OCBC taps Citi for securities lending programme to help clients earn more returns

SINGAPORE – OCBC Securities customers can lend their idle US and Hong Kong shares to institutional borrowers for a fee under a securities lending programme, which will be extended to Bank of Singapore clients in 2026.

Under the scheme, Bank of Singapore clients will be allowed to lend more types of shares – those trading in Singapore, Hong Kong, US and Japan stock markets – at the start.

Tapping the Citi Securities Lending Access (CSLA) platform, OCBC can access institutional borrowers – such as prime brokers and investment banks globally – who borrow securities for various strategies, including short-selling securities, arbitraging and hedging, to cover their positions.

When their securities are lent out, retail and corporate clients of OCBC Securities, as well as clients of Bank of Singapore, will still receive dividends, coupon payments and bonus issues, as well as retain full flexibility to sell their securities at any time.

Shares must be held with OCBC Securities or Bank of Singapore to qualify for lending. Once a loan is confirmed, the shares are first lent to an OCBC account before being lent to the borrower.

OCBC’s head of global markets Kenneth Lai said that securities lending brings benefits such as higher trading volumes, price discovery and market efficiency.

“OCBC Securities and Bank of Singapore customers can also now enjoy the benefits of earning additional return on their investment portfolios by choosing to lend their securities,” he said.

The global securities lending business is expanding rapidly. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, securities lending markets generated revenues of US$1.2 billion (S$1.5 billion) in December 2025 – a 24 per cent year-over-year increase and the 10th consecutive month where revenues surpassed US$1 billion.

Citi’s Asia South head of services Mridula Iyer said: “By integrating CSLA, we are creating value for OCBC, introducing a significant new pool of untapped securities to the lending market, and expanding Citi’s servicing of private and retail assets in securities lending.”

The new development comes as OCBC announced on Jan 21 a specialist unit to capture rising institutional demand for securities financing.

The unit will mobilise lendable securities – equities and fixed income – from customers across OCBC and its subsidiaries OCBC Securities, Bank of Singapore and Great Eastern, to meet the growing global demand for securities financing.

It will open up opportunities for customers to earn fee income by lending out their idle securities.