Retiring OCBC CEO to spend more time with family in Hong Kong, but will not leave Singapore completely

CNA

4 days ago

SINGAPORE: OCBC's group chief executive officer Helen Wong will be retiring by the end of the year to spend more time with her family in Hong Kong – a reason she described on Friday (Aug 1) as a simple but 'very important' one.
However, she will not be leaving Singapore completely due to other commitments here, such as being a board director of Enterprise Singapore.
This was Ms Wong's first public comments on her sudden retirement after a nearly five-year period leading Singapore's second-largest bank.
Seated alongside her on Friday was her successor Tan Teck Long, who has over 30 years of experience in banking and joined OCBC in March 2022 as its head of global wholesale banking.
Following her retirement, Ms Wong will remain the chairman of OCBC China and a director of OCBC Hong Kong.
The 64-year-old took on the top job at OCBC in April 2021. Then, she was the first woman to head a Singapore bank.
Ms Wong said she had advised the board of her intention to retire early last year. The board "reluctantly" accepted her request to retire, OCBC had said in its statement on Jul 11.
'Because succession planning is a very serious thing. You cannot just say I want to retire, I go the next day. Nor can you say I go in six months... or one year. Everything remained normal when we plan on this,' she said.
Apart from searching internally, OCBC also conducted a 'comprehensive global search' and identified potential external candidates as well.
'At the end, the board … unanimously considered Teck Long as the most suitable candidate amongst all the candidates we have looked at,' she said, describing her successor as a 'key' member driving the bank's corporate strategy, such as leaning more on opportunities in the Southeast Asian region and Greater China.
Ms Wong had in 2022 led a corporate strategy refresh for OCBC by putting forward a plan to leverage OCBC's strength across Asean and Greater China through a 'one group' approach.
This is focused on providing an integrated customer experience across the financial group's business through collaboration across each of its functions.
'Teck Long, as you would expect, will refine our strategy. He's very deep in looking at what's happening to the business, to the world … and what we can continue to improve, and I'm sure he will share more details next year,' Ms Wong added.
To ensure a smooth transition, Mr Tan has since assumed the additional role of deputy CEO.
The 55-year-old said he has been working very closely with Ms Wong on several fronts as a member of the bank's senior team. He has also been chairing the bank's strategic resilience group, which looks at how OCBC can stay ahead in a changing world and seek new growth engines.
These experiences will pave a 'good ground' for the leadership transition slated for Jan 1, 2026, he told reporters, describing his appointment as a 'huge privilege'.
The incoming chief also said OCBC's focus on integration across various functions will serve as its 'unique' strength moving forward and thanked his predecessor for laying a strong foundation for the bank's future growth.
'We are … an integrated financial services group, so there's still a lot of synergies which can be built from working together in closer collaboration,' Mr Tan told reporters.
'I think Helen has put us on the right track with the 'one group' strategy … and this will serve as a strong foundation for us to chart the next chapter of growth.'
Drawing laughter from analysts who gathered at OCBC for an earning briefing, Ms Wong joked about her future plans in Hong Kong and Singapore.
'I will come back quite often... because I am still a board member of Enterprise Singapore (and) because I will have family in Singapore somehow,' she said, before quickly adding: 'I'm not getting married here. I'm not getting married in Hong Kong either.'
EARNINGS DIP AND UNCERTAIN OUTLOOK
OCBC on Friday reported a 7 per cent year-on-year drop in net profit to S$1.82 billion for the second quarter, largely due to lower net interest income amid a declining interest rate environment.
Net interest income fell 6 per cent year-on-year to S$2.28 billion, as net interest margin – a key profitability indicator for banks – declined 28 basis points to 1.92 per cent from 2.2 per cent the previous year.
Citing weaker interest rates ahead, OCBC is expecting its 2025 net interest income to be lower by a mid-single-digit percentage, and projected its net interest margin to be in the range of 1.9 to 1.95 per cent, versus around 2 per cent targeted in the previous quarter.
On the other hand, non-interest income grew 5 per cent year-on-year to S$1.26 billion on the back of better wealth fees and trading income, which more than offset lower insurance income.
The lender declared an interim dividend of S$0.41 a share, down from S$0.44 a share the year before.
Ms Wong said the bank delivered 'a resilient set of results' despite a 'rather complicated economic cycle'.
However, the outlook ahead remains challenging given evolving trade and monetary policies, as well as persistent geopolitical tensions.
The world has not seen the end of tariff-related impact, she added, citing the possibility of further fragmentation in global trade and potential inflationary impact from tariff shocks.
'These continue to cloud the operating environment in the second half, although we had a more calm first month (for) the second half,' she said.
OCBC remains 'long-term positive' on the region, where pockets of growth opportunities remain in the Southeast Asia and Greater China regions.
Over the past year, the bank and its subsidiary Great Eastern have been in the news over the former's bid to acquire a remaining stake in the insurer that it does not own and delist the latter.
This has not panned out entirely as a group of minority shareholders pushed back citing the need for a better offer. These shareholders also voted against a proposal to delist the insurer's stock at an extraordinary general meeting last month.
Trading in shares of Great Eastern has been suspended since July last year after its free float fell below 10 per cent following the voluntary general offer by OCBC.
Noting that there has been 'quite a lot of comments in the media' on the matter, Ms Wong said: 'If you ask me, I am happy. We are satisfied because we fulfilled our objective of gaining more economic interest in Great Eastern.'
She said the bank's objective when it launched its voluntary general offer in 2024 was to 'increase (its) stake in Great Eastern, with a view to delist'.
The bank managed to raise its stake in the insurer from 88.44 per cent to 93.72 per cent.
'If the increase was substantial enough to result in the delisting, we welcome it. It did not but it is also acceptable to us,' said Ms Wong.
Adding that the bank's strategy with Great Eastern 'has not changed', she said the insurer has all along played a key role in helping OCBC become a leading wealth management player in the region.
With its increased stake, OCBC will continue to 'accelerate the synergistic work' with Great Eastern in line with its approach as 'one integrated financial services group', Ms Wong added.