Client engagement and partnerships to support the sustainability journeys of individuals, SMEs and large corporations.
In our more than 90 years of history, stewardship has always been important to OCBC. We believe that collective action is necessary to drive change, which is why we actively engage all our customers in tackling the climate crisis. From individuals to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to large corporates, each segment of our customer base across markets is different. Hence, we make it a point to understand their specific needs and pain points, then address these issues with tailored financing and investment solutions to truly move the needle towards net zero.This is in line with our purpose to help individuals and businesses across communities achieve their aspirations by providing innovative financial services that meet their needs.
Catalysing sustainable finance commitments
Our efforts to provide tailored sustainable financing and investment solutions have produced tangible results across all our client segments. In 2022, our key achievements included:
- SME and corporate customers – Over SGD10 billion (USD7.3 billion) in new sustainable financing commitments made in 2022 to bring total commitments to SGD44 billion by 31 December 2022, well on track to achieve our target of SGD50 billion by 2025.
- Corporate customers – Extended close to 100 green and sustainability-linked loans and acted as advisor for over 50 of them.
- Retail customers – SGD2.87 billion in Eco-Care loans booked in 2022. The value of OCBC Eco-Care Loans extended in 2022 quadrupled from 2021. Currently, 1 in 5 home, car and renovation loans are Eco-Care loans.
- High and ultra-high net-worth clients – At our private banking subsidiary Bank of Singapore (BOS), we expanded fund offerings to offer clients exposure to a more diverse range of sustainability funds across various sustainability themes including food scarcity, water and climate change.
OCBC Eco-Care loans launched at end March 2021, covering home, renovation and car loans. Eco-Care Car loan customers are given three months of free charging credits at over 700 Charge+ charging points across Singapore.
Tailoring solutions for diverse needs
We are not the first nor the only financial institution to offer sustainable financing and investment solutions. However, what sets us apart is that our solutions address the unique challenges faced by different segments of customers. We can identify these challenges because we make it a point to truly understand our customers’ needs and are able to leverage the wider ecosystem to solve these challenges.
Take our SME customers, for example. SMEs typically have less resources to devote to their sustainability journeys. To address this challenge, we launched the OCBC SME Sustainable Finance Framework in 2020 so that SMEs do not need to develop bespoke sustainable finance frameworks prior to applying for sustainable financing. We progressively rolled it out to SMEs in the region. By end-2022, it was available to SMEs in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia.
With regard to the everyday consumer, through our 2021 and 2022 OCBC Climate Index, we found that cost and convenience were two key factors holding them back from making sustainable choices. The solution: We launched OCBC Eco-Care loans at the end of March 2021, covering home, renovation and car loans, offering preferential rates. To provide convenience, Eco-Care car loan customers are also given three months of free charging credits at Charge+ charging points across Singapore.
We partnered our corporate customer SATS on the inaugural OCBC Sustainability Innovation Challenge to find solutions to SATS' sustainability challenges.
Enabling the transition to net zero
Given that sustainability is a growth pillar of our corporate strategy, our commitment to helping different customer segments transition to a net-zero economy is clear. We have clear commitments and targets. As part of our Net Zero by 2050 commitment, we will execute the key actions to meet the science-based decarbonisation targets that we set for six key sectors in our commercial and corporate lending portfolio in May 2023 and accelerate sustainable financing efforts towards our target of SGD50 billion by 2025. Partnerships continue to be invaluable, and we will take the lead in fostering a vibrant ecosystem, bringing our customers and other stakeholders together to collaborate on innovative solutions.
But I think, it first starts from within OCBC. One of the key pillars of OCBC’s corporate strategy is our "One Group" approach – working together and leveraging the strengths of the entire group across markets. This culture of cooperation and togetherness extends to sustainability. It is truly a group-wide effort and I believe that this is key to creating lasting impact for our clients and the community, for now, and beyond.
OCBC is the longest established Singapore bank, formed in 1932 from the merger of three local banks. It is one of the world’s most highly-rated banks, with Aa1 by Moody’s and AA- by both Fitch and S&P. OCBC is the second largest financial services group in Southeast Asia by assets. The Group’s key markets are Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Greater China. It has over 410 branches and representative offices in 19 countries and regions.
