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Bloomberg
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp., (OCBC) Southeast Asia’s second-largest bank, has joined some global peers in pledging it won’t lay off staff due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We do not plan to have retrenchment exercise arising from this outbreak,†Chief Executive Officer Samuel Tsien said in a recent memo to employees. Despite the expected hit to the bank’s revenue growth, Singapore-based OCBC has “strong levels of capital, funding and liquidity to guide us through these uncertain times,†Tsien wrote.
Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Inc. are among the global banks which have pledged to preserve jobs despite the worst economic downturn in years, as the deadly virus cripples tourism, manufacturing and services. The Singapore government has said the economy may contract by as much as 4% this year.
OCBC’s total headcount stood at 30,492 as of the end of December, and the bank has operations across Southeast Asia, Greater China, Europe and the US. The number of staff has risen 41% in the past 10 years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
A bank spokeswoman confirmed the contents of Tsien’s memo, which was distributed to employees on March 24.