Despite initial interest, a consortium made up of Singaporean lender OCBC, marine giant Keppel and peer-to-peer lending platform Validus has decided not to pursue a digital banking license in the city-state.
The decision against applying for a license is believed to be linked with an ongoing strategic review of Keppel’s core operations, according to a report, in the midst of a takeover via a partial offer by Temasek.
The consortium was expected to leverage the network of small vendors from Keppel with financing through the Validus platform which houses several large corporates including shipyards and logistics firms. Effectively, the partnership would allow large corporates to take advantage of their blue chip status to provide financing to their small contractors and suppliers to ensure the completion of projects on schedule.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore will issue just five licenses which include two full licenses, which covers retail banking, and three wholesale banking licenses. The latest reported interest came from a partnership between Grab and Singtel which envisions their establishment of a truly customer-centric digital bank.