Maybank Singapore targets older clients and Malaysia links for growth

Maybank Singapore CEO Alvin Lee is putting older customers and Singapore-Malaysia business flows at the center of the bank’s growth plan, Fortune reported. The strategy matters because Singapore is aging quickly while Maybank seeks a larger role in a market led by DBS, UOB and OCBC.

The Straits Times has reported that by 2030, one in four Singapore citizens will be at least 65 years old, compared with one in ten two decades earlier. Lee told Fortune that Maybank’s Singapore customer base already has a higher share of “silver generation users” than the industry average, calling the silver economy “a muscle we need to invest in.”

Older customers become a bigger focus

Maybank has been adding services aimed at older Singaporeans, according to Fortune. In 2019, the bank introduced its Passion Plus program, which includes savings products with preferential rates and benefits such as discounted medical visits, supplements and massages.

Etiqa, Maybank’s insurance arm, also sells an accident plan for customers aged 40 to 75, Fortune reported. The product offers a higher reimbursement limit for medical costs tied to accidents.

Lee told Fortune he hopes the offerings will help the bank commercially in the short term while also serving customers better. The push fits with a broader wealth-management buildout he helped lead before becoming Singapore CEO.

Wealth management and cross-border flows

Lee joined Maybank in 2013 as chief investment officer of its private banking business after roles at JPMorgan, Citibank and Barclays, according to Fortune. He set up the bank’s Singapore wealth management arm in 2016 and became Maybank Singapore CEO in 2024, succeeding John Lee, who retired in late 2023.

Maybank said in a February release that wealth management remained a key growth engine in 2025. The bank said total financial assets rose 5% to 562.3 billion Malaysian ringgit, or $176.4 billion.

Singapore accounts for 20% of Maybank’s annual revenue, Fortune reported. Lee said he wants that share to reach 30% by 2030, while acknowledging the bank cannot match DBS directly and must “pick the right fights.”

One of those fights is the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone, Fortune reported. The Business Times reported that Maybank had handled about 20 billion Malaysian ringgit, or $4.82 billion, in financing and investments connected to the zone, the most among lenders involved in its development.

Lee told Fortune that Maybank had built a Singapore-Malaysia investment corridor before the special economic zone, helped by its presence on both sides of the causeway. He said the bank wants to serve companies as well as individuals, including Singapore firms setting up factories or logistics centers in Johor.

Islamic finance and younger customers

Islamic finance is another part of Maybank’s Singapore plan, Fortune reported. The bank opened an Islamic wealth management hub in Singapore in 2023 and said it was the first in the country to offer end-to-end Islamic wealth solutions, including planning for intergenerational transfers.

Lee told Fortune that take-up has been growing between 20% and 40% annually. In 2025, Maybank and Etiqa launched what Asian Banking & Finance described as Singapore’s first takaful, or Islamic insurance product, in decades.

Lee said the Islamic finance market could be broader if positioned as value-based finance rather than only through a religious lens, Fortune reported. He also said the field still has room to expand, especially in wealth management.

Maybank is also trying to build awareness among younger Singaporeans, according to Fortune. In 2024, it launched a 12-month student ambassador program with mentoring aimed at helping undergraduates prepare for corporate work.

Lee told Fortune that Maybank’s Malaysian roots give it knowledge and contacts that Singapore customers can use. He said his aim is for Maybank to become the largest foreign bank in Singapore, and he would be pleased if it could eventually pass one of the city-state’s three dominant local banks.

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.