OCBC opens client stocks to institutional borrowers via Citi platform

The securities lending market generated $1.2b of revenue in December 2025 alone.

OCBC Group has rolled out a securities lending programme, leveraging the Citi Securities Lending Access platform.

Retail and corporate customers of OCBC securities, and clients of Bank of Singapore (BOS), can lend out their idle securities to institutional borrowers to earn fee income.

Customers will still receive dividends, coupon payments, and bonus issues, as well as retail full flexibility to sell their securities at any time, OCBC said in a press release on 28 January 2026.

OCBC Securities customers can now lend out US and Hong Kong shares. The programme will be extended to BOS clients later in 2026, with Singapore, Hong Kong, the US, and Japan shares eligible to be lent out to start.

Shares must be custodised with OCBC Securities or Bank of Singapore to be eligible for lending.

The Singapore-headquartered bank earlier announced that it is setting up a securities financing unit to mobilise lendable securities.

Citi’s platform will give OCBC access to institutional borrowers such as prime brokers and investment banks globally. They can borrow securities for various strategies— including short selling securities, arbitraging, and hedging strategies, the bank said.

The securities lending market generated revenues of US$1.2b in December 2025 alone, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. This is a 24% year-on-year increase, and the tenth consecutive month that revenues surpassed a billion dollars.

Revenue for the securities lending market rose by 27% YoY to US$14.9b in 2025.