Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) has launched an upskilling programme to transform its mortgage specialists into certified wealth advisors.
The four-month programme is said to be the first of its kind, where mortgage specialists will go beyond advising home loans customers to providing wealth advisory services including investment and insurance solutions.
The programme will equip these specialists with product knowledge, fair dealing and product suitability for its customers. Participants will go through classroom training, attain the Capital Markets and Financial Advisory Services (CMFAS) certifications administered by the Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore, and receive support from the bank’s experts in investments, bancassurance and foreign exchange (forex).
Based on the bank’s statistics, home loan customers have twice as many products with the bank compared to those without a home loan and with assets under management (AUM) that’re 1.6 times higher.
The initiative also serves as a strategy to retain talent and is deemed to be a “logical next step” for the bank’s seasoned mortgage specialists.
“As it is, they are well-placed to support affluent customers as they can leverage their expertise in property – a key component of wealth portfolios. In addition, they are often the first touchpoint that customers have with OCBC, with one in four new-to-bank customers starting with a home loan,” says the bank.
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The first batch, comprising 15 specialists with an average tenure of nine years, has completed the programme and have stepped into their expanded roles on Oct 1.
In October 2017, DBS also announced that it would reskill 1,500 employees under its professional conversion programme (DBS PCP). These employees are from departments across DBS, such as back-end operations in consumer banking and institutional banking, as well as client-facing roles in branches.
"DBS began our digital transformation journey in 2014 and we believe that business transforms only when people do. Over the years, thousands of employees upskilled and took on new roles in the bank. More recently, we doubled down on our upskilling efforts to ensure that employees continue to stay relevant even as artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes operating models," says a spokesperson.
"This year, we have identified 12,000 employees for upskilling or reskilling, and they have commenced their respective learning roadmaps. These skills are not only on AI and data, but include business domain, change management (leading teams through change), soft skills (e.g. adaptability mindset, critical thinking) as well as on-the-job training," the spokesperson adds. "As AI levels the playing field, the real differentiator will be the capacity to connect the dots, to get relevant perspectives and collaborate widely, to be agile and nimble, and to have a growth mindset – all capabilities that will keep DBS resilient and adaptable to future uncertainties."
