OCBC waives ATM fee for banking customers subscribing to its rights issue

Local bank OCBC is making use of its ATM network and popular 360 Account to make its recently announced rights issue more attractive for its customers. -- PHOTO: ST FILE
Local bank OCBC is making use of its ATM network and popular 360 Account to make its recently announced rights issue more attractive for its customers. -- PHOTO: ST FILE

SINGAPORE - Local bank OCBC is making use of its ATM network and popular 360 Account to make its recently announced rights issue more attractive for its customers.

The lender said on Thursday that OCBC shareholders who subscribe for their rights shares at OCBC ATMs will not have to pay the usual $2 ATM fee - but only if they use an OCBC ATM card to apply for it.

This means United Overseas Bank (UOB) cardholders will not be able to enjoy the fee waiver. OCBC and UOB share their ATM network, allowing their cardholders to use the other bank's ATMs.

To further sweeten the deal for its customers, OCBC said shareholders who subscribe for their rights shares at the bank's ATMs using their OCBC 360 Accounts stand the chance to earn bonus interest of 1 per cent.

Those who do so and pay another two bills online or via Giro can get the additional bonus on their deposits in their 360 Accounts.

Last week, OCBC launched a rights issue to raise $3.3 billion as part of its efforts to strengthen its balance sheet and to help fund its takeover of Hong Kong's Wing Hang Bank.

Under the fund-raising exercise, existing shareholders have the right to buy one rights share for every eight held. OCBC will issue up to 440 million new shares.

The rights shares are priced at $7.65 each - a discount of 25 per cent to OCBC's closing price of $10.20 before it announced its rights issue.

This is OCBC's first rights issue since 2005.

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