Bank of Singapore brand to define private bank for group
Conner led turnaround by defining “world class bank”
OCBC's focus on wealth management has become deep-rooted
Singapore, April 28th 2010: In an exclusive video interview with The Asian Banker in Singapore, OCBC Group CEO David Conner, discussed the path he took shaping an under-performing bank into his definition of a “world class bank”, including the acquisition of ING private bank Asia that he hopes will give the bank the skills needed to move away from being an acquisition target and solidly into the role of an acquirer in the industry. A full transcript of the interview is attached; the video interview is available at www.thebankingconversation.com.
Bank of Singapore brand to define private bank for group
With the Bank of Singapore brand, the private banking business acquired from ING has “the opportunity to run the business and have plenty of support and keep the business reasonably autonomous,” said Conner. “We have had to change some of our management processes in order to take on Bank of Singapore and make it work.”
Conner led turnaround by defining “world class bank”
“I made it clear from the very beginning that we were going to bring in a lot of changes, because while the base was there—strong capital, good name, reasonably healthy franchise—clearly the performance of the bank was sub-par,” said Conner. “We had to lift the performance.” Conner placed early focus on customers, products, innovation, risk management, productivity, quality, and employee development.
OCBC's focus on wealth management has become deep-rooted
“So the kernel of the idea was how we become a much more significant wealth management player,” said Conner. “It became very clear to me that wealth management is a significant opportunity in Singapore and around the region.” Conner’s strategy focused on improving wealth management product, aided by the Great Eastern insurance subsidiary and ING’s Asia private banking business.
The full interview is available at www.theasianbanker.com for editorial purposes. Use in parts is permitted only with attribution to The Asian Banker; use in full is prohibited without express permission from The Asian Banker.
