OCBC Bank was born out of the Great Depression with the merger of three banks in 1932 - the Chinese Commercial Bank Limited (1912), the Ho Hong Bank Limited (1917) and the Oversea-Chinese Bank Limited (1919).

During this challenging period of economic crisis, many people had difficulties coping with everyday life.

Our founders understood the problems that people faced, and took the initiative to provide customers with financial solutions for their personal and business needs, and also to support the community. This indirectly helped to gradually rebuild Singapore's war-torn economy after 1945.

Under the leadership of Dato Lee Kong Chian (1938-1964), Tan Sri Tan Chin Tuan (1966-1983) and Mr Lee Choon Seng (acting Chairman during the Occupation), we flourished to become one of the largest banks in Singapore and Malaysia. OCBC Bank was also the only foreign bank to have branches in China in the 1950s - our long history in China dates back to 1925 when we opened our first branch in Xiamen, the first Singapore bank to do so.

We have an excellent history of innovation, which is constantly enriched by the introduction of "firsts" into the market. Even as far back as 1948, OCBC Bank changed the face of banking by introducing the night safe system which allowed customers to deposit cash and valuables after dark. In 1958, the mobile bank was created, targeting customers living in suburban areas. We were also one of the pioneers in the Asian dollar market in the 1960s.

By 1970, our total resources exceeded S$1 billion, making us, then, the largest banking organisation with the biggest deposit base in Singapore.

Our spirit on innovation is also kept alive by a strong focus on introducing new products and services that meet our customers' changing needs, and is apparent from the awards that have been conferred on us.