Singapore, Feb 20, 2026, 19:59 (SGT) — The market has closed.
OCBC edged up 0.6%, ending the session at S$21.72 on Friday. DBS also moved 0.6% higher, while UOB slipped 0.2%. The Straits Times Index added 0.3% as traders tracked mounting U.S.-Iran tensions that have lifted oil prices to their highest since August. “Market reactions from a risk scenario would include a rise in commodity prices including gold, and more volatile equity markets,” said Dr Nannette Hechler-Fayd’herbe, Lombard Odier’s chief investment officer for EMEA. (The Business Times)
Attention shifts to Feb. 25: OCBC is set to release its full-year 2025 financials ahead of the trading session, according to an SGX filing. (links.sgx.com)
Local investors will be watching the timing closely. OCBC carries serious weight in the benchmark, and Singapore bank earnings have a habit of shifting expectations fast—margin outlook, payout chatter, all of it can move on a dime.
Net interest margin gets the spotlight — that’s the difference between what banks make from loans and what they shell out on deposits — and investors want to see if it’s staying resilient. Loan growth, fee income, and credit costs are also squarely on the radar.
OCBC spotlighted its wealth arm this week, noting that two out of every three retail customers making their first investment with the bank in 2025 picked gold or silver. The lender said its base of precious metals investors grew 2.5 times over the previous year in 2025, with new investors up threefold month-on-month by end-January 2026. (OCBC)
Volatility has the power to spark sudden and dramatic price movements, according to Tan Siew Lee, OCBC’s head of group wealth management. “Young investors may feel tempted to chase quick gains, but true investing is about building long-term wealth, not speculation,” she said. (CNA)
Those inflows matter for OCBC shareholders. Wealth business helps drive fee income, sure, though it’s also prone to swings—trading revenue can surge or drop sharply as markets flip between risk-on and risk-off moods.
Traders are tuning in for signals on shareholder returns—dividends, buybacks, anything management is willing to outline. There’s also plenty of attention on how the team is weighing capital buffers, given the rougher backdrop for rates and geopolitics.
Still, things could turn quickly. If energy shocks escalate or margins and credit charges miss expectations, bank stocks could take a hit—much sharper than a slow slide in the broader index.
OCBC has its full-year 2025 numbers slated for Feb. 25, according to its financial calendar, with the following quarterly figures set for May 8. The Feb. 25 report—scheduled before the market opens—stands out as the next major event likely to drive OCBC’s share price into next week. (OCBC)
