OCBC, Bank Of Singapore Clients Offer Physical Gold Service

Entry into the physical gold sector comes amid surging demand for the yellow metal – seen across history as a financial haven.

Bank of
Singapore and institutional clients of parent group OCBC will now be able to buy,
sell and custodise gold with OCBC in a Singapore-based vault,
highlighting the attractions of holding the yellow metal in
uncertain times.

The new service goes live from 10 June.

The new service will enable Bank of Singapore clients – who
previously transacted in physical gold with a US-based entity –
to do so through a Singapore-based entity (OCBC), the banking
group said. 

Two sizes of the gold bars – large bars (about 400 troy ounces or
12.4kg) and kilobars (1kg) – will be made available. Large bars
are the global standard for international trade settlement.
Kilobars are the preferred standard in Asian markets and are
accepted for delivery in Commodity Exchange gold futures
contracts in the US. 

OCBC said its entry into the physical gold market
comes amidst surging global demand for the metal. It cited
data from World Gold Council, the industry group, saying that
demand for gold bars in the first quarter of 2026 was 50 per cent
higher than a year ago. 

Bank of Singapore client holdings for physical gold have grown
more than 40 per cent since the end of 2025, with the “vast
majority” of these holdings being held by UHNW clients.

OCBC said it will continue to explore extending physical gold, as
well as other physical gold-linked investment and hedging
solutions, to additional segments across the group. 

Besides physical gold, with the OCBC app, OCBC’s Singapore
clients can invest in fractional gold or silver. Another channel
is the LionGlobal Singapore Physical Gold Fund, which was
launched in 2025 by Lion Global Investors, OCBC’s asset
management arm. OCBC said the entity is the country’s first gold
fund backed by physical gold, insured and securely vaulted in
Singapore. 

Singapore’s first home-grown physical gold exchange-traded fund
(ETF), the LionGlobal Singapore Physical Gold ETF, also made its
listing debut on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) in March this year.

“Gold has long played a strategic role in wealth preservation,
particularly for ultra-high net worth clients with long-term,
intergenerational objectives,” Jason Moo, CEO of Bank of
Singapore, said. “Amid market volatility and geopolitical
uncertainty, these clients are thinking more deeply about who
they transact with, and where their gold is stored. By leveraging
OCBC Group’s strengths, we will be able to deliver a secure,
trusted and differentiated physical gold offering that addresses
our clients’ risk concerns.”

As if to illustrate the trend, a recent report from the European
Central Bank (see chart below) has found that gold accounted for
27 per cent of central bank reserves at the end of 2025,
overtaking US Treasuries, now at 22 per cent. This change
represents a break with government bonds having provided the
main source of central bank reserves for decades after WW2.

Source: ECB