OCBC banking on AI 

KUALA LUMPUR: OCBC Malaysia will utilise a combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and relationship managers (RMs) to grow its wealth management business, one of its main growth areas.

Managing director and head of consumer financial services Sammeer Sharma said the lender, which is headquartered in Singapore, saw a year-on-year growth of 56% in May in its in wealth income.

“We see wealth income doubling by 2030 or even, earlier,” he told StarBiz in an interview.

In line with this goal, the lender is looking to increase its RMs by more than 100 by 2028. In Singapore, it will hire six times more the amount of RMs over the next three years while going big on AI to capture the growing wealth pie in the city-state.

Likewise, OCBC Malaysia will at the same time continue to invest in AI and digital and data to enhance end-to-end customer journeys, creating scale across the entire ecosystem, Sammeer said.

He said currently, OCBC is using generative AI (GenAI) to train its RMs, across investment advisory, client management, product mastery and wealth planning.

Launched in Singapore in April for 900 of its wealth advisors, this GenAI-powered skills training programme was rolled out in Malaysia last month, replacing traditional one-on-one, supervisor-led training which can take up a lot more time.

Sammeer said OCBC is well positioned to capture Malaysia’s next wave of wealth growth because of several factors.

The lender has over 500 multi-asset offerings (358 unit trust funds, bonds, structured products across global currencies), with more than 80% meeting sustainability ratings, he said.

Its offerings also span across 11 major currencies and seven asset classes, covering wealth accumulation, preservation, and distribution, he added.

In Malaysia, the bank launched its flagship Premier Private Client Centre in Bangsar last year, for high-net-worth clients with at least RM3mil in assets under management.

The centre features an in-house dining experience, serving curated local cuisine straight from its fully functional on-site kitchen during clients meetings supported by a service team made up mainly of former airline crew members who maintain a high standard of professionalism, according to a release by the bank.

It also hosts exclusive, by-invitation-only events for clients, offering unique experiences such as private tastings, art showcases, and viewings with renowned experts and lifestyle privileges.

“The centre embodies our ‘One Group’ strategy, seamlessly integrating expertise from OCBC Bank, Bank of Singapore, Great Eastern, Lion Global Investors, and Pac Lease Bhd to address the full wealth continuum – from private wealth to business wealth needs,” Sammeer said.

Despite external issues such as the ongoing war in the Middle East, he said the bank was in a “very sweet spot”.

“For us, there has been negligible direct impact because we are in a very sweet spot due to the region we are operating in, but there will be a ripple effect, because there are industries, geographies and supply chains that will be impacted. The inflation lag is yet to be seen,” he added.

He also reckoned following the geopolitical stress owing to the Iran crisis, interest rates will generally hold, and hence, he does not see any further deterioration in the industry’s margins.

In Singapore, the bank is utilising its agentic AI platform to help transform its customer due diligence process as part of its wealth management ambitions.

With this, the bank expects to accelerate the onboarding of wealthy customers while ensuring that strict risk management and compliance standards are met.

OCBC Singapore has also incorporated in its new application called OCBC WoW two avatars (Wendy and Wayne) which will deliver “hyper-personalised wealth management services on a real-time basis, 24/7” to clients. Sammeer said Malaysia is expected to replicate these agentic AI and avatars here next year.