Singapore, 7 April 2026 – OCBC today announced its ambition to support 12,000 SMEs across Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Indonesia with sustainable financing by 2028. This is more than double the 5,000 SMEs the Bank supported as of end-2025. Achieving this goal is expected to increase SME sustainable finance commitments from nearly SGD 13 billion ($10.1 billion) at the end of 2025 to SGD 25 billion ($19.4 billion) by 2028.

This marks the first time a bank in Asia has set a sustainable finance target specifically for this segment of customers. This intensified focus on SMEs is aligned with OCBC’s new corporate strategy, The Next Frontier, which includes a Net-Zero Shift aimed at strengthening support for their green transition across Asia.

SMEs play a critical role in addressing climate change. Accounting for over 95% of all enterprises in the region and 70% of the workforce, they form an integral part of supply chains and industries that need to collaborate in driving the scale and pace of emissions reductions in the region.

OCBC’s SME sustainable finance commitments include social loans for women entrepreneurs. Dedicated programmes have been rolled out across the four core markets to enhance the socioeconomic advancement of women and strengthen the growth and resilience of women-owned businesses.

Strong momentum in 2025

The new target also builds on the continued momentum in the Bank’s sustainable finance loan portfolio for SMEs. In 2025:

• The total number of SMEs supported with sustainable financing increased by 34%.
• Total sustainable finance commitments for SMEs grew by approximately 40%.
• The number of sustainability-linked loans extended to SMEs more than doubled, reflecting a growing willingness among business owners to commit to measurable and trackable sustainability improvements at the enterprise level – helping to drive meaningful and long-term impact. Over 70% of these borrowers are small SMEs with fewer than 25 employees.

The sectors that drove this growth included building and construction, manufacturing, and transport and logistics.

OCBC’s sustainability support for SMEs

The new target is an extension of OCBC’s longstanding efforts to support SMEs at all stages of their sustainability efforts with sustainable financing as well as cost-effective and user-friendly tools.

In 2025, OCBC partnered with Enterprise Singapore on the OCBC SME Start-ESG Programme, aimed at helping SMEs obtain a baseline measurement of their sustainability metrics and expert advice on sustainability practices, as well as gain access to SLLs from OCBC. Since its launch, over 180 SMEs have been onboarded to the Programme and undergone the assessment, meeting 60% of the 3-year target of 300 SMEs in just 12 months.

In 2021, OCBC launched the SME Energy Efficiency Assessment (SMEEA) tool in Singapore in collaboration with the Building and Construction Authority. The online self-assessment tool is free for SME customers and helps them assess and improve the energy performance of their properties. The SMEEA tool was introduced in Malaysia and Hong Kong in 2024. As of 31 December 2025, over 1,200 SMEs have used the tool for over 1,700 properties.

In November 2020, the Bank introduced the SME Sustainable Finance Framework in Singapore, simplifying and reducing the cost of accessing sustainable financing up to SGD 20 million ($15.6 million). This has since been launched in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Hong Kong.

Refer to Annex A for more details on how the Bank has supported two SME customers – Atlas Transport & Logistics and Chye Thiam Maintenance – in their sustainability efforts.

Ms Elaine Heng, Head of Global Commercial Banking, OCBC, said: “Across the region, SMEs increasingly recognise that sustainability is not just a compliance requirement, but a strategic business imperative. Many are already taking concrete steps on their transition journeys. Our new and ambitious sustainable financing target for SMEs reflects the growing maturity in this space and builds on the strong expansion of our SME sustainable financing portfolio in recent years. We had an early head start in helping SMEs integrate sustainability into their business models, and this remains a strategic priority under our new corporate strategy. Supporting our SME clients in their decarbonisation efforts is integral to how we create long-term value for our customers as we all work towards a low-carbon, more resilient future.”

Re-disseminated by The Asian Banker