{"id":2188,"date":"2026-06-25T09:44:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T09:44:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=2188"},"modified":"2026-06-25T09:44:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T09:44:53","slug":"maybank-singapore-ceo-alvin-lee-looks-to-tap-the-silver-economy-and-cross-border-flows-to-grow-his-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=2188","title":{"rendered":"Maybank Singapore CEO Alvin Lee looks to tap the silver economy and cross-border flows to grow his business"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>Demographic decline can be a burden on economies, as a shrinking working-age population is forced to support a growing elderly population. But for some businesses, the \u201csilver economy\u201d\u2014products and services catering to an aging population\u2014can be an opportunity.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=2186\">1,000-year-old massive textile factory unearthed in Denmark\u2014and it belonged to the Vikings<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe silver economy is a muscle we need to invest in,\u201d says Alvin Lee, the Singapore CEO of Malaysian bank Maybank, adding that the bank\u2019s Singapore clientele already has more \u201csilver generation users\u201d than the industry average.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Maybank has steadily built up its wealth services catering to Singapore\u2019s silver generation. In 2019, it launched the Passion Plus program, which includes banking products with \u201cpreferential saving rates\u201d to help users build their retirement savings, and lifestyle perks like massages, cheaper supplements and discounted doctor visits. Etiqa, the bank\u2019s insurance wing, also offers a specialized accident plan catered for those aged between 40 and 75, which offers a higher reimbursement limit for medical expenses from accidents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHopefully, within the short term, these products will benefit the bank financially, and also allow us to serve our customers well,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Lee first joined Maybank in 2013 as the chief investment officer of its private banking unit, following stints at other financial institutions like JPMorgan, Citibank, and Barclays. He established Maybank\u2019s wealth management wing in Singapore in 2016.<\/p>\n<p>Maybank entered the wealth management space later than its peers, but it\u2019s now a core pillar of the Malaysian bank\u2019s business.\u00a0In a February press release, Maybank said wealth management continued to be a \u201c\u201d in 2025, with total financial assets increasing 5% to 562.3 billion Malaysian ringgit ($176.4 billion).<\/p>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In 2024, Lee was appointed as Maybank\u2019s Singapore CEO, replacing John Lee who retired in late 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Maybank is a small player in Singapore\u2019s banking scene, which is currently dominated by its \u201cBig Three\u201d banks: DBS, UOB and OCBC. Foreign banks can only open 25 brick-and-mortar branches in the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe can never compete with the likes of DBS,\u201d Lee admits. \u201cWe have to pick the right fights.\u201d<\/p>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Still, Singapore now contributes 20% of Maybank\u2019s annual revenue. Lee hopes to lift that number to 30% by 2030. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to start finding new muscles,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Lee points to the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone, or JS-SEZ, as an example of one such muscle. Maybank has facilitated around 20 billion Malaysian ringgit ($4.82 billion) in financing and investments in the JS-SEZ, making it the largest of any lenders involved in the zone\u2019s development.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=2184\">\u2018We are in agony\u2019: Today Show host Savannah Guthrie begs public for help as reports surface her missing 84-year-old mom might be dead<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe started the Singapore-Malaysia investment corridor way before the JS-SEZ, since we have a big presence on both sides of the causeway,\u201d Lee explains. \u201cWe don\u2019t only want to bank individuals, but also companies, including Singapore-based firms looking to build factories or logistics centers in Johor.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Several Singaporean F&amp;B firms, including bread manufacturer Gardenia and beverage maker Yeo\u2019s, have recently shuttered their Singapore factories and relocated operations to Malaysia, citing cost pressures.<\/p>\n<p>Islamic finance, or a system of banking practices that comply with sharia, or Islamic law, is also one of the cornerstones of Maybank\u2019s offerings. Maybank debuted an Islamic wealth management hub in Singapore in 2023, and became the first bank in the country to offer end-to-end Islamic wealth solutions, including planning for wealth transfer to subsequent generations. \u201cThe take-up rate has been good, it\u2019s growing between 20 to 40% each year,\u201d Lee says. In 2025, the bank also launched Singapore\u2019s first <em>takaful<\/em>\u2014an Islamic insurance product\u2014in decades.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Islamic finance space still has room to grow, particularly in wealth management, Lee says. \u201cIt\u2019s so new, even in the Gulf region,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we go in strictly from a religious angle, the appeal of Islamic banking may be quite limited,\u201d he adds. \u201cBut if we look at it as value-based finance and banking, the market can be much larger.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maybank\u2019s executives know it needs to attract a younger cohort of Singaporean customers to stay relevant. In 2024, the bank recently launched a 12-month student ambassador program, which includes mentorship aspects designed to boost undergraduate employability and bridge the gap between students and the corporate world.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to raise awareness of Maybank amongst young people, so that when they come of age and start working, they\u2019ll consider us for banking services,\u201d Lee says.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Lee also thinks the bank\u2019s connections in Malaysia will attract Singaporean business. \u201cGiven our Malaysian heritage, we have a lot of know-how, and have many contacts in Malaysia that our customers here in Singapore can benefit from.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Still, it\u2019d be a long climb to become a more prominent player in Singapore\u2019s banking sector. But Lee is bullish that Malaysia\u2019s largest bank can become a bigger name in Southeast Asia\u2019s most important financial sector. \u201cMy wish is for Maybank to be the largest foreign player in Singapore,\u201d he concludes. \u201cAnd if we can be the third largest by overtaking one of the \u201cBig Three\u201d Singapore banks, I\u2019ll be very happy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=2182\">Bill Ackman, David Tepper, and other billionaire fund managers are quietly piling into Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Singapore now contributes 20% of Maybank\u2019s annual revenue, but its country CEO Alvin Lee hopes to lift that number to 30% by 2030. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2187,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[308],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-singapore"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - 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