Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) announced on July 11 that Tan Teck Long will be appointed its group CEO on Jan 1, 2026, succeeding Helen Wong, who is retiring on Dec 31.
Tan, who has been head of global wholesale banking since joining OCBC in March 2022, has been appointed the additional role of deputy CEO, effective immediately.
Following her retirement, Wong, 64, will remain the chairman of OCBC China and a director of OCBC Hong Kong, two banking subsidiaries.
Since May this year, Tan, 54, has been chairing the OCBC Strategic Resilience Group (SRG), whose objective is to “calibrate OCBC’s position given the continually evolving global paradigm, strengthen the bank’s resilience and improve the long-term sustainability of businesses by seeking new growth engines”, according to a July 11 press release.
In China, Tan serves as a director on the boards of Bank of Ningbo and Maxwealth Fund Management Company, both affiliated with OCBC.
Wong joined OCBC in February 2020 as deputy president and head of global wholesale banking before becoming group CEO in April 2021. According to OCBC, Wong has been spending more personal time in Hong Kong, where her family is based, since the start of the year.
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Andrew Lee, chairman of OCBC Group’s Board of Directors, says: “The Board reluctantly accepted Helen’s request to retire to spend more time with her family. We thank her for agreeing to stay on to continue providing stewardship as Chair of our China Board and a director of the Hong Kong Board, given her vast experience and deep knowledge of Greater China.”
Lee says the board “unanimously agreed” that Tan is “the best candidate to take the helm”.
“He has demonstrated sterling leadership that goes beyond growing the wholesale banking business; as chair of the OCBC Strategic Resilience Group, he has shown the ability to zero in on the critical issues, be forward-thinking and act decisively. With Teck Long’s appointment, there will be no disruption to OCBC’s corporate strategic direction of becoming an integrated financial services powerhouse,” says Lee in a press release.
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Tan joined OCBC from DBS Bank, where his last appointment was group chief risk officer. Tan has more than 30 years of banking experience, including senior positions leading corporate banking business and risk management function globally.
Tan holds a Master of Business Administration from University of Manchester and a Bachelor of Accountancy from the National University of Singapore.
Under Tan’s leadership in the three years, the global wholesale banking division achieved a CAGR of about 20% in total income and 25% in net profit.
According to OCBC, revenue growth of about 35% and customer growth of more than 50% were recorded from capturing Greater China-Asean fund flows.
Seeing the potential in Technology, Media, and Telecommunications (TMT) companies, Tan built TMT industry specialist teams in China and Singapore, more than doubling the revenue in three years.
He substantially grew the syndicated loans in Hong Kong, propelling OCBC Hong Kong to third position on the Hong Kong Loan Syndication League Table from 11th, and grew the debt capital markets business to top the Singapore Dollar Bond League Table in 2024.
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In a press release, Tan says: “I thank the Board for granting me the honour of leading OCBC. Over the past three years, I have greatly enjoyed working hand-in-hand with so many talented individuals in OCBC to repeatedly achieve record business results, and launch several first-in-market initiatives.”
Tan adds: “Helen has laid down a firm foundation and I will be privileged to build on that. In many respects, a new season has begun for the world economy but the One OCBC Group approach Helen has led us in championing will remain strategically critical to capturing opportunities amid expanding Asean-Greater China connectivity.”
According to Tan, OCBC will now “double down” on pursuing “strong sustainable growth, innovation and people development”.
In May, OCBC announced a leadership reshuffle in its global wholesale banking franchise, effective Oct 1.
Elaine Heng, who is currently the group chief strategy and transformation officer, will succeed Linus Goh as OCBC’s head of global commercial banking. Goh, who first joined the bank in April 2004 as its head of international business, will retire on Sept 30.
Tan Yuen Siang, the bank’s head of global financial institutions, will join the global wholesale banking leadership team. Yuen Siang currently reports to Goh.
In their new roles, Heng and Yuen Siang will report to deputy CEO Tan.
Wong’s legacy
Since assuming the group CEO role in April 2021, Wong has achieved record profits for three consecutive years.
Strong growth was registered across all core pillars of banking, wealth management and insurance: CAGR has been 15% for banking net profit, 13% for wealth management income and 34% for the insurance profit contribution from Great Eastern Holdings.
Wong also successfully completed the acquisition and integration of Indonesia's Bank Commonwealth into OCBC Indonesia, and increased OCBC’s stake in Great Eastern Holdings from 88.44% to 93.72% via a Voluntary General Offer made in July 2024.
In February, she unveiled the largest capital return plan in OCBC’s history amounting to $2.5 billion, comprising special dividends and share buybacks over two years.
Wong says: “It has been a rewarding journey to lead OCBC, with its rich history and heritage. Playing a part in its transformation towards ever greater strength and resilience has been especially fulfilling. I am deeply grateful to the Board for their wise counsel, my management team for being such a great team, and all my colleagues for their commitment and dedication.”
Wong says she is “very pleased” to hand the baton over to Tan. “His bold leadership style, immense sense of responsibility and vision coupled with grit will steer OCBC confidently into the future. The synergies of our unique banking, wealth management, insurance and asset management franchise will be further maximised under Teck Long’s leadership.”
Shares in OCBC closed 15 cents higher, or 0.9% up, at $16.89 on July 11. OCBC shares have risen 1.5% year to date and 11.1% over the past year.
Photo: OCBC, Albert Chua/The Edge Singapore
