctors believed earlier this week that his cancer was in remission.

He had been diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukaemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow.

"Unfortunately the unpredictability of the disease has led to severe complications due to infection," DBS said.

DBS chairman Koh Boon Hwee had taken over Stanley's duties during his illness. DBS is South-east Asia's largest bank, by assets. (dpa)