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OCBC - SBB / News

SBB today - 600,000 shares bought at 22.24 ($13,360,269)

SBB today - 600,000 shares bought at 22.39 ($13,450,985)

OCBC ups ante on SME sustainability with S$25 billion financing target

Head of global commercial banking notes that this is the first time a bank in Asia has set a dedicated sustainable finance target for the SME segment

[SINGAPORE] OCBC has set a target to provide 12,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across its four core markets with sustainable financing by 2028, a move expected to lift loan commitments to S$25 billion.

This marks a step up from 2025, when the bank disbursed sustainable financing to 5,000 SMEs, with loan commitments totalling nearly S$13 billion.

About half of the SMEs served in 2025 were from Singapore, with Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia making up the remainder, in that order.

Looking ahead, the geographic split is expected to remain &ldquo about the same&rdquo , with broad-based growth across all four markets, said OCBC head of global commercial banking Elaine Heng in an interview with The Business Times.

Heng, speaking in her first media interview since taking over the role in October 2025, noted that this is the first time a bank in Asia has set a dedicated sustainable finance target for the SME segment.

In 2025, the number of SMEs receiving sustainable financing rose 34 per cent year on year, while loan commitments increased 40 per cent over the same period.

&ldquo We&rsquo re seeing this very strong momentum, and it&rsquo s very encouraging,&rdquo she said. &ldquo It really shows that SMEs are viewing sustainability as (something to embed) in the way they operate, in how they grow, and how to compete differently.&rdquo

To achieve its 2028 target, OCBC will &ldquo double down&rdquo on its &ldquo triple-A&rdquo approach: building awareness, driving action and providing access to capital.

Under the awareness pillar, the bank&rsquo s SME Start-ESG Programme is expected to play a key role.

Launched in 2025 in collaboration with Enterprise Singapore, the programme helps SMEs establish a baseline measurement of their environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics.

Since its launch, more than 180 SMEs have been onboarded and assessed under the programme.

OCBC also provides advisory support on sustainability practices, as well as access to sustainability-linked loans &ndash which are loans tied to borrowers&rsquo achievement of pre-defined sustainability targets.

Expanding access to capital for female entrepreneurs is another avenue the bank is pursuing.

Its Women Unlimited programme, launched in 2024, offers financing of up to S$100,000 within the first two years of incorporation, with processing fees waived, for startups founded by women.

However, Heng cautioned that progress could be hindered if SME mindsets do not shift towards longer-term thinking.

She pointed to fleet electrification as an example, noting that businesses which invested early are now better positioned and more resilient to fuel price increases.

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which has driven up global fuel and energy prices, is also making some SME owners more &ldquo receptive&rdquo to sustainability investments, she said.

Many SMEs are already taking steps to improve efficiency, such as investing in route optimisation to reduce fuel consumption and costs.

&ldquo What is the biggest risk? It&rsquo s really in the mindset of the SMEs that say: &lsquo Yeah, this can wait, or this is not important.&rsquo It&rsquo s the really resilient, forward-looking, visionary SMEs that are able to say &ndash let&rsquo s start today,&rdquo she added.

SBB today - 600,000 shares bought at 22.38 ($13,441,946)

SBB today - 600,000 shares bought at 22.39 ($13,448,457)

Salient Points from Joelton' s article

UOB KayHian has a buy rating on OCBC with a target price of $25.30.

OCBC has a current price-to-earnings ratio of 13.7 times, while DBS and UOB have logged values of 15 times and 13.3 times respectively.

Macquerie Capital has set a target price of $63.60 for DBS

DBS continues to be UOB KayHian top pick, with a buy rating and target price of $67.55

Joelton ( Date: 03-Apr-2026 14:03) Posted:

Share buybacks driving OCBC&rsquo s stock into new territory: analysts

Investors also like lender&rsquo s robust wealth business and net new money momentum in Q4

[SINGAPORE] OCBC&rsquo s entry into Singapore&rsquo s rare S$100-billion club has set the market abuzz about the driving factors behind its record-breaking streak.

Various analysts have cited the bank&rsquo s latest share buybacks for its share-price resilience amid the Middle East war.

As at Thursday (Apr 2), it has outperformed peers in the year to date &ndash rising 14 per cent, against DBS&rsquo : D05 -0.02% 1.9 per cent and UOB&rsquo s : U11 -0.32% 4.6 per cent.

OCBC : O39 -0.75% hit a high of S$22.81 at Thursday&rsquo s open, before retracing to S$22.65 by 9.11 am. As at 2.40 pm, the stock was trading at S$22.37, 0.8 per cent or S$0.18 lower.

The bank&rsquo s market capitalisation has been pushed past the S$100-billion mark. OCBC is one of only two Singapore-listed companies to have achieved this the other is DBS, which is also South-east Asia&rsquo s biggest lender.

From Mar 17, OCBC picked up 600,000 shares from the market over 10 trading days. This contributed to around 6 per cent of daily traded volume on Wednesday, noted Citi analyst Tan Yong Hong.

&ldquo These buybacks are likely to fund OCBC&rsquo s approximate 17 million shares per year in terms of employee options or a deferred share plan, estimated based on prior years&rsquo trends,&rdquo he said in a Wednesday note.

UOB KayHian analyst Jonathan Koh noted that OCBC has also completed 22 per cent of its share buyback programme thus far.

&ldquo Management will consider returning the balance of S$780 million to shareholders through special dividend if they are not utilised by the end of 2026,&rdquo he wrote on Monday.

Koh therefore has a &ldquo buy&rdquo rating on the counter, with a target price of S$25.30. He believes that the lender&rsquo s shift to accelerate growth will give an &ldquo uplift&rdquo to its return on equity.

He added that the bank will maintain its dividend payout ratio at 50 per cent, as it is &ldquo committed to growing its franchise&rdquo .

Broader investor discussions recently agree that OCBC also reported better asset-quality trends in the fourth quarter of 2025, on top of robust wealth flows and net new money momentum.

Jayden Vantarakis, Macquarie Capital&rsquo s head of Asean equity research, pointed out that OCBC had the &ldquo best Q4 result&rdquo , with the shift on capital management providing visibility on a 60 per cent payout being maintained this year.

&ldquo The more volatile environment also augurs higher general allowances compared with the Q4 position,&rdquo he said in a Tuesday report. &ldquo OCBC has a strong starting point on general allowances and non-performing asset cover.&rdquo

But Tan noted that OCBC was still underperforming compared with DBS and UOB prior to the latest share buyback and after the start of the Iran war.

&ldquo (Hence), the timing of OCBC&rsquo s outperformance leads us to conclude that the share buyback was a material driver for relative outperformance,&rdquo he said.

OCBC has a current price-to-earnings ratio of 13.7 times, while DBS and UOB have logged values of 15 times and 13.3 times, respectively.

Mixed on DBS

While OCBC is Vantarakis&rsquo top sector pick, other analysts continue to have a more positive view on DBS.

This is because DBS is likely to follow up with an offer to buy back about five million shares under employee share schemes, said Tan, which could help in retaining an attractive value.

He has set a target price of S$63.60 for the lender.

UOB KayHian&rsquo s Koh added that DBS also benefits from a positive reputation with &ldquo structural growth in wealth and institutional assets&rdquo .

&ldquo Customers view DBS as a safe and neutral bank to facilitate wealth and capital flows,&rdquo he noted.

This comes as DBS was recognised as the &ldquo Safest Bank in Asia&rdquo by Global Finance for the 17th consecutive year. It also retained its second position in the global list of the 50 safest commercial banks.

Coupled with its attractive 2026 dividend yield of 5.7 per cent, DBS continues to be Koh&rsquo s top pick, with a &ldquo buy&rdquo rating and target price of S$67.55.

In comparison, yield levels of OCBC and UOB for FY2026 forward stood at 4 per cent and 4.7 per cent, respectively.

However, Vantarakis has an &ldquo underperform&rdquo rating on DBS, after considering the outlook for the bank&rsquo s fundamentals.

&ldquo While the outlook for wealth is positive, any abrupt reversal in client risk appetite could have an impact on growth in fees,&rdquo he said. &ldquo This is important as the outlook for net interest income is negative with lower rates.&rdquo

Koh acknowledged that DBS&rsquo management guided for the 2026 net interest income to be slightly below 2025 levels, assuming two rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve and the Singapore overnight rate average at 1.25 per cent.

&ldquo Net profit is expected to be slightly below 2025 levels&hellip (while) guidance for specific provisions is unchanged at 17 to 20 basis points,&rdquo he wrote on Monday. &ldquo There could be potential write-backs in general provisions.&rdquo