OCBC to Grow Transaction Banking Division

The bank aims to grow the division by another 50 headcounts to 150 in total by the end of the year. The bank is looking to boost its transaction banking workforce with specialized staff who can help it to develop products and services, and in particular, those with regional skill sets that can support clients in its key markets, OCBC’s Melvyn Low told «The Straits Times.»

The bank’s head of global transaction banking said the rise of mobile and internet banking, as well as application programming interfaces (APIs) that connect various platforms, are prompting a shift in the skills in demand.

The division provides corporate banking solutions, including cash management, APIs, trade and supply chain finance solutions, and also serves the bank’s overseas markets in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Greater China.

I need a very deep appreciation of new technologies like APIs, blockchain, and for data, Low said about the desired candidates. It’s not just about knowing how to look at and consume data, but how to use it to target clients, identify their flows and capture them with solutions using new technologies, Low added.

He also cited mobile payments, platform connectivity, and cross-border instant payments as areas with the potential to grow.

In its recent quarterly trading update, the bank highlighted growing momentum from renewed market optimism across its businesses, as well as improved quarterly earnings from its overseas banking subsidiaries.