If you are not eligible for a personal loan from other lenders because you fail to meet their criteria, you can look into the personal OCBC loan. It is not the most competitive among the personal loans in the market, OCBC charges high-interest rates, but they have lower standards for their clients. If you are in a pinch, you can check their personal loan policy and see if it can solve your current issue. This option is for those who still want to borrow their personal loans from the bank (under the Monetary Authority of Singapore or MAS) and not from a lending investor like Singsaver PTE Ltd.
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Features and Benefits
The OCBC personal loan is one of the best options for residents who cannot get a loan anywhere else. They require a lower standard for their clients’ credit history, hence their reputation as a loan option for those with low income and bad credit scores. Interest rates are competitive for those who are new to OCBC. Thus, if you want to borrow an OCBC personal loan, you can consider opening an account to maximize this feature.
Interest Rates and Fees
Assuming you have an annual income of SGD 30,000 or above, you can use the following table to see how much you will have to pay as instalment (with its corresponding interest rate) if you get an OCBC personal loan worth SGD 10,000.
| Loan Duration | Flat Interest Rate | Fee | Effective Interest Rate (EIR) | Monthly Payment | Total Cost |
| 1 year | 8.31% | 2% | 20.61% | SGD 903 | SGD 1,301 |
| 2 years | 8.18% | 2% | 18.47% | SGD 485 | SGD 1,836 |
| 3 years | 8.27% | 2% | 17.73% | SGD 347 | SGD 2,681 |
| 4 years | 8.40% | 2% | 17.36% | SGD 278 | SGD 3,500 |
| 5 years | 8.55% | 2% | 17.13% | SGD 238 | SGD 4,475 |
Additionally, you will be charged with a processing fee of 2% of your loan amount or SGD 200, whichever is higher. If your income is below the set SGD 30,000 minimum, the loan processing fee is usually fixed at SGD 100. You should check on an OCBC representative to verify these loan fees as they are subject to changes.
How Does It Compare to Other Banks?
Companies that offer personal loans like Singsaver PTE Ltd. charge many things to their loan customers in exchange for fast results and quick cash products. Processing fees, high repayment, and over-all higher cost of payments for their services may discourage these loan customers, results in them looking into banking products (under MAS) instead.
Analysis of articles that study consumers’ behavior, particularly loan customers getting personal loans, reveals that they are content with products from the bank despite its tedious attention to credit card information and other credit details of your life. The low-interest, longer tenures, fixed instalment, low processing fees, among other details- give loan customers not much choice but to forego getting loans from Singsaver PTE Ltd. and the like and find information on repayments, rates (EIR), processing fee if there are any, from banks.
Bank information on their loans for various customers (e.g., home loans, credit cards, SMEs, etc.) is among the lowest in terms of payment installment within this site range. To compare how the OCBC loan fares (in terms of the amount that can be borrowed from personal loans, interest rate, repayments) against other banks, which also offer personal loans, you can use the following table. The analysis is focussed on the interest rate (effective interest rate provided), the loan amount, the monthly installments, rights reserved.
| Bank | Loanable Amount | Interest Rate | Monthly Repayment |
| OCBC | Up to 6x monthly salary | 8.2%p.a. – 13.1%p.a. | Lowest at SGD 238 |
| DBS-POSB | Up to 10x monthly salary | 3.88%p.a. | Lowest at SGD 199 |
| Bank of China | Up to 95% of your credit limit | 6.52%p.a. | SGD 332 |
| Citibank | Up to 4x monthly income | 4.94%p.a. – 7.79%p.a. | Lowest at SGD 214.92 |
| HSBC | Up to 8x monthly salary | 3.7% | Lowest at SGD 149.88 |
What Makes It Stand Out Among Other Banks?
From the table above, OCBC is evidently one of the more expensive personal loan sources. OCBC charges high-interest rates (both flat and EIR) for their loans, which causes the total loan cost to amount to a significantly higher amount than others. However, OCBC has high transparency about their fees and interest rates compared to other banks. You can expect their staff to clearly explain what you are required to pay, hence saving you from unnecessary hidden charges as you repay your OCBC loan amount.
Eligibility and Requirements
If you are interested in applying for an OCBC personal loan here in Singapore, you must meet the following criteria:
- At least 21 years old
- Earn at least SGD 20,000 annually (Singapore and permanent residents) or SGD 45,000 annually (foreigners)
- Does not discriminate against foreigners living in Singapore
If you qualify, you can then proceed to prepare the following documents for submission to the OCBC bank:
- Front and back copy of NRIC, Passport/Employee Pass (if it applies)
- For salaried employees:
- Electronic payslip for the past 3 months
- Latest 6 months’ CPF statement (for Singaporeans and Permanent Residents)
- The latest income tax statement
- For self-employed individuals:
- Latest 12 months’ CPF statement (Singaporeans and Permanent Residents)
- Latest income tax statement (for the past 24 months)
How to Apply
- Go to the OCBC site and fill their online application form accurately. Don’t forget to sign to make it official.
- Submit the indicated required documents.
- Wait for OCBC staff approval.
See also: Personal Loans from POSB & Standard Chartered CashOne
Closing
Looking for a personal loan in Singapore can be difficult, especially since you run the risk of ending up with a loan; you have no means to repay. Having your own calculator of repayment options, processing fee, rates (especially computing the EIR), and payment fee is tough, and most especially so when you turn to banks for your loans.
Customers are not limited to just having their credit cards and home loans from these institutions, but their repayment schemes and understanding their processing fees can be challenging.
To help you make decisions for your loans, you may contact Loan Advisor. They are one of the most trusted loan comparison site in the country, and their years of experience can help you secure a good personal loan policy with a low repayment and EIR. They have done so with their past clients, and they sure can do it for you as well.
