OCBC boosts annual tech spend past $771mn as new CEO bets on AI

OCBC is set to push its annual technology spending past $771mn, signaling one of the first major strategic moves under new group chief executive Tan Teck Long, who took the helm on 1 January 2026. As Singapore’s second-largest lender, the bank is deepening its commitment to AI and digital banking, according to Bloomberg.

Tan steps into the role following Helen Wong’s retirement at the end of 2025, who had guided OCBC through earlier phases of digital transformation. The reported figure, close to S$1bn in local currency, aligns with thresholds the bank has previously flagged in its technology commitments over recent years.

In its 2025 annual report, OCBC outlined plans to embed AI, digital tools, and data more deeply into customer experiences throughout 2026. The bank’s stated goals include building scale, personalizing services, and achieving cost efficiencies,a familiar rationale for rising tech expenditures in the sector.

A notable aspect of this strategy is the workforce focus. About three in five OCBC employees have participated in AI, digital, or data training over the past three years. This underscores a bet that staff across the organization can effectively leverage AI tools, rather than relying solely on a centralized team.

OCBC has framed its ambitions around AI, digital, and data as an integrated stack rather than separate initiatives. The bank has spent recent years modernizing its digital core,a costly but essential foundation for the customer-facing features it now aims to build upon.

Tan has struck a measured tone regarding the 2026 outlook, expecting total income to be stable or growing. Against this backdrop, the higher technology budget appears to be a deliberate reallocation of resources rather than a spending spree fueled by surging revenue.

The bank has been laying groundwork for years. It committed roughly S$500mn to an innovation hub in Singapore’s Punggol Digital District, slated for completion in 2027. Additionally, OCBC recently backed a $1bn blockchain-powered US commercial paper programme, reflecting a regional trend where Singapore’s major banks compete as much on technology stacks as on branch networks.

Local rivals DBS and UOB have made their own bold commitments to AI and digital infrastructure in recent years. In this competitive landscape, standing still is not an option, and a larger technology bill is the price of staying in the race.

Yet the strategy is not without friction. Rising technology costs squeeze the cost-to-income ratio precisely when margins across Asian banking face pressure. Tan inherits this tension alongside the scrutiny of OCBC’s influential long-term shareholders, a dynamic that will shape how freely he can spend. Any sustained increase in the technology budget must be reconciled with the bank’s reputation for cost discipline.

The broader industry logic is compelling. McKinsey estimates that generative AI could add $200bn to $340bn annually in value across banking,a prize lenders are racing to capture. OCBC is not alone in leaning on this technology. Rival HSBC found that AI still trails human wealth managers when actual money moves, a reminder that returns are uneven.

Even so, the direction is set, from banks probing the trust gap with big tech to Singapore’s state-level push on blockchain innovation and adoption. For OCBC, the higher budget is the clearest signal yet that its new chief intends to keep pace rather than pull back.

The test will be whether more than $771mn a year buys measurable gains in productivity and customer growth, or simply keeps the bank running to stand still.