OCBC’s Post

How will the leaders of OCBC chart the course ahead? Group CEO Helen Wong shares her perspective. For more insights, read the full Annual Report here: https://lnkd.in/gJ-TecfF

2023 marked a great year for us across all business fronts. We are focused on leveraging OCBC’s strengths, in line with our ambition to be Asia’s leading financial services partner for a sustainable future. Read the full report to learn about our record year: https://lnkd.in/g42wzVr7

What would it be like to step into the shoes of the first person to have ever walked on both North and South poles?   As part of the Inspiring Leaders series, colleagues from across the OCBC Group met with Sir Robert Swan, Founder of 2041 Foundation. An intrepid explorer, Robert had expeditions to both poles within a span of 3 years, between 1986 and 1989.   Robert shared his story of resilience and how his expeditions allowed him to witness firsthand the devasting effects of climate change. “You can't walk to the North Pole anymore because there is no more ice. If anybody ever says to you, ‘well I'm not too sure global warming's happening’, send them to me and I'll take them to swim to the North Pole.”    Robert’s son, Barney Swan, CEO of ClimateForce, was also invited to share on his work to restore 527 acres of the world’s oldest rainforest. Together with Rajeev Peshawaria, CEO of Stewardship Asia Centre, they discussed matters relating from the board room to the living room – from how companies are positioned to make the change, to how to inspire hope with the loved ones at home.   Hope that every little action counts towards a sustainable future. And that resilience to press on despite all the challenges will make an impact.   The Inspiring Leaders Series is a platform for us to showcase authentic leaders who have overcome adversities with courage and resilience. Through these sharing sessions such as this, we aim to inspire and motivate our colleagues to be better leaders.

This National Volunteer Month, we want to share some of our meaningful initiatives in the last couple of months. In 2023, we clocked close to 60,000 volunteer hours by more than 16,000 staff across the region, we’ve made an impact on more than 208,000 individuals. Join us and make a difference in the community, for now and beyond. #OCBCCares

The OCBC that you know is actually OCBC Group, which includes our subsidiaries Great Eastern, Bank of Singapore and Lion Global Investors. Together, we offer our customers a suite of services from banking and wealth management to insurance and asset management as One Group. Learn more about The Strengths of One Group in our Annual Report: https://lnkd.in/g42wzVr7

The message was clear at OCBC’s Global Corporate Banking General Manager Conference: we will go further to deliver more value and impact for our clients. This annual event brought together senior colleagues from across our global network to leverage the collective strength of the One Group franchise.   The possibilities of “Winning as One” for OCBC were emphasised throughout the three-day summit in Singapore, led by our General Managers from key overseas markets such as USA, UK, China and Australia. Local insights and in-depth expertise were exchanged to gain global perspectives. Additionally, renowned experts, Dr. Gregor Lim-Lange and Crystal Lim-Lange from Forest Wolf were also invited to guide us in developing empowering mindsets for transformative collaboration.   Powered by the collective resources of the Group, OCBC stands ready to support our clients’ aspirations across borders guided by our Purpose, Values, and Ambition – for now and beyond. 

What is #resilience, and why does it matter?   Resilience goes beyond bouncing back from significant setbacks. It is also about developing everyday resilience to maintain peak performance consistently. At OCBC, we empower our leaders by equipping them with the skills and tools to build resilience. It’s important that they take care of themselves in adversity, thrive in their day-to-day, and actively contribute to our shared #purpose: Enable people and communities to achieve their aspiration.   We were honoured to have Professor Jean-François Manzoni, President of IMD and Nestlé Chaired Professor of Leadership and Organizational Development, to navigate an insightful discussion on how leaders can make resilience one’s superpower.   Our senior leaders had the opportunity to examine barriers to resilience and gained insights into how resilience impacts their leadership style. They also explored practical exercises to enhance this superpower, such as focusing attention on things within one’s circle of influence, remembering that failure is part of the journey to success and taking stock of things we are grateful for, such as the perceptive sharing, the endless laughter and our leaders’ willingness to learn.   Looking forward to our leaders translating the invaluable learnings from this session into actionable steps, propelling them towards becoming even better leaders.   #OpportunityStartsHere #OCBCCareers 

The OCBC SME Index remained contractionary at 49.7 for the fifth consecutive quarter in 1Q 2024, although it was up 0.2 from 4Q 2023. It will likely remain flat before a gradual upturn towards the second half of this year. The turnaround in global electronics and a positive outlook for ASEAN economies are expected to positively impact the outward-oriented sectors in Singapore. However, downside risks do remain with sluggish domestic consumption and export growth from the Chinese market amid lingering geopolitical tensions. 51% of the 1,200 SME business owners surveyed in the 1Q 2024 OCBC SME Business Outlook poll expect their businesses to perform better over the next six months, more optimistic than the previous quarter.

We will be listing our fourth exchange traded fund (ETF)—the Lion-OCBC Securities APAC Financials Dividend Plus ETF—on 13 May 2024. This is the world’s first ETF to track the APAC financial sector and a collaboration between our brokerage, OCBC Securities, and our asset management arm, Lion Global Investors. The initial offer period will be from 11 April to 3 May 2024. #ETF #Investing #Trading

OCBC is committed to driving the transition to a sustainable, low-carbon future. As a leading financial institution in Asia, our purpose is to enable people and communities to realise their climate aspirations. Centered around our commitment to support our clients in their transition towards a Net Zero ASEAN and Greater China, we offer our clients across the region innovative sustainable and transition advisory and financing solutions tailored to their needs. We are honoured to receive the Award for Innovation – Loan Structure at the Environmental Finance Sustainable Debt Awards 2024, recognising OCBC’s market innovation and leadership in sustainable finance. The award was granted to Singapore’s first green financing solution comprising green loan and carbon credits with Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT). As part of decarbonisation efforts, the S$419 million green loan offering with carbon credit will enable Tampines 1 - which has obtained BCA Green Mark GoldPlus certification - to make progress towards carbon-neutral status encompassing all energy-related emissions. The carbon credits, sourced through OCBC’s Emissions Trading Desk, will go towards investing in Verra or Gold standard certified carbon reduction nature-based projects. The first-to-market green financing solution would not have been possible without the cross-functional collaboration between OCBC’s Global Corporate Banking, Sustainability Office and Global Markets teams, working seamlessly to provide our clients a one-stop solution to support their decarbonisation journey. These recognitions are a testament to OCBC’s dedication as a trusted partner for our clients in their net zero journey through innovative financing solutions – for now, and beyond. (Photo credit: FCT)