[CM] [OCBC] [E1] [C3] Establishing CM Goals

Chapter 3

Introduction

Crisis management (CM) within OCBC Bank is an integral part of its broader resilience strategy, ensuring that the organisation can anticipate, respond to, and recover from unexpected events while maintaining trust among stakeholders. 

As a leading financial institution in Singapore with significant regional operations, OCBC Bank’s crisis management framework aligns with both international best practices (ISO 22361:2022) and regulatory requirements set forth by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

Establishing clear organisational goals for crisis management enables OCBC Bank to unify its leadership, operational functions, and subsidiaries under a coherent, purpose-driven approach to resilience.

These goals are not only guided by OCBC’s internal Crisis Management Policy. Still, they are also shaped by national regulatory expectations, including MAS guidelines and the broader Singaporean government’s resilience and security initiatives.

Alignment with Organisational Mission and Core Values

OCBC Bank’s corporate mission—“helping individuals and businesses across communities achieve their aspirations by providing responsible financial solutions”—provides the foundation for its crisis management goals. In times of crisis, this mission translates into a commitment to:

• Protect customer trust by ensuring the continuity of essential financial services.
• Safeguard the bank’s reputation as a stable and reliable financial institution.
• Uphold financial integrity and compliance with MAS and other regulatory requirements.
• Support employees and partners to maintain safe, ethical, and transparent operations.

These guiding principles reinforce OCBC’s responsibility not only to its shareholders and customers but also to Singapore’s financial stability and national resilience objectives.

Integrating ISO 22361:2022 Principles into OCBC’s CM Goals

The ISO 22361:2022 standard outlines a structured approach to crisis management that emphasises leadership, decision-making, communication, and continuous improvement.

For OCBC Bank, these principles are embedded into the following organisational goals:

1. Leadership and Governance

• Strengthen the Crisis Management Committee’s capability to make timely and effective strategic decisions during crises.
• Ensure the Board and senior management exercise oversight and accountability for CM readiness and response.

2. Strategic Preparedness

• Establish proactive monitoring and early-warning systems for potential crises (financial, cyber, reputational, geopolitical, or operational).
• Maintain cross-functional readiness through scenario planning, simulations, and regular crisis exercises.

3. Stakeholder Confidence and Communication

• Foster transparent, credible, and timely communication with regulators, customers, and the public during crises.
• Build trust through consistent messaging that aligns with OCBC’s brand values and regulatory obligations.

4. Operational Continuity and Recovery

• Ensure that business-critical functions and digital banking operations are recoverable within acceptable timeframes.
• Integrate crisis management with OCBC’s Business Continuity Management (BCM) and Disaster Recovery (DR) frameworks to ensure a seamless response.

5. Learning and Improvement

• Institutionalise post-crisis reviews to capture lessons learned and update CM plans accordingly.
• Promote a learning culture that values resilience, adaptability, and innovation in crisis response and management.

Compliance with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Requirements

The MAS Guidelines on Business Continuity Management (2022) and related circulars on Technology Risk Management (TRM) and Operational Resilience impose explicit requirements for financial institutions to ensure resilience in crises.

OCBC Bank’s crisis management goals are designed to comply with and operationalise these MAS expectations through:

• Governance and Oversight: Ensuring CM responsibilities are clearly defined and overseen by the Board Risk Management Committee.
• Integrated Risk Management: Aligning crisis management with enterprise risk management and BCM frameworks.
• Technology and Cyber Resilience: Ensuring robust incident response capabilities for technology disruptions and cybersecurity breaches.
• Third-Party Dependency Management: Maintaining oversight of outsourced service providers and critical supply chain partners.
• Regulatory Coordination: Maintaining direct and timely communication with MAS and other regulators during crisis incidents.

This alignment ensures OCBC Bank meets the regulatory compliance threshold while enhancing organisational resilience and preparedness against complex crisis scenarios.

National and Sectoral Context

As a systemically important bank in Singapore, OCBC Bank’s crisis management goals extend beyond its internal operations.

They also contribute to the broader national crisis management ecosystem, coordinated under the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Ministry of Finance.

Within this context, OCBC’s goals support national priorities by:

• Ensuring financial system stability during disruptions, such as cyber incidents or pandemics.
• Supporting inter-bank coordination through the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) and the Financial Sector Coordination Forum (FSCF).
• Contributing to Singapore’s reputation as a resilient global financial hub capable of responding effectively to transnational crises.

This dual alignment—between internal corporate resilience and national crisis response frameworks—ensures that OCBC operates as both a resilient organisation and a responsible participant in the financial system.

Translating CM Goals into Measurable Outcomes

OCBC Bank’s CM goals are operationalised through measurable performance indicators that ensure accountability and progress tracking. These include:

• Crisis Readiness Index (CRI): An internal measure assessing leadership readiness, communication effectiveness, and CM maturity.
• Response and Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs): Targets set for decision-making and service restoration.
• Regulatory Compliance Audits: Periodic reviews to ensure alignment with MAS and ISO 22301.
• Exercise Performance Evaluations: Annual crisis simulations and post-exercise reviews to measure response capability.
• Employee Preparedness Surveys: Assessing awareness and confidence in crisis roles and protocols.

These measurable outcomes enable OCBC Bank to benchmark its crisis management maturity and ensure continual improvement over time.

OCBC Bank’s organisational goals for crisis management reflect a comprehensive and integrated approach—rooted in ISO 22361:2022, aligned with MAS regulations, and guided by OCBC’s corporate mission.

By focusing on leadership, preparedness, communication, operational resilience, and continuous learning, OCBC Bank ensures that it not only survives crises but also emerges stronger from them.

Through these structured goals, OCBC reaffirms its commitment to protecting customer trust, maintaining financial stability, and supporting Singapore’s national resilience—embodying the spirit of leadership in times of crisis.

 

Leading Through Crisis: Implementing Crisis Management at OCBC Bank
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