THE iFast Global Bank (IGB) should not be compared to local lenders, said Lim Chung Chun, the chief executive officer of wealth management platform iFast Corporation, at a briefing on Monday (Oct 28).
IGB’s regulatory ratios are well in excess of both official requirements and those of the three local banks – DBS, OCBC and UOB. Lim intends to keep iFast’s banking business “simple” compared with the local lenders.
“‘Simple’ means collecting deposits, deploying the deposits in a safe and conservative manner, and earning net interest margin,” he said.
IGB’s losses have been narrowing quarter on quarter, reflecting progress. Its losses stood at S$820,000 in the third quarter of this year, down from S$1.6 million in Q2 and S$2.3 million in Q1.
Its revenue has also been growing quarter on quarter, to S$13.9 million in Q3 2024 from S$11.4 million in Q2 and S$9.5 million in Q1.
The bank is expected to turn profitable by Q4 this year, but Lim has no projections to share for 2025 yet. He noted that a good simple retail business with controls on pricing and margins, and not taking too many balance sheet risks can build profitability in a stable manner.
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“We have been very keen to have a bank to help our overall business quite a bit, “ he added.
The company will continue to build on IGB’s remittance business, as well as digital personal banking and digital transaction banking businesses, which have driven growth in deposits. As of Sep 30, deposits were S$805.6 million, up from S$358.6 million as at Dec 31, 2023.
Currently, 70 per cent of deposits come from non-UK residents, with a number of Asian countries contributing to the bulk of the non-UK deposits. The majority of the deposit growth is driven by new customers, who go on to open iFast accounts; this has a positive effect on the wider group, said Lim.
“We’ve been talking about a truly global business model, (where) we can operate from a few financial centres and cater to customers from different parts of the world,” he said.
IGB’s popularity has been attributed to the need many people have to open a bank account outside of their home country. Lim noted that nearly all banks are interested in serving only domestic retail customers.
“There are many people who want to open a bank account outside of their home country, and that is a segment that most banks are not putting much effort into,” he said.
While iFast may have lost out on the bid for a digital bank licence in Singapore, Lim has not given up hope on acquiring a banking licence closer to home. Although obtaining such a licence is unlikely in Singapore, given the protected nature of its retail banking sector, the CEO believes that there are still opportunities in the Republic.
“For instance, there are many private banks in Singapore. While they have a more limited banking licence, they (still present an) opportunity. In time to come, we would like to look at this particular opportunity, if the Monetary Authority of Singapore gives us that chance.”
