[CM] [OCBC] [E1] [C1] Overview of Case Study for OCBC Bank

Chapter 1

 Introducing Crisis Management for OCBC Bank

As one of the largest and most established financial institutions in Southeast Asia, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) operates in an environment of increasing uncertainty and complexity.

The evolving landscape of global finance, technology disruptions, cybersecurity risks, and reputational challenges demands a structured and proactive approach to managing crises.

Crisis Management (CM) at OCBC Bank represents a strategic framework designed to anticipate, respond to, and recover from disruptive events while safeguarding the bank’s customers, employees, assets, and reputation.

It complements OCBC’s long-standing commitment to sound governance, operational resilience, and stakeholder trust, forming a cornerstone of the bank’s enterprise risk management strategy.

Understanding OCBC Bank

Founded in 1932, OCBC Bank is the second-largest financial services group in Southeast Asia by assets, with operations spanning key markets including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Greater China.

The bank provides a comprehensive range of financial services — from consumer and corporate banking to wealth management and insurance — through its main subsidiaries such as Bank of Singapore, Great Eastern Holdings, and OCBC NISP.

This wide operational footprint and diverse portfolio necessitate a robust crisis management structure capable of addressing both localised disruptions and cross-border emergencies.

Understanding OCBC’s business structure, customer base, and strategic priorities provides the foundation upon which crisis management policies, plans, and response mechanisms are built.

Identifying Crisis Management Goals for OCBC Bank

The primary goal of OCBC’s Crisis Management framework is to ensure the continuity of essential business operations, protect the bank’s reputation, and uphold public confidence during crises.

Specific objectives include establishing clear leadership and decision-making structures, maintaining effective communication with internal and external stakeholders, ensuring timely escalation and coordination, and promoting rapid recovery and learning.

CM at OCBC is not merely reactive but focuses on building a resilient organisation capable of adapting to uncertainty and emerging stronger after each crisis event.

Differentiating Crisis Management and Business Continuity Management

While Crisis Management and Business Continuity Management (BCM) are closely aligned, they serve distinct yet complementary functions within OCBC’s resilience framework.

BCM focuses on maintaining critical business operations during and after disruptions through predefined recovery strategies and plans.

In contrast, Crisis Management deals with the leadership, coordination, and communication required to manage the strategic, reputational, and operational impacts of an unexpected event.

At OCBC, CM provides governance and direction for managing the broader implications of crises, while BCM ensures that operational resilience and recovery processes are executed effectively.

Identifying the Types of Crisis Scenarios

OCBC’s crisis planning recognises a broad range of potential crisis scenarios that could affect its operations, reputation, or stakeholders.

These include cybersecurity breaches, system outages, financial market disruptions, fraud incidents, regulatory violations, physical threats to facilities, pandemics, and reputational crises triggered by public perception or social media.

By identifying these scenarios, OCBC ensures that its crisis management team is well-prepared to anticipate, detect, and respond appropriately across various operational environments and jurisdictions.

Assessing Risks and Threats

Risk assessment is integral to OCBC’s crisis management planning process.

The bank continually evaluates internal and external threats, taking into account factors such as operational dependencies, geopolitical developments, regulatory changes, and technological vulnerabilities.

Through regular risk assessments and scenario-based planning, OCBC’s leadership ensures that the organisation’s CM framework remains responsive to emerging risks. This proactive approach aligns with the bank’s enterprise risk management philosophy, reinforcing its resilience and agility.

Implementing the Crisis Management Planning Methodology

OCBC adopts a structured CM planning methodology based on international best practices and standards, including ISO 22361:2022 for Crisis Management.

The methodology involves establishing governance structures, defining roles and responsibilities, developing communication and escalation procedures, conducting training and simulation exercises, and continually improving CM capabilities.

This disciplined approach ensures that every stage of crisis preparedness, response, and recovery is guided by clarity, coordination, and confidence.

Pre-Crisis – Risk Identification and Crisis Preparedness

Before a crisis occurs, OCBC focuses on strengthening preparedness through risk identification, monitoring early warning signals, and conducting readiness assessments.

The bank invests in training its crisis management teams, establishing communication channels, and maintaining updated CM plans and playbooks.

These pre-crisis activities build organisational awareness and readiness, ensuring that the bank can respond swiftly and effectively when faced with disruptions.

During Crisis – Crisis Response and Decision-Making

When a crisis occurs, OCBC’s Crisis Management Team (CMT) is activated to lead the organisation through structured response procedures: clear escalation protocols, timely information sharing, and decisive leadership to guide decision-making during a crisis.

The emphasis is placed on protecting life and safety, maintaining business-critical operations, communicating transparently with stakeholders, and safeguarding OCBC’s reputation.

Effective coordination between business units, subsidiaries, and regional offices ensures a unified and controlled response across all impacted areas.

Post-Crisis – Crisis Recovery

Once the immediate crisis has been stabilised, OCBC transitions into the recovery phase. This stage focuses on restoring operations, conducting post-crisis reviews, and capturing lessons learned to inform future responses.

The insights gathered from these reviews are used to strengthen future crisis preparedness, refine procedures, and update training programs.

By embedding continuous improvement into its CM framework, OCBC ensures that each crisis experience contributes to building a stronger, more resilient organisation.

In this opening chapter of “Leading Through Crisis: Implementing Crisis Management at OCBC Bank,” readers are introduced to the foundation of crisis management (CM) within the context of one of Singapore’s leading financial institutions.

The chapter begins by outlining OCBC Bank’s organisational structure, business priorities, and operating environment, highlighting how its regional presence and diverse financial services require a well-coordinated and resilient crisis management framework.

It underscores CM's strategic importance as a discipline that safeguards the bank’s reputation, maintains stakeholder trust, and ensures operational continuity during disruptive events.

Through this lens, the chapter examines the objectives of crisis management, distinguishing it from business continuity management while highlighting their complementary roles in enhancing OCBC’s overall resilience framework.

The chapter then guides readers through the critical components of understanding and managing crises—identifying potential crisis scenarios, assessing risks and threats, and applying the CM planning methodology across the pre-crisis, crisis, and post-crisis phases.

It demonstrates how proactive risk identification and preparedness can enable the bank to respond decisively and recover swiftly from unforeseen challenges.

By mapping OCBC’s crisis management approach to these structured phases, the chapter establishes a clear and practical foundation for implementing effective crisis management across the organisation—emphasising leadership, coordination, and communication as key enablers of organisational resilience.