OCBC unifies brand to bolster ASEAN-Greater China growth

Overseas-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) has unified its brand identity across its core markets with legal name changes and new logo, solidifying its “One Group” approach to capitalise on the sizeable ASEAN-Greater China opportunity.

With this sharpened ASEAN-Greater China focus, OCBC expects to accelerate its growth and deliver US$2.2bn in incremental revenue by 2025, which is on top of its current growth trajectory.

To unify the brand, legal name changes have been made for key subsidiaries. In Hong Kong, OCBC Wing Hang Bank is now known as OCBC Bank (Hong Kong) whereas in Macau, Banco OCBC Weng Hang is now renamed as OCBC Bank (Macau). Pending regulatory approval, OCBC Wing Hang Bank (China) will change its legal name to OCBC Bank in mainland China in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Apart from legal name changes in China, OCBC has launched a unified refreshed logo for its banking entities. OCBC NISP, OCBC’s Indonesian subsidiary, will adopt the same logo in the fourth quarter of 2023. The logo for Bank of Singapore, OCBC’s dedicated private banking subsidiary, remains unchanged.

While being modernised, the logo retains the classic Chinese sailing ship which is iconic to the OCBC brand. It expresses OCBC’s founding fathers’ entrepreneurial spirit as they ventured into ASEAN to build homes and businesses that have benefited generations.

This iconic symbol has been featured in every iteration of its logo since the bank was founded in 1932. In tandem with the new refreshed logo, the bank has launched a new tagline: For now, and beyond (心所向, 行致远 / 心所向, 行致遠).

The new tagline reflects OCBC’s DNA of always taking a long-term view of all its dealings and investments, and its commitment not just to the present but also to the future, to make a lasting impact for a better world, according to the release.

After the revamp, the unified brand demonstrates OCBC’s commitment to leveraging the combined strength of its comprehensive network, as well as its “One Group” capabilities in banking, wealth management and insurance, to support the increasingly cross-border aspirations and growth of businesses and individuals.

Helen Wong, group CEO of OCBC, said, “The flow business between ASEAN and Greater China is not new to us. We recognise its potential. Over the years, we have built a strong franchise and put ourselves in a very good position to capture these flows. The effects of China’s reopening post-pandemic, the rise of ASEAN for the China plus one strategy and other geopolitical factors have amplified this potential.”

The unified brand comes as another strategic move as it solidifies the company’s “One Group” approach, and also furthers its commitment to customers: that when they bank with OCBC, they have the collective strength of OCBC Group supporting them seamlessly across markets.

“With this One Group approach, our comprehensive ASEAN Greater China franchise and twin hub proposition of Singapore and Hong Kong becomes even more compelling,” Wong added.

Currently, OCBC has around 4,500 staff across 67 branches in 17 cities in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan complemented by its partnership with Bank of Ningbo.

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