OCBC Group (“OCBC”), leveraging the Citi  Securities Lending Access™ (“CSLA”) platform, has rolled out a securities  lending programme. The programme enables retail and corporate  customers of OCBC Securities, as well as clients of its private banking arm,  Bank of Singapore, to enhance portfolio returns by lending out their idle  securities to institutional borrowers for fee income. They will still receive dividends, coupon payments and bonus issues, and retain full flexibility to  sell their securities at any time. 

The CSLA platform, an innovative solution that digitizes and simplifies the  entire securities lending lifecycle, will give OCBC access to institutional  borrowers such as prime brokers and investment banks globally. They  borrow securities for various strategies, including short selling securities,  arbitraging and hedging strategies, which require borrowing to cover their  positions. 

The global securities lending business is expanding rapidly. According to  S&P Global Market Intelligence, securities lending markets generated  revenues of US$1.2 billion in December 2025 – a 24% year-over-year  increase and the tenth consecutive month that revenues surpassed US$1  billion. As a result, revenue for the year surged 27% to US$14.9 billion. 

The programme is now open to OCBC Securities customers. Currently,  they can lend out US and Hong Kong shares. The programme will be  extended to Bank of Singapore clients in 2026, with Singapore, Hong Kong, 

US and Japan shares eligible to be lent out for a start. Shares must be  custodised with OCBC Securities or Bank of Singapore to be eligible for  lending. Once a loan is confirmed, the shares from OCBC Securities or  Bank of Singapore are then loaned to an OCBC account, before being on loaned to the borrower. 

Mr Kenneth Lai, Head of Global Markets, OCBC, said, “We are delighted  to be able to collaborate with Citi, leveraging their best-in-class  technology and deep expertise in this field, to offer securities lending  services to our clients. Securities lending brings benefits such as higher  trading volumes, price discovery and market efficiency. OCBC Securities  and Bank of Singapore customers can also now enjoy the benefits of  earning additional return on their investment portfolios by choosing to  lend their securities. This development marks an important milestone in  our journey, and demonstrates our unwavering commitment to delivering  innovative solutions and value to our customers.” 

Launched in 2021, the CSLA platform provides seamless access to the  securities lending market. Citi’s collaboration with OCBC marks a  significant expansion of CSLA in Asia, bringing its benefits to one of the  region's most substantial and varied investor communities. 

Ms Mridula Iyer, Asia South Head of Services, Citi, said, “We are proud to  work with a leading Singapore institution like OCBC as we deliver  innovative digital solutions that address the evolving needs of the Asian  market. Bringing the benefits of securities lending to a broader base of  market participants is important for Citi, and our support of OCBC is a  clear demonstration of our strategy in action. By integrating CSLA, we are  creating value for OCBC, introducing a significant new pool of untapped  securities to the lending market, and expanding Citi’s servicing of private  and retail assets in securities lending.”