The new service goes live from 10 June.

The new service will enable Bank of Singapore clients – who previously transacted in physical gold with a US-based entity – to do so through a Singapore-based entity (OCBC), the banking group said. 

Two sizes of the gold bars – large bars (about 400 troy ounces or 12.4kg) and kilobars (1kg) – will be made available. Large bars are the global standard for international trade settlement. Kilobars are the preferred standard in Asian markets and are accepted for delivery in Commodity Exchange gold futures contracts in the US. 

OCBC said its entry into the physical gold market comes amidst surging global demand for the metal. It cited data from World Gold Council, the industry group, saying that demand for gold bars in the first quarter of 2026 was 50 per cent higher than a year ago. 

Bank of Singapore client holdings for physical gold have grown more than 40 per cent since the end of 2025, with the “vast majority” of these holdings being held by UHNW clients.

OCBC said it will continue to explore extending physical gold, as well as other physical gold-linked investment and hedging solutions, to additional segments across the group. 

Besides physical gold, with the OCBC app, OCBC’s Singapore clients can invest in fractional gold or silver. Another channel is the LionGlobal Singapore Physical Gold Fund, which was launched in 2025 by Lion Global Investors, OCBC’s asset management arm. OCBC said the entity is the country’s first gold fund backed by physical gold, insured and securely vaulted in Singapore. 

Singapore’s first home-grown physical gold exchange-traded fund (ETF), the LionGlobal Singapore Physical Gold ETF, also made its listing debut on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) in March this year.

“Gold has long played a strategic role in wealth preservation, particularly for ultra-high net worth clients with long-term, intergenerational objectives,” Jason Moo, CEO of Bank of Singapore, said. “Amid market volatility and geopolitical uncertainty, these clients are thinking more deeply about who they transact with, and where their gold is stored. By leveraging OCBC Group’s strengths, we will be able to deliver a secure, trusted and differentiated physical gold offering that addresses our clients’ risk concerns.”

As if to illustrate the trend, a recent report from the European Central Bank (see chart below) has found that gold accounted for 27 per cent of central bank reserves at the end of 2025, overtaking US Treasuries, now at 22 per cent. This change represents a break with government bonds having provided the main source of central bank reserves for decades after WW2.

Source: ECB