OCBC
For a case study of a bank in Singapore that is able to adapt rapidly to changing customer behaviour, one only need look at OCBC Bank, which once again wins Asiamoney’s award for best bank for SMEs.
Christie Chu, head of emerging business and commercial bank cash at OCBC, admits that 2020 was a tough year as banks across the board had to find innovative ways to prop up their clients and, in turn, their own businesses.
This was particularly important for OCBC, which says that every other SME banks with it in Singapore. The firm works with 130,000 SMEs in Singapore. Naturally, these businesses were a key focus for OCBC during the pandemic.
It focused on three things, all through a digital lens: helping some SMEs to simply survive and ride out the health crisis; helping others to find opportunities for growth, including overseas expansion; and making sure firms have access to banking services during Covid-19.
To help floundering SMEs survive, OCBC made numerous relief measures available such as temporary bridge loans, enhanced working capital loans, trade loans, loan insurance schemes, and payment deferrals on commercial property loans and business loans.