OCBC Shares Climb to New Peak as Wealth Franchise in Focus

By Megan Cheah

Shares of OCBC, Southeast Asia's second-largest lender, hit a new intraday high, likely supported by market confidence in its wealth franchise.

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp.'s stock rose to as high as 18.83 Singapore dollars, equivalent to US$14.53.

The Singaporean lender's stock is on track for a seven-session winning streak and closed at a record high of S$18.77, according to LSEG data.

OCBC's gains suggest investors are encouraged by its outperformance in wealth management and the prospect of higher dividends next year, said Jayden Vantarakis, head of Asean equity research at Macquarie Capital.

In its recent results, OCBC's profit was supported by record noninterest income and lower allowances. Its wealth-management business also reached a new high in assets under management.

The lender likely has better wealth momentum, measured by fee growth and assets-under-management increases, compared with its Singapore peers DBS Group and United Overseas Bank, Vantarakis added.

The valuation gap between DBS and OCBC, the Southeast Asia's two largest banks by assets, has also widened to its highest level in at least a decade, despite both showing similarly strong trends in wealth, noninterest income and asset quality, he said.

"We identified the stock as having room to close the gap with DBS," he added. Macquarie has an outperform rating on OCBC and a target price of S$19.90.

OCBC's year-to-date gains stand at more than 13%, while DBS is up around 24% over the same period. The benchmark FTSE Straits Times Index is up nearly 20% this year.

Write to Megan Cheah at megan.cheah@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 02, 2025 04:53 ET (09:53 GMT)