Singapore lender OCBC Group has rolled out a securities lending programme that leverages the Citi Securities Lending Access ( CSLA ) platform and enables retail and corporate customers of OCBC Securities, as well as clients of its private banking arm, Bank of Singapore, to enhance portfolio returns by lending out their idle securities to institutional borrowers for fee income.

Customers, OCBC notes, will still receive dividends, coupon payments and bonus issues, and retain full flexibility to sell their securities at any time. 

The CSLA platform, Citi says, is a solution that digitizes and simplifies the entire securities lending lifecycle and will give OCBC access to institutional borrowers, such as prime brokers and investment banks globally.

They borrow securities, the bank explains, for various strategies, including short selling securities, arbitraging and hedging strategies, which require borrowing to cover their positions. 

The global securities lending business is expanding rapidly. Securities lending markets, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, generated revenues of US$1.2 billion in December 2025 – a 24% year-over-year increase and the 10th consecutive month that revenues surpassed US$1 billion. As a result, revenue for the year surged 27% to US$14.9 billion.

The programme is now open to OCBC Securities customers. Currently, they can lend out US and Hong Kong shares. The programme will be extended to Bank of Singapore clients in 2026, with Singapore, Hong Kong, US and Japan shares eligible to be lent out for a start.

Shares must be custodized with OCBC Securities or Bank of Singapore to be eligible for lending. Once a loan is confirmed, the shares from OCBC Securities or Bank of Singapore are then loaned to an OCBC account, before being on loaned to the borrower.

Launched in 2021, the CSLA platform provides seamless access to the securities lending market. Citi’s collaboration with OCBC marks a significant expansion of CSLA in Asia, bringing its benefits to one of the region's most substantial and varied investor communities. 

“Securities lending brings benefits such as higher trading volumes, price discovery and market efficiency,” says Kenneth Lai, OCBC’s head of global markets. “OCBC Securities and Bank of Singapore customers can also now enjoy the benefits of earning additional return on their investment portfolios by choosing to lend their securities.”