Commemorating our 90th anniversary is not just about toasting our own colleagues. We reached out via our social platforms – Facebook and Instagram – to ask customers to share their fondest OCBC memories and artefacts. One of our favourite stories came from Madam Low Lian Choo, 68, who shares how her children grew up with the Bank from as young as four.

Why OCBC? There are many banks out there.

OCBC is one of our local banks. It may sound cheesy, but my family strongly believes in supporting local. My husband is the sole breadwinner in my family and a cancer survivor too, while I’m the caregiver to my parents. That is why we are very careful when it comes to managing his hard-earned funds. When it came to choosing a bank, we agreed that the bank has to be trustworthy, inspire confidence and give us a peace of mind. It’s no way to live if we are constantly in fear of losing our every cent.

To me, OCBC stands for ‘Over-the-Counter Best Characters’. I said this to my children all the time too – I wanted them to start off on the right foot when they embarked on their saving adventures. OCBC is a bank with a strong foundation; one that treats customers well and with honesty.

This year marks the 90th anniversary of the Bank. What does this mean to you?

OCBC, congratulations on your 90th anniversary and more to come!
We rejoice with you as my children literally grew up with you. I opened their first bank accounts with OCBC on 12 December 1988. They were Joint Savings Accounts.

The three of them are 38, 39 and 41 years old now – how time flies! I still remember the day we opened their accounts. I was at home getting ready as I prepared their birth certificates and I told them we were going on a special outing. It was their very first trip to a bank.

My youngest child Calvin, who was 4 years old then, was the most excited! The entire commute was filled with rapid fire questions from him on what a bank was and what OCBC did.

What is your fondest memory with us?

The fondest (and cutest) memory that comes to mind is from the year in which OCBC gave out lanterns for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

My husband was stationed in Australia for three months that year and he had given me some cash for our family expenses before he left. I was pretty frugal with this since I didn’t want to run out of funds before he returned.

When Mid-Autumn Festival came around… You know how kids are; they want to have lanterns of their own so they can take part in the celebrations. That was when I saw that OCBC was running a promotion that gave out lanterns for free depending on the amount you deposited in your account. I ended up getting two large lanterns and a small one. The kids were elated!

Calvin was looking at a bank book – it was for an account I had deposited funds in for the promotion. He said: “$2,000…so mummy, you deposited two thousand dollars.”

I was amazed. My 4-year-old, who I had just taught how to count from 0 to 10, was able to understand what ‘$2,000’ meant?

“Of course!” He replied. “But whose account is this for?” He couldn’t read words yet.
It was his sister’s. The second bank book – his brother's.

He looked through the third bank book, which was his, and exclaimed: “Why is there only $700! Mummy, do you know 2000 is nearly three times of 700?”

I was greatly stunned; dumbfounded! My four-year-old knew how to multiply too!

But more importantly, I had to put on my thinking cap and come up with something that would not hurt this smart boy.

So, I explained that things would come in sequence of age. He would get a bigger lantern and deposit in his account three years later, after his brother and sister. Unfortunately, OCBC stopped having this promotion when the time came!

Since your children have banked with OCBC all their life, I’m sure you must have some items to share?

Of course. Here are some of my artefacts. They’ve survived four house moves and 34 long years, with many more to come.

My family is very pleased to be customers of the Bank and we wish OCBC all the best!