Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) of Singapore has acquired Hong Kong-based Wing Hang Bank in a move to expand its Greater China business for HKD38.4bn ($4.9bn) in cash.

A spokeswoman at OCBC told SRP that the acquisition will help the bank to deepen the market penetration and expand its client base in Greater China, as well as increase its distribution capabilities for the bank’s structured products business.

“It is still too early to tell what kind of change [the acquisition] will bring to the structured products business at both banks but [this will allow] OCBC Bank to add new products and services in its portfolio,” she said. “[Wing Hang Bank’s] management and employees will be retained.”

Samuel Tsien, chief executive at OCBC Bank, said in a statement that the acquisition is a strategic component of the bank’s Greater China plan, and will provide OCBC Bank with an opportunity to develop or enhance further on the range of renminbi products and services including treasury, trade finance, cash management and payments, capital markets and offshore wealth management offerings.

“Also, as Hong Kong is a leading North Asian hub for wealth management, the acquisition will present OCBC Bank with significant new angles in private banking,” he said.

Product offering
According to SRP’s database, OCBC Bank is an active provider in Singapore but its issuance has decreased over the course of the last few years. In 2009 the bank issued 26 products, while in 2013 issuance dropped by 50% to 13 products. However, OCBC’s structured products offerings in Malaysia and China have remained stable, with 16 products recorded in Malaysia and 22 products registered in China throughout 2013, which represents an overall increase of 83% compared with the previous year.

OCBC Bank is quite active in structured products offering, with products issued in Malaysia, Singapore and the Chinese market. It produces cross-asset products, especially FX rate-linked ones.

OCBC Bank and its subsidiaries offer a broad array of specialist financial and wealth management services, ranging from consumer, corporate, investment, private and transaction banking to treasury, insurance, asset management and stockbroking services.

Wing Hang Bank, which has a network of 70 branches in Hong Kong, Macau and China, is one of the few family-owned banks that still exists in Hong Kong. SRP data shows that Wing Hang Bank has marketed 240 structured currency and equity-linked products in Hong Kong since 2002, and just one product in China which was marketed in February.

This is the second foray by a Singaporean bank in Hong Kong following DBS Bank’s purchase of Société Générale’s Hong Kong private banking business three weeks ago.

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