Navigating Singapore’s crowded banking landscape is not easy, and Maybank’s retail banking unit says it needs to be nimble by zooming in on market niches.
The bank last month launched a Maybank Save Up programme tailored for young workers in Singapore after noticing that many are increasingly keen on financial planning.
And, noting that young children are often neglected by lenders, it launched last September the Maybank Family Plus programme to encourage parents to help kids save.
Maybank is also focusing on long-term relationships and on catering to customers’ needs at every stage of their lives.
“I think (Singapore) is probably one of the most highly- banked markets, even for retail,” said Mr Choong Wai Hong, the bank’s head of community financial services. “But that said, I find the Singaporean consumers, the account holders, they are quite savvy.”
In an interview with The Straits Times on Thursday, he said consumers are often willing to snap up new products and services. “Their sensitivity to change, to go for a product, is quite high. So if you can find the right market niche for them, the willingness to move is quite high”.
What Maybank does in Singapore is closely-watched by rival lenders as it is one of the very few foreign banks with a large retail presence here.
Its three entities in Singapore – Maybank, Maybank Kim Eng brokerage and Etiqa Insurance – employ 2,400 staff.
Singapore’s central bank last month named Maybank one of the inaugural seven “domestic systemically important banks” in the Republic.
The seven each has a significant impact on the financial system’s stability and proper functioning of the broader economy, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said.
The three domestic lenders in the list are DBS Bank, OCBC Bank and United Overseas Bank. And apart from Maybank, the other foreign banks are Citibank, Standard Chartered and HSBC.
Maybank has 22 full-service branches in Singapore – the largest for a foreign bank here, but nowhere near the hundreds of branches operated by the three local lenders.
It is sometimes known as the “time deposit bank”, owing to its competitive retail deposit rates. Mr Choong said Maybank has 10 per cent to 11 per cent share of the time deposit market in Singapore.
Its other strength is in the vehicle loan market where it has a 22 per cent market share.
The Maybank group in Singapore last week reported profit before tax for the first quarter of $93.75 million, down from $110.9 million a year earlier.
Asked about its retail lending profile, Mr Choong said the major segments are about 45 per cent in mortgages, 18 per cent in auto loans, 22 per cent in retail small and medium enterprises and commercial loans. Other consumer loans make up the other 15 per cent.
Maybank, he said, has an advantage that other foreign banks here might not have – the group offers the full spectrum of services including retail banking, Maybank Kim Eng brokerage, Etiqa Insurance and Maybank Private Wealth.
