Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) Hong Kong is looking to grow its wealth income this year by fivefold as compared to 2023, says the bank’s CEO Wang Ke during a media briefing on May 15.
“That [gives us a] meaningful target. Though I cannot continue to grow at that neck breaking pace going forward, but [it is] still [a] very meaningful growth,” Wang says, noting that OCBC Hong Kong’s wealth business and customer flow income will be the two key areas driving the bank’s non-interest income.
According to OCBC Hong Kong’s annual report, net fee and commission income from wealth management in FY2025 was HK$122 million ($20 million), or about 7% of the bank's total net fee and commission income of HK$1.79 billion. The bank's net fee and commission income from wealth management in FY2023 was HK$59 million.
Wealth management fee income, according to OCBC in this instance, only refers to fees earned from customers investing in funds. It does not include fees from other products such as insurance, foreign exchange, or structured investments by wealth management customers.
In February, OCBC group CEO Tan Teck Long unveiled his new corporate strategy for the group titled “The Next Frontier.” In his strategy, Tan singled out wealth management as a key focus, with Singapore and Hong Kong serving as twin wealth hubs.
As part of this push, Josephine Lee, OCBC Hong Kong’s head of consumer financial services says the bank is looking to hire an additional 30 to 50 relationship managers this year. This will expand the bank’s pool of relationship managers by 30%.
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While the ongoing tensions in the Middle East might have spurred investors to move their capital to safe havens such as Hong Kong, Wang says OCBC Hong Kong has yet to see significant capital come over.
“But I think this implication will be a more long-term implication,” Wang says. “I personally believe and am quite certain that it will benefit Hong Kong, even Singapore, as a financial centre. So, probably the implication is more on the medium- and long- term.”
Wang revealed the target during an update on the OCBC Hong Kong’s performance in 1Q2026. OCBC Hong Kong’s revenue for the quarter grew by 18% y-o-y to HK$2.2 billion. The bank’s profit and profit before tax for 1Q2026 is up 31% and 90% y-o-y respectively, while its wholesale banking business’s collaboration with Asean grew 17% y-o-y.
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OCBC Hong Kong’s wealth management income grew by 1.5 times y-o-y, driven by corporate wealth income going up by more than three times. Premier banking customers grew 22% y-o-y while offshore premier banking customers grew 34% y-o-y. Investment and insurance income went up by 60% and 38% y-o-y respectively.
The bank’s current accounts and savings account (Casa) grew by more than 19% y-o-y between FY2025 and FY2024, above the market average where total deposits only grew by 11.8% over the same period.
“From the same period of last year, we have seen across board growth across all of our business lines in Hong Kong. CFS (consumer financial services), EMB (emerging business) and wholesale banking. Every business line is growing,” Wang says.
Wang Ke, Head of Greater China and OCBC Hong Kong CEO. Photo: OCBC Hong Kong
Investments in technology on track
OCBC Hong Kong’s Wang says the bank is roughly on track to complete its investment target of spending HK$1.5 billion to upgrade its technology and facilities.
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“If you recall, that amount [of] HK$1.5 billion. Roughly HK$900 million is for the IT technology investment. The rest was for our workplace upgrade. For the HK$900 million investment, we are on track to complete that by the end of this year as we have been heavily investing in core banking, digital channel and the back-off[ice] system as well,” Wang says.
“For the workplace investment, given [that] we [have] just [moved to] a new building, we are adjusting the schedule a little bit,” Wang adds, referencing OCBC Hong Kong’s office at Kai Tak, which was opened in December 2024. “So, given that, we may have a small gap in completing that investment, but it’s not significant.”
First announced in 2024, the investment was part of the bank’s push to improve customer and staff experience by upgrading its technology, platforms and products across greater China by 2026. Wang says the bank will continue to invest in technology going forward amid the rapid developments taking place in AI.
“We will continue to invest in our data infrastructure [and] make sure we have the robust database to support the AI development,” Wang says, adding that the bank is looking to apply the latest AI technology models to augment their capabilities to serve customers and raise internal staff productivity.
