OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad (OCBC Bank) has been named Malaysia’s “Bank of the Year 2023” by London-based The Banker. OCBC Bank, among the foremost foreign banks in Malaysia and in existence for over 90 years, is part of the Singapore-based OCBC Group, the region’s second largest banking group by assets.

The Banker’s “Bank of the Year” Awards is a highly respected global banking awards programme that recognises outstanding financial institutions following a review of their balance sheet data, strategic initiatives, technology, and new products and services. The scope of the awards covers more than 120 countries worldwide, with judging conducted by a panel of editors including regional and sector specialists.

In citing the reason for the selection, The Banker singled out OCBC Bank’s wide-ranging approach to improve its banking operations, taking measures to increase its green credentials, support retail customers and develop new opportunities for its staff. 

“The lender signed a memorandum of co-operation with Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change in February 2023 to promote low-carbon operation systems, which was incorporated into the bank’s transition finance plans for its corporate and small and medium-sized enterprise customers. Through the platform, customers will be guided on how to decarbonise while improving efficiency and reducing waste, which should result in overall cost savings. The launch of OCBC Bank’s consumer banking app at the end of 2022 saw a shift in its digital offerings. Built on a digital core of cloud-native and application programming interfaces, this has allowed the Bank to achieve greater levels of scale, flexibility and agility. It features a built in straight-through processing of account opening and know-your-customer checks,” the cited read.

It added that retail customers were supported with the implementation of a ‘kill switch’ in December 2022. This allows them to immediately freeze their bank accounts and cards via a self-service interactive voice response. OCBC Bank is a pioneer in rolling out this feature in Malaysia. 

On OCBC Bank’s internal programmes, The Banker cited how the Bank looked to develop its millennial talent with the launch of Graduate Rotations for Optimal Work-experience (Grow) in June 2022. The work experience programme allows young employees to rotate around different areas of the business before being assessed for confirmation.

OCBC Bank CEO Mr Tan Chor Sen said: “We are delighted with this recognition, which affirms the direction we have been taking all these years, revolving round sustainability, digitalisation, customer-centricity and staff. The Award will spur us on to not just do more of what works for the communities we serve, but to keep challenging ourselves to excel and do even better. By enabling our people and communities to realise their aspirations every step of the way, we believe we will be entrenching ourselves as the best bank for the communities we serve not just in Malaysia but in the region as well. For now, and beyond.”

The Banker, a service from the Financial Times, is an authoritative source of global financial analysis and data-driven intelligence. It enables financial leaders to stay informed and make timely operational and strategic decisions through in-depth research and succinct summaries of global trends.