SINGAPORE (June 9): Due to the circuit breaker and social distancing measures in April to June, many processes had to be taken online.
OCBC Bank’s wealth advisory service was no exception. On April 18, the bank took its highly-regulated process complete with a comprehensive Financial Needs Analysis (FNA) and 50 pages of documents online.
As a result, the bank saw a 45% increase in the sale of wealth management products within the first 10 days of its virtual launch compared to 10 days before.
The products range from unit trusts to bancassurance products, and from structured investments and bonds to foreign exchange products.
During 1Q20, OCBC saw robust growth of 40% y-o-y in financial transactions. Some 60% of unit trusts were purchased digitally, showing a 2.5 times q-o-q growth in value. Investment amounts in the OCBC RoboInvest service grew 60% q-o-q, and an increase of 3.5 times y-o-y.
“While many customers are still accustomed to face-to-face interactions with our bankers, even after the Covid-19 outbreak, this virtual process will become a new normal. In the future, customers will have a choice at their convenience to decide the best mode of engagement for their financial needs,” says Sunny Quek, head of consumer financial services at OCBC Bank.
See also: Banks in Singapore can withstand multiple shocks: MAS
Shares in OCBC Bank closed 6 cents lower, or 0.6% down, at $9.70 on Tuesday.
