SINCE the 1930s, OCBC Bank has helped many local enterprises, growing and supporting them with a slew of financial products and services. It is a testament to the importance of enterprise banking, as part of business banking.

Mr Sng Seow Wah, head of enterprise banking, says: "OCBC Bank supported traders in the past - these were people who produced semi-finished goods. We have continued to show our support for this segment, identified through businessmen who through their grit, determination and passion, become successful for others to emulate."

The E50 and e50.startup awards are a form of recognition for this group of people which has done well in building its companies.OCBC Bank, the only sponsor for the awards and the biggest financial institution in the local small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) banking segment, says it is poised to deliver simpler, faster and more convenient financial solutions.

One of the present-day challenges local enterprises face, according to Mr Sng, is to keep up with the changes of globalisation.

"In today's world, labour, technology and knowledge have no boundaries geographically. SMEs struggle with this and there are less opportunities to become quick millionaires or make a fast buck," he explains.

In the light of these challenges, OCBC Bank has conducted surveys and focus groups and deployed field staff to find out the needs of the local enterprises.

"We want to develop a clear understanding of what our customers require and roll out appropriate initiatives to cater to their needs," says Mr Sng.

"We realise that the mobile phone is important to the business owner. Some carry more than one phone with them. They are constantly on the move, and the mobile phone stores important information such as contacts and appointments for them."

These customers want speed and convenience, he adds, and OCBC Bank aims to make it simple and applicable for them when it comes to their banking needs.

One such financial service is the eAlerts@OCBC, a notification service via SMS (short message service) or e-mail. SME customers can choose to receive three types of notifications such as a funds top-up alert, daily available account balance alert, returned cheque alert or incoming funds alert.

"Although these are simple developments, they have brought convenience to our customers, enabling them to save time, do things more quickly and spend more time on their resources," says Mr Sng.

Another SME-focused financial product is the Quick Cheque Deposit (QCD) service, where customers can drop their cheques at QCD boxes placed at selected Shell and Caltex stations in areas with high SME-concentrations such as Boon Lay, Paya Lebar, Ang Mo Kio, Shun Li Industrial Park and Ubi Tech Park.

OCBC Bank also set up six dedicated Business Banking Centres located in selected OCBC branches which SME customers frequent. There, they can open business accounts with cheque books issued immediately, and apply for loans and banker's guarantees.

It was the number one participating financial institution of the Local Enterprise Finance Scheme loans in 2005 and 2006, administered by Spring Singapore to help SMEs expand their businesses.

"We want to create as many channels as possible for SME customers to reach us. We are the biggest player in Internet banking for SMEs, and we are planning to make one more technology channel available to customers next year," says Mr Sng.

"We will continue to show our support for local enterprises. With a financial institution behind them, it adds a level of credibility to their business."

Is this article useful to you?