This article was originally published in the Brand Finance Banking 500 Journal 2026.
OCBC is among Southeast Asia’s most valuable banking brands, with its brand value rising to USD6.8 billion in the Brand Finance Banking 500 2026 rankings. In an increasingly interconnected financial landscape shaped by cross-border flows, evolving customer expectations, and the need for seamless service delivery, competitive advantage in banking is increasingly defined by the ability to integrate capabilities across markets, products, and customer segments. Guided by its “One Group” strategy, OCBC has strengthened its position by unifying its brand, aligning its banking, wealth, and insurance businesses, and leveraging its ASEAN–Greater China network to deliver more cohesive and efficient customer experiences. Ms. Koh Ching Ching, Head of Group Brand and Communication, OCBC, shares how integration at scale is enabling the bank to unlock synergies, enhance customer relevance, and drive sustainable growth across the region.
Interview with Ms. Koh Ching Ching
OCBC's brand value grew by 7% to USD6.8 billion this year. What were the key drivers of this growth?
Head of Group Brand and Communications,
OCBC
This growth reflects our resilient business performance despite a challenging and uncertain macro
environment. Against this backdrop, OCBC Group remained focused on supporting individuals through different life stages and businesses across different economic cycles.
In 2025, we delivered another year of robust results, with profit before tax surpassing SGD9 billion (approximately USD6.7 billion) for the first time, driven by steady growth across our Banking, Wealth Management and Insurance businesses. Continued efforts to harness our collective strengths as one integrated financial services group have also supported this momentum.
Branding efforts are aligned with our strategy. In 2023 we launched a unified brand with a refreshed logo and new tagline “For Now, and Beyond” across our core markets in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Greater China. Legal name changes were also made for key subsidiaries.
This was more than a visual refresh - it signalled our commitment as OneGroup to enable our customers to realise their aspirations.
A unified brand does not mean uniform execution. While our overarching brand direction is consistent, we work closely with our local teams to ensure communication and offerings resonate authentically in each market. This includes tailoring creative approaches, refining product propositions to reflect local needs and behaviours, and grounding our messaging in local insight
This combination of strong Group direction and thoughtful localisation has proven effective. It enables us to maintain a consistent identity while remaining relatable and trusted in every market we serve. With our solid foundation as an integrated financial services group, we will accelerate growth.
To do so, we are guided by our new corporate strategy, aptly named ‘The Next Frontier’. It will see us making four strategic shifts to capitalise on megatrends to accelerate growth:
- Asia shift: Tap rising Asia trade, investment and wealth flows
- Franchise shift: Deepen core market franchise to capture long-term growth
- Tech shift: Embed customer centricity powered by ADD (AI, Digital, Data) and growth tech sectors
- Net-zero shift: Continue to support green transitions
With a strong presence across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and China, how does OCBC ensure its brand remains consistent while delivering a personalised banking experience across diverse markets?
Consistency entails having a unified and consistent visual identity. Our unified OCBC identity, introduced in 2023 across our core markets, creates instant recognition, strengthens trust and signals to customers that they can expect the same high-quality, customer centric OCBC experience wherever they are.
However, visual alignment is only one part of the equation. Our brand is deeply rooted in three foundational elements: Purpose, Values and Brand Promise. Our Purpose, “to enable people and communities to realise their aspirations,” defines the fundamental reason for our being and guides the Group.
Our Values - Lasting Value, Integrity, Forward Looking, Respect, and Responsibility - shape our behaviours and guide us in daily decision making. Meanwhile, our Brand Promise - to be Reliable, Smart & Knowledgeable, and Take a Long-term View - represents the value we aim to bring to customers.
With these foundational elements, our colleagues have a clear compass. They do what is right for our customers, and they consider the local context when doing so. This is where personalised experiences unfold. With advancements in technology, we are harnessing AI, Digital and Data holistically to reach the right customer, with the right product, at the right time.
A consistent brand does not mean that we take a cut-and-paste approach. In fact, a customer centric approach requires us to do quite the opposite.
As competition intensifies among regional banks offering similar propositions, where do you believe OCBC’s brand is most clearly differentiated in the eyes of customers across your business today?
OCBC’s differentiation lies in the collective strength of the Group. While strongly associated with banking, our capabilities extend well beyond it. Our insurance arm, Great Eastern Holdings, is the longest established life insurer in Singapore and Malaysia with a more than 16 million customers. Lion Global Investors is a leading asset management company in Southeast Asia, while Bank of Singapore operates as a global private bank.
Together, these businesses position OCBC uniquely as an integrated financial services group offering comprehensive solutions to our customers spanning banking, wealth management, insurance and asset management.
To further reinforce this collective strength, we have incorporated the line “an OCBC company” into the logos of Bank of Singapore and Great Eastern. This helps communicate that while each entity excels in its own domain, they are all integral parts of the larger, integrated OCBC Group committed to delivering seamless, holistic value to customers.
Our wealth management franchise illustrates the strength of our integrated model, allowing us to serve customers across the entire wealth continuum. For example, our consumer banking franchise in OCBC Bank supports seniors through initiatives such as the OCBC SeniorCare programme in Singapore. One aspect of the programme involves the deployment of dialect-speaking staff in branches.
For seniors who are high and ultrahigh- net-worth customers, Bank of Singapore supports their succession planning and wealth transfer needs, while Great Eastern’s products offer seniors protection and dependable payouts. Together, this whole-of-wealth proposition highlights the synergies across the Group, built through deliberate and strategic development.
OCBC has a long heritage as Singapore’s longest-established bank. Our presence in other markets also run deep. We have been in Malaysia since 1917, starting from Penang, Melaka and Muar. In mainland China, we have maintained a continuous presence for 100 years.
Our logo captures this heritage. Its most recognisable element, a stylised representation of a traditional Chinese junk ship at sail, symbolises our brave and enterprising forefathers who sailed through difficult waters from China to Southeast Asia to build homes and businesses, benefiting many. It’s a reminder of the entrepreneurial and resilient spirit that continues to guide us today.
