The chief of OCBC’s wealth management business Bahren Shaari and chairman Ching Wei Hong are favorites for the top post at OCBC as CEO Samuel Tsien confirms he prefers an internal candidate as his successor.
In what could be the strongest signal yet of wealth management’s increasing importance to universal banks, Bank of Singapore CEO Bahren Shaari (pictured above) and chairman Ching Wei Hong, who is also the group chief operating officer (COO), are in line for the top job at OCBC.
The bank’s CEO, Samuel Tsien, has reiterated his preference for an internal appointment, as has his close rival at DBS. The announcement has sparked much discussion about who may have made the list.
Private Bank in Focus
At present, Shaari reports indirectly to Hong and is best-placed to succeed him as chairman of the private bank, if Hong is elevated to CEO of OCBC.
The move would also create a power vacuum at the apex of the global consumer bank overseeing the wealth; mortgage; payments and credit card businesses – one that Shaari could quite easily fill.
Groomed For Bigger and Better
«When DBS’ Tan Su Shan was moved to the institutional bank, it was widely acknowledged as a strategy for her to gain the corporate banking experience that is missing from her CV,» explains one BoS employee who believes a similar situation is likely to play out at OCBC. «It has been clear for a while to everyone at BoS that Bahren Shaari is being groomed for bigger and better.»
The tipping point in Shaari’s career, according to the source, was the «Western-style» acquisition and integration of Barclays wealth management business – a surprise move from a quintessentially Asian bank.
Successful Deal-Making
On several occasions, senior leaders of the bank, including Tsien, have reiterated that acquisitions will be key to its future and it is currently vying for a majority stake in Indonesia’s Bank Permata.
«Bahren’s track record of successful deal-making and integration are a definitive advantage,» confirms the source, who hesitantly adds, «It doesn’t sound politically correct but if the Indonesia deal goes through, it would signal a clear path for him to take the lead given his [Indonesian] background.»
President of Singapore?
«He is a consensus candidate for promotion,» agrees another managing director at the bank who sees Shaari as popular and capable, as well as «someone the regulator is very comfortable with». There is little doubt that he will soon outgrow his current role, which he has been in since 2012.
What is more difficult to anticipate is whether his ambitions will be contained to OCBC, or indeed financial services. Shaari, who was appointed as a member of the Council of Presidential Advisors in 2017, spoke publicly about what «a privilege and honor and it would be» to serve the nation during the last presidential election, which he ultimately did not contest.
