OCBC Rally Lifts Lee Family Fortune to USD13.8bn

The OCBC Lee family fortune has risen to USD13.8bn as shares in the Singapore bank nearly doubled over the past year, supported partly by expansion of its wealth-management business.

The family, whose largest asset is its OCBC holding, ranked fourth among Singapore’s wealthiest and recorded the largest increase in both absolute and percentage terms.

OCBC’s wealth-management business grew 11% in the first quarter and accounted for 39% of total revenue.

The bank has been expanding its focus on affluent and high-net-worth clients by recruiting senior executives for private banking subsidiary Bank of Singapore and launching an artificial intelligence-enabled wealth application.

OCBC also agreed in May to acquire HSBC’s Indonesian wealth-management and retail operations for an undisclosed sum.

PhillipCapital analyst Glenn Thum said the transaction should further strengthen the bank’s regional franchise and support the longer-term growth of its wealth business.