OCBC closes gap on DBS as S'pore banks vie for bond deals

Singapore

OVERSEA-Chinese Banking Corp is closing the gap on top-ranked Singapore dollar bond arranger DBS Group, trailing by the narrowest margin on record last quarter.

OCBC helped issue S$1.56 billion of offerings at home in the three months to March 31, boosting its market share to 32.4 per cent, more than triple a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. DBS worked on US$1.62 billion of deals for a 33.6 per cent market share. OCBC was the sole manager on two issues for Singapore Telecommunications this year while DBS was on all three of its previous local-currency deals.