OCBC is preparing to increase its wealth advisory workforce in Indonesia, as the Singapore-based bank moves ahead with a wider push in the market after agreeing to acquire HSBC Holdings’ assets in the country, reported Bloomberg.
Parwati Surjaudaja, who leads OCBC Indonesia, said in an interview in Jakarta that the number of relationship managers will reach 400 by the end of 2026, with the increase coming from new recruitment and internal redeployments.
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She said client assets in Indonesia had grown by about 11% from a year earlier to RP127tn ($7.1bn).
The planned expansion in wealth management reflects OCBC’s focus on Indonesia after the May agreement to buy HSBC’s retail and wealth operations there.
Chief executive Tan Teck Long, who took up the role on Jan 1, has identified services for affluent Indonesians as one of the bank’s main growth priorities.
Parwati said some wealthy Indonesians continue to place money in offshore centres such as Singapore and Switzerland but added that tax treatment for domestic financial assets could lead more investors to retain funds within Indonesia.
She noted that, for several years, banks in Singapore have had to provide Indonesian tax authorities with information on clients’ financial holdings, reducing the scope for concealing assets abroad.
Parwati said one investor had questioned the rationale for buying HSBC’s assets in Indonesia, given the view that wealthy clients usually shift money overseas.
“That is not true,” Parwati said in the interview, adding that most Indonesians, except for some of the ultra-rich, prefer to keep assets in their home country.
“Wherever you put the money, it will be reflected back to the authorities here,” said Parwati, who has spent more than 35 years in Indonesian banking.
She said OCBC is targeting two customer groups in its wealth business: those able to place at least Rp1bn with the bank, and US dollar millionaires with a minimum of Rp20bn in assets.
For customers with smaller sums, the bank intends to rely more on digital channels, amid increased use of online platforms to buy products such as bonds and mutual funds.
