Great Eastern Life Issuer Summary

Report date: 2026-05-14
Issuer: The Great Eastern Life Assurance Company Limited
Sector: Singapore life insurance / Great Eastern Holdings group insurance
Primary credit focus: Issuer credit, insurer financial strength, insurance contract liabilities, investment assets, medical claims, regulatory capital, relationship with OCBC group, and security risk of AT1/Tier 2 capital instruments

1. Business Snapshot and Recent Developments

The Great Eastern Life Assurance Company Limited (“GEL” or “Great Eastern Life”) is the core Singapore life insurance subsidiary of the Great Eastern Holdings Limited (“GEH”) group. The starting point for credit analysis is to view the company not as a bank, a general corporate, or OCBC itself, but as a life insurer with long-duration insurance contract liabilities backed by a large investment portfolio. GEH is the insurance arm of the OCBC group, but GEL securities are not OCBC bank debt or explicitly guaranteed obligations. The interests of policyholders, regulators, capital securities holders, GEH shareholders, and OCBC shareholders overlap in some respects, but legal claim ranking and capital-absorption mechanisms need to be reviewed separately.

Great Eastern is an insurance group founded in 1908. Its 2025 Annual Report describes it as an established market leader in the life insurance markets of Singapore and Malaysia, with operations also in Indonesia and Brunei. On a GEH consolidated basis at end-2025, total assets were S$122.6bn, the number of customers exceeded 16mn including government schemes, and government scheme customers were 11.7mn.

However, the scope of this report requires care. The issuer is GEL, but much of the publicly available detailed financial data is on a GEH consolidated basis. Great Eastern’s Investor Relations page states that audited financial statements for its Singapore subsidiaries are available from ACRA, but this report has not obtained GEL’s standalone audited financial statements via ACRA. Accordingly, this report assesses GEL’s standalone credit strength by reference to GEH’s consolidated scale, capital, investments, insurance liabilities, official ratings, capital securities issuance, and relationship with OCBC, while not treating GEH consolidated figures as GEL standalone figures.

In business and financial terms, GEH group delivered strong earnings in 2025. FY2025 profit attributable to shareholders was S$1,207.1mn, up 21% from S$995.3mn in FY2024. The company stated that the main supports were profit emergence from in-force business and favourable investment performance. On new business, Total Weighted New Sales (TWNS) fell 15% YoY to S$1,535.4mn, but New Business Embedded Value (NBEV) rose 19% YoY to S$739.7mn. This should not be read simply as franchise deterioration due to lower sales volume, but as a product mix shift away from shorter-term single-premium products and toward longer-duration, higher-value products.

The latest 1Q2026 disclosure also showed strong sales value. In the 1Q2026 materials released on 2026-05-06, TWNS was S$401.9mn, up 16% YoY, and NBEV was S$195.4mn, up 31%. On earnings, profit attributable to shareholders was broadly flat at S$346.3mn versus S$345.5mn in the prior-year period, but insurance business profit increased 33% YoY to S$329.0mn. By contrast, shareholders’ account profit fell sharply to S$17.3mn from S$98.7mn in the prior-year period, and OCI was a loss of S$2.6mn. The company cited mark-to-market losses on bonds due to higher interest rates and weaker investment conditions for equities and bonds. The insurer’s underlying earnings remain resilient, but market conditions can move short-term comprehensive income and reported capital.

Important changes in 2025 and 2026 also relate to the capital structure and parent relationship. GEL issued S$500mn of 3.928% subordinated notes due 2039, first callable in 2034, in 2024, and issued US$500mn of 5.398% fixed-rate perpetual capital securities, first callable in 2032, in January 2025. The latter was intended to be issued as Additional Tier 1 capital of GEL, and is a capital security with non-cumulative distributions that may be cancelled at GEL’s discretion. This enhances regulatory capital and capital efficiency, but for security holders it entails loss-absorption, coupon, and call risks that differ from senior debt.

The relationship with OCBC should also be separated into support and constraints in credit analysis. OCBC increased its stake in GEH during 2024 and 2025. In the announcement dated 2025-07-08, OCBC stated that its economic interest in GEH after the issuance of Class C non-voting shares would be approximately 93.72%. At the same time, OCBC’s 2025-06-06 announcement stated that its voting interest after that design would be approximately 88.19%; the economic interest and voting interest are not the same. GEH’s delisting proposal did not meet the required conditions at the July 2025 EGM, and the alternative path became restoring the free float through Class C non-voting shares and a bonus issue. OCBC regards GEH as a strategically important insurance arm, but this does not mean that GEL’s AT1 or Tier 2 securities carry an explicit OCBC guarantee.

2. Industry Position and Franchise Strength

The life insurance markets in Singapore and Malaysia combine individual protection, medical, retirement and savings, investment-linked, group insurance, and government-related schemes, with agents, bancassurance, financial advisers, digital channels, and partnership channels competing for business. In assessing Great Eastern’s franchise, it is necessary to consider not only whether premiums or customer numbers are large, but also what types of liabilities are originated through which channels, and what investment assets and capital support those liabilities.

Great Eastern’s strength lies in the brand and distribution network it has built over many years in its two core markets, Singapore and Malaysia. The 2025 Annual Report positions the group as an established market leader in the life insurance markets of Singapore and Malaysia. A customer base of more than 16mn supports premium income, renewal business, and the breadth of medical, protection, and savings products.

Distribution channels are multi-track. Great Eastern describes its channels as including a tied agency force, bancassurance, direct digital, digital partnerships, and Great Eastern Financial Advisers. In particular, bancassurance and group collaboration with OCBC and Bank of Singapore provide access to high-net-worth, retail, and commercial banking customers. Bancassurance can expand customer access compared with an insurer’s standalone agency model, but is also affected by the bank’s sales policy, commissions, customer protection regulation, product suitability, and consistency with the bank’s brand. Therefore, the OCBC channel is a business support, but should be read separately from any debt guarantee or automatic loss-absorption mechanism.

The 2025 sales trend should be viewed as a shift from volume to value. FY2025 TWNS fell 15% YoY, but the company explained that it had shifted from short-term single-premium products to a more diversified and longer-term product line. Meanwhile, NBEV rose 19%, supported by new product launches in Singapore and growth in financial advisers and bancassurance. From a credit perspective, the decline in TWNS should not immediately be read as franchise deterioration, and the increase in NBEV should not immediately be read as improved capital flexibility. The key factors are guarantees, medical and protection risks, surrender behaviour, acquisition costs, regulatory capital consumption, and the realisability of future profits embedded in the products sold.

Medical insurance has both franchise value and risk. The 2025 Annual Report and FY2025 materials repeatedly refer to rising medical costs, an increase in loss components for individual and group medical businesses, and medical claims trends in Singapore and Malaysia. However, based on the public materials reviewed for this report, detailed breakdowns of medical insurance claims ratios or the increase in loss components have not been obtained. Great Eastern has been expanding Great Medical Care Concierge in Singapore and launched The Great Journey in Malaysia, seeking to respond to rising medical costs through medical networks and product design. Credit analysis needs to continue monitoring medical claims, repricing, customer protection, reinsurance, and product profitability.

Malaysia is the second core market. In 2025, Malaysia TWNS was weak due to subdued market sentiment, but the company stated that it continued to strengthen the underlying business. Malaysia has life insurance, general insurance, and takaful operations, and Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Berhad and Great Eastern Takaful Berhad also carry Fitch AA IFS ratings. However, the issuer in this report is GEL in Singapore, and the insurer financial strength of Malaysian subsidiaries should not be treated as a standalone repayment source for GEL. On a GEH consolidated basis, they provide revenue diversification, but capital mobility, regulation, dividends, and local policyholder protection create constraints.

The overall franchise assessment is strong. Great Eastern is not a single-product sales company, but a broad-based insurance group with a long operating history, two core markets, bancassurance with OCBC, agency, FA, digital, medical services, and an asset management subsidiary. At the same time, credit strength in life insurance is determined not by distribution strength itself, but by the quality of the insurance liabilities generated by that distribution, and by the assets, capital, ALM, reinsurance, and regulatory management supporting those liabilities. Missing this point would lead to an erroneous reading of a strong brand as a sufficient condition for low credit risk.

3. Segment Assessment

In analysing Great Eastern’s business from a credit perspective, it is not sufficient to list revenue and operating profit by segment as one might for a general corporate. For a life insurer, product type, insurance liabilities, distribution channels, investment assets, policyholder behaviour, regulatory capital, and capital securities together determine credit strength. GEH’s consolidated disclosures have multiple dimensions, including life insurance, general insurance, asset management, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia/Brunei, but the core of GEL issuer analysis is the Singapore life insurance business and GEH’s consolidated capital and earnings capacity, which include that business.

The core life insurance products include whole life, endowment, term, annuity, medical and protection, investment-linked, and participating policies. The insurance contract liabilities note in the Annual Report shows that, of gross life insurance contract liabilities of S$107.1bn at end-2025, whole life accounted for S$72.4bn, endowment for S$31.2bn, term for S$3.0bn, and annuity for S$0.4bn. This indicates that Great Eastern’s liability structure is heavily skewed not toward short-tail non-life insurance, but toward long-duration life, savings, and protection contracts. Whole life and endowment are highly dependent on contract duration, guarantees, surrender values, participating policy dividends, asset yields, interest rates, and recovery of acquisition costs.

Medical and protection products are important as underwriting risk that is intrinsic to insurance and not dependent on interest-rate guarantees, but as of 2025 they are also a clear area for monitoring. In its FY2025 materials, while explaining the increase in insurance business profit, the company stated that the increase was partially offset by a higher loss component reflecting experience in the individual and group medical businesses. This indicates that medical product growth should not be viewed simply as revenue diversification. Medical inflation, hospital costs, benefit utilisation, claims, product revisions, premium-rate regulation, customer pushback, and reinsurance affect earnings, CSM, and capital.

For participating and savings products, the sharing of investment returns is important. Fitch cites the nature of participating policies, under which investment performance is shared with policyholders, as one reason why GEH’s risky asset ratio appears high. This means that mark-to-market movements in investment assets do not all remain with shareholders and creditors in the same form. At the same time, even for participating policies, guarantees, policyholder expectations, dividend policy, regulation, sales disclosures, and management during periods of low interest rates or market declines are still required; investment risk is not fully transferred to policyholders.

By geography, of gross life insurance contract liabilities of S$107.1bn at end-2025, Singapore accounted for S$74.4bn, Malaysia for S$31.1bn, and Others for S$1.6bn. Great Eastern’s credit strength is therefore centred on Singapore insurance liabilities and investment assets, with Malaysia as the second pillar. Singapore TWNS grew YoY in 1Q2026, supported by improved productivity in agency and banca. Malaysia TWNS, by contrast, was flat amid subdued demand. Geographic differences are reflected not only in growth rates, but also in medical claims, product regulation, interest rates, currency, and capital requirements.

The central issue across products and geographies is that Great Eastern is not simply “a company that collects a large amount of premium income”, but a company whose credit profile depends on what types of long-duration insurance contract liabilities it supports with which products, geographies, and assets. The scale of total investments of S$109.0bn and gross insurance contract liabilities of S$107.1bn at end-2025 shows that insurer credit strength depends not only on net profit, but also on ALM, investment valuation, policyholder behaviour, claims, and regulatory capital.

4. Financial Profile and Analysis

Great Eastern’s financial profile shows high profitability, very large investment assets and insurance liabilities, and strong external ratings, while also being sensitive to investment markets, interest rates, medical claims, CSM, and OCI. In assessing a life insurer’s credit strength, it is necessary to read profit attributable to shareholders together with TWNS, NBEV, insurance business profit, shareholders’ account profit, OCI, TCI, Embedded Value (EV), Comprehensive Equity (CE), insurance contract liabilities, investment assets, and regulatory capital.

FY2025 profit attributable to shareholders was S$1,207.1mn, up 21% from FY2024. The company stated that this was supported by profit emergence from in-force business and favourable investment returns. Insurance business profit increased to S$816.2mn in FY2025 from S$730.7mn in FY2024. Shareholders’ account profit also rose substantially, to S$390.9mn in FY2025 from S$264.6mn in FY2024. This indicates that the 2025 market environment was favourable for earnings. In 1Q2026, however, shareholders’ account profit fell sharply YoY and OCI turned negative. Insurer earnings move through both underlying insurance earnings and market valuation effects.

On new business, FY2025 TWNS fell 15% YoY to S$1,535.4mn. Singapore TWNS declined due to lower short-term single-premium product sales and the product mix shift, while Malaysia was weak due to subdued market sentiment. By contrast, NBEV rose 19% YoY to S$739.7mn, driven by Singapore core channels. This can be read positively as a shift from sales volume to value, but NBEV is a measure of future profit value and is not immediately usable as cash or capital. Future profit is affected by claims, surrender, investment returns, expenses, discount rates, regulatory capital, and product assumptions.

EV and CE are useful in assessing economic value and capital depth, but they are not the same as loss-absorption capacity for bondholders. FY2025 Embedded Value was S$20.1bn, which the company stated had increased due to underlying business growth and favourable investment performance. Comprehensive Equity was S$15.0bn, up 6.7% YoY, although this was partly offset by interest-rate movements and a decline in net CSM from Malaysia medical claims trends. CSM is an important indicator of accumulated future profit, but it is not immediate cash capital. Capital analysis needs to distinguish CSM, accounting equity, regulatory capital, available capital, and capital securities.

On the balance sheet, investment assets are central to credit analysis. GEH consolidated total investments were S$109.0bn at end-2025, up from S$102.3bn at end-2024. The breakdown comprised S$11.9bn of FVOCI financial assets, S$96.9bn of FVTPL financial assets, and S$0.2bn of financial assets at amortised cost. FVTPL financial assets included S$16.0bn of equities, S$51.5bn of debt securities, and S$29.3bn of collective investment schemes. As a life insurer, investment assets support insurance contract liabilities, but they also move earnings, OCI, and capital through interest rates, equities, credit spreads, liquidity, foreign exchange, and accounting classification.

Insurance contract liabilities are also very large. Gross life insurance contract liabilities were S$107.1bn at end-2025, and net liabilities after reinsurance were S$105.8bn. These increased from gross liabilities of S$100.6bn and net liabilities of S$99.9bn at end-2024. By class, whole life and endowment account for most of the total, and by country, Singapore accounts for about 70% and Malaysia for about 29%. This shows that Great Eastern’s credit strength depends not on short-term premium income, but on assumptions for long-duration insurance liabilities, ALM, investment yields, surrender, mortality and morbidity, medical claims, reinsurance, and regulatory capital.

1Q2026 clearly illustrated the divergence between insurance profit and market gains/losses. Insurance business profit was S$329.0mn, up 33% YoY, but shareholders’ account profit fell 82% to S$17.3mn. OCI was a loss of S$2.6mn, mainly due to mark-to-market losses on bonds, and TCI was S$343.7mn, down 18% YoY. This combination shows that even if the underlying strength of in-force and new business is strong, higher interest rates and market volatility can affect comprehensive income. Insurer credit strength should be assessed not by a single year’s net profit alone, but by the extent to which capital, liquidity, and regulatory ratios are maintained under stress.

The key financial indicators are summarised below. Figures are on a GEH consolidated basis and are not necessarily GEL standalone figures. Because FY2023 and earlier TWNS and 1Q comparisons do not align fully in the same table, the table uses both indicators available from audited annual reports and annual reports, and FY2025/1Q2026 sales value indicators.

The point to draw from this table is that Great Eastern’s credit strength is not simply a question of growth rates. FY2025 earnings and NBEV were strong, but TWNS declined; in 1Q2026, insurance profit increased while the investment environment was a headwind. Credit assessment needs to view the company as having a strong insurance franchise and capital, while also recognising that market, medical, interest-rate, and accounting assumptions move capital and earnings.

5. Structural Considerations for Bondholders

For GEL bondholders, the most important point is to separate the legal entity to which they have a claim, the ranking of that claim, its capital characteristics, and the extent to which support from any party can be legally expected. The Great Eastern brand is strong, GEH belongs to the OCBC group, and GEL is a core subsidiary. However, GEL-issued securities are not OCBC bank debt, GEH shares, or policyholder obligations.

GEL has established a S$2.0bn Euro Medium Term Note Programme together with GEH. In April 2024, it issued S$500mn of 3.928% subordinated notes due 2039, first callable in 2034. In January 2025, it issued US$500mn of 5.398% fixed-rate perpetual capital securities, first callable in 2032. The 2025 AT1 securities are direct, unsecured, and subordinated obligations of GEL, and are intended to be issued as Additional Tier 1 capital of GEL. The issue announcement specifies that distributions may be cancelled at GEL’s discretion, unpaid distributions are non-cumulative and do not accrue interest, and redemption requires MAS approval.

This capital character is a support for the issuer, but a risk for security holders. In order to qualify as regulatory capital, AT1 and Tier 2 instruments have greater loss-absorption capacity, subordination, coupon restrictions, and redemption restrictions than ordinary senior debt. Even if GEL has an IFS of AA from Fitch and AA- from S&P, the credit risk of AT1 and Tier 2 is not the same. The expected rating of the AT1 was A from S&P at issuance, below the insurer financial strength rating. Bond investors should price issuer credit and security terms separately.

Policyholder priority is also important. In a life insurance company, payment obligations to policyholders and the regulator’s protection objectives are prioritised. AT1 and subordinated debt have capital characteristics designed to support the issuer’s business continuity and regulatory capital maintenance, and under stress may be exposed to loss absorption or coupon restrictions before ordinary unsecured senior debt. This report has not obtained the Offering Circular, so write-down, conversion, non-viability, coupon stopper, event of default, cross-default, and liquidation ranking details are treated as unverified items.

The relationship with OCBC is a clear support, but not a legal guarantee. In its first-time rating in April 2025, Fitch incorporated a one-notch support uplift for GEH’s core insurance subsidiaries, reflecting OCBC’s controlling stake and distribution synergies. This is important as a rating assessment. At the same time, this report has not confirmed that OCBC guarantees principal or interest payments on GEL’s AT1/Tier 2 securities. OCBC’s strategic emphasis on GEH as its insurance arm, its large economic interest, and its progress in integration with the bank customer base support the likelihood of support and the franchise, but they are different from a legally unconditional payment obligation.

6. Capital Structure, Liquidity and Funding

In assessing Great Eastern’s capital and liquidity, it is necessary to consider GEH’s consolidated capital depth, regulatory capital, alternative capital issuance, liquidity of investment assets, payments to policyholders, shareholder dividends, and the relationship with the parent company together. The 2025 Annual Report states that GEH’s capital management policy is to create shareholder value while maintaining sufficient buffers against policyholder obligations and regulatory requirements. The company issued Tier 2 in 2024 and AT1 in 2025, diversifying its capital mix and improving ordinary equity capital efficiency.

On regulatory capital, the company states that the Capital Adequacy Ratios of GEH group and its insurance subsidiaries in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia are above the minimum regulatory levels in each country. The 1Q2026 materials also state that the insurance subsidiaries’ CARs were strong and above their respective minimum regulatory requirements. However, this report has not obtained GEL’s precise standalone CAR/RBC ratio. Therefore, the capital assessment in this report is an external-information-based review using company disclosures and Fitch’s rating model assessment, and does not independently numerically verify GEL standalone regulatory capital headroom.

In its April 2025 first-time rating, Fitch assessed GEH’s capitalisation as Very Strong and stated that the Prism Global Model score, including net CSM in available capital, was in the Extremely Strong category at end-2024. Fitch also stated that GEH’s asset leverage was approximately 7.1x, significantly below the benchmark for AA-rated life insurers, and that consolidated financial leverage would be below 4% on a pro forma basis even after the AT1 issuance. This is a strong support in external ratings. However, Fitch’s model assessment is the rating agency’s judgement and should be distinguished from investors’ own capital headroom calculations.

The liquidity base consists of the large investment portfolio and premium income. GEH consolidated total investments were S$109.0bn at end-2025, including bonds, equities, collective investment schemes, and derivatives. An insurer needs to prepare for maturities, claims, surrenders, reinsurance, hedge collateral, and regulatory capital maintenance. A large investment portfolio supports liquidity, but not all of it can be converted into cash immediately without loss. The large amount of FVTPL financial assets increases transparency through fair-value recognition, but market declines can affect earnings, OCI, and reported capital.

The liquidity risk of insurance contract liabilities differs from deposit outflows at a bank, but cannot be ignored. Life insurance contracts are long-term and, under normal conditions, relatively predictable. However, if higher interest rates, competing products, sales-quality issues, increased medical claims, economic deterioration, and a decline in policyholder confidence coincide, surrenders, claims, maturity payments, hedge collateral needs, and asset sales can occur at the same time. The sensitivity tables in the Annual Report show that changes in mortality and morbidity, accident and health, persistency, and renewal expenses affect profit and capital in the Singapore segment. This indicates that insurance liabilities are not merely accounting long-term liabilities, but also carry real payment and capital risk.

Issuance of capital securities increases capital management flexibility. The 2024 Tier 2 and 2025 AT1 create a capital structure that does not rely solely on ordinary equity and support GEH/GEL’s growth investment and regulatory capital maintenance. For bondholders, however, the fact that GEL uses capital instruments means that under stress those securities may become subject to loss absorption. The AT1 in particular has perpetual features, non-cumulative distribution cancellation, and MAS approval requirements, so coupons and redemption should not be expected in the same way as for senior debt.

Overall, based on company disclosures and Fitch’s assessment, Great Eastern’s capital and liquidity are at a level that supports AA-range ratings. However, this strength should not be read as “no risk”. GEL standalone CAR/RBC, investment asset liquidity, medical claims, ALM, the quality of CSM, AT1/Tier 2 terms, and capital policy with OCBC need to be monitored continuously.

7. Rating Agency View

Ratings are important external assessments for framing Great Eastern Life’s credit strength. However, for insurers, insurer financial strength ratings, issuer ratings, capital security ratings, parent ratings, and domestic and international scales can coexist, so relying only on symbols can lead to errors. In GEL’s case, insurer financial strength is very high, but the security risk of AT1/Tier 2 is different, and parent support from OCBC is not a legal guarantee.

Great Eastern’s official ratings page shows, as of the 2026-05-14 review date, that The Great Eastern Life Assurance Company Limited has an Insurer Financial Strength Rating of AA- / Stable from S&P Global Ratings and AA / Stable from Fitch Ratings. The page states that the latest rating review dates are 2026-02-01 for S&P and 2026-04-20 for Fitch. This report has not obtained the full 2026 rating reports, so it treats the ratings, outlooks, and review dates on the official page as the current external assessment.

For Fitch, the first-time rating release dated 2025-04-29 is publicly available. Fitch assigned IFS ratings of AA to GEL, Great Eastern General Insurance, and major insurance subsidiaries in Malaysia, and Long-Term IDRs of AA- to GEL and GEG. Fitch cited GEH’s strong capitalisation, low financial leverage, strong company profile in Singapore and Malaysia, and diversified sources of earnings. Fitch also regarded GEL and other major subsidiaries as Core operating subsidiaries of GEH and incorporated a one-notch uplift reflecting OCBC’s controlling stake and distribution support.

Fitch’s capital assessment is strong. Fitch stated that, at end-2024, the Prism Global Model score including net CSM in available capital was in the Extremely Strong category, asset leverage was approximately 7.1x, and consolidated financial leverage after the AT1 issuance was below 4% on a pro forma basis. This is the basis for placing GEL/GEH at a high rating level. At the same time, Fitch listed downgrade factors including a downgrade of OCBC or a significant change in ownership structure, a reduction in Core strategic importance, a fall in the Prism score below Very Strong, consolidated financial leverage exceeding 20%, and sustained deterioration in NBV and ROE. Therefore, the ratings show not only current strength, but also that the parent relationship, capital, earnings, and NBV require ongoing monitoring.

For S&P, AA- / Stable is confirmed on the official ratings page. Older public materials indicate that S&P assessed Great Eastern group’s leading position in the Singapore/Malaysia life insurance markets, strong capital and earnings, and core status within the OCBC group positively, but this report has not obtained the latest detailed 2026 rationale. Therefore, the S&P rating is used as the current external assessment, but the latest upgrade/downgrade triggers, capital model, and security rating details remain unverified items.

8. Credit Positioning

It is natural to position Great Eastern Life’s credit quality at the high end of Asian insurance credits. The S&P AA- and Fitch IFS AA insurer financial strength ratings, the relationship with OCBC group, the strong insurance franchise in Singapore and Malaysia, low financial leverage, and very large investment asset and policyholder base place the company among the higher-quality investment-grade insurance issuers.

However, a high rating does not mean that all securities carry the same credit risk. GEL-issued AT1 is a capital security with lower ranking than the IFS or IDR. Distribution cancellation, non-cumulative distributions, perpetual maturity, MAS approval for redemption, and subordination are clearly different from senior issuer credit. Tier 2 is also supported by the issuer’s insurer financial strength, but has regulatory capital characteristics and subordination. Therefore, viewing the company as an “AA-range issuer” and treating the AT1/Tier 2 as if they were AA-range senior debt are entirely different matters.

For fund managers, GEL can be characterised as a fundamentally high-quality insurance issuer. However, for investment in individual securities, security rating, coupon, first call date, distribution cancellation, regulatory approval, liquidation ranking, market price, and spread comparison with peer insurance AT1/Tier 2 instruments should be checked separately. This report does not make a buy, hold, sell, or avoid decision based on market levels.

In one sentence, GEL’s credit position is that it is “a credit with very strong issuer credit as a core insurance subsidiary of the OCBC group, but for AT1/Tier 2, investors should explicitly incorporate the loss-absorption, coupon, and redemption risks of insurance capital securities.” The strength of the insurance franchise and ratings is clear, but bond investment decisions should not forget the insurer-specific structure in which policyholder protection and regulatory capital take priority.

9. Key Credit Strengths and Constraints

Great Eastern Life’s first credit strength is its strong insurance franchise in Singapore and Malaysia. Its brand dating back to 1908, more than 16mn customers, multiple channels, and large customer base including government schemes support premium income, renewal business, product cross-selling, and recovery of acquisition costs. For a life insurer, the long-term policyholder base is central to credit strength, and Great Eastern is strong on this point.

The second strength is GEH’s consolidated scale and earnings capacity. FY2025 profit attributable to shareholders of S$1.207bn, NBEV of S$739.7mn, total assets of S$122.6bn, total investments of S$109.0bn, CE of S$15.0bn, and EV of S$20.1bn demonstrate the financial base of a large insurance group. In 1Q2026, TWNS and NBEV also grew, and insurance business profit increased substantially YoY. These indicate that the underlying insurance business had not deteriorated through 2025 and early 2026.

The third strength is ratings and the parent relationship. GEL has insurer financial strength ratings of S&P AA- and Fitch IFS AA; Fitch treats GEH’s major insurance subsidiaries as Core and incorporates an OCBC support uplift. OCBC is described as holding an approximately 93.72% economic interest in GEH and regards GEH as a strategically important insurance arm. This supports normal-period distribution synergies, brand, capital market access, and support expectations.

The first constraint, however, is the scale of insurance contract liabilities and investment assets. Gross insurance contract liabilities of S$107.1bn and total investments of S$109.0bn at end-2025 mean that interest rates, equities, credit spreads, medical claims, mortality and morbidity, surrender, expenses, reinsurance, product guarantees, and regulatory capital all matter at the same time. Scale is a support, but it also means that small changes in assumptions can have large absolute effects on capital and earnings.

The second constraint is medical claims and product mix. The FY2025 materials state that an increase in loss components reflecting experience in the medical insurance businesses partly offset insurance profit. Medical cost inflation, customer protection, repricing, service quality, and reinsurance will remain important monitoring points. The increase in NBEV is positive, but it remains necessary to keep checking the extent to which the underlying products consume claims, expenses, and capital.

The third constraint is the disclosure limitation around GEL standalone figures and individual security terms. This report mainly uses GEH consolidated data, and has not obtained GEL standalone audited financials, precise CAR/RBC ratio, medical insurance claims ratio or loss component breakdown, final Offering Circulars for AT1/Tier 2, trust deed, write-down, conversion, coupon stopper, event of default, cross-default, or details of tax and regulatory events. The report can establish a sufficient framework as an initial issuer summary, but additional checks are required before investment in specific securities.

10. Downside Scenarios and Monitoring Triggers

The first realistic downside scenario for Great Eastern Life is interest-rate and market valuation stress. The OCI loss in 1Q2026 was explained mainly by mark-to-market losses on bonds due to higher interest rates. GEH holds a large portfolio of bonds, equities, and collective investment schemes, and higher interest rates, wider credit spreads, equity declines, and reduced liquidity would affect earnings, OCI, CE, regulatory capital, and rating agency capital models. Higher interest rates may be positive for new-money yields, but in the short term can be a burden through valuation losses on existing assets, surrender, capital ratios, and hedge collateral.

The second is deterioration in medical claims and protection risk. Medical costs have continued to rise in Singapore and Malaysia, and the company has discussed medical insurance loss components, product design, and service design responses. Medical insurance can be supported by strong customer needs and contribute to sales value, but claims, hospital costs, utilisation frequency, delays in repricing, customer pushback, and regulatory measures can pressure earnings and CSM. If deterioration in medical claims coincides with investment market stress, insurance business profit and comprehensive income could deteriorate at the same time.

The third is stress in insurance contract liabilities, ALM, and policyholder behaviour. Because whole life and endowment account for the bulk of liabilities, guaranteed rates, participating dividends, asset yields, interest rates, surrender, maturities, and expense assumptions are important. In a rising-rate environment, yield differentials versus competing products may change policyholder behaviour. In a declining-rate environment, guarantees on older contracts and reinvestment yields may become issues. Great Eastern’s long policyholder base is a support, but given the size of its insurance liabilities, sensitivity to assumption changes should continue to be monitored.

The fourth is a change in capital, ratings, or the parent relationship. Fitch listed downgrade factors including a downgrade of OCBC, a significant change in ownership structure, reduced Core status for GEH’s major subsidiaries, a decline in the Prism score below Very Strong, financial leverage above 20%, and sustained deterioration in NBV or ROE. Great Eastern’s current ratings are strong, but because they incorporate parent support, OCBC’s own credit quality and group strategy also need to be monitored.

The fifth is AT1/Tier 2 security risk. Even when issuer credit is strong, AT1 distribution cancellation, non-cumulative distributions, redemption deferral, regulatory approval, and maintenance of capital qualification directly affect investment return. For Tier 2 as well, first-call exercise is not guaranteed, and regulatory capital treatment, taxation, rating methodology events, and capital qualification events may affect redemption decisions. If the market prices in a first call, non-call could materially affect prices. Because this report has not reviewed market prices or call expectations, these must be checked separately for investment decisions.

11. Credit View and Monitoring Focus

As of 2026-05-14, Great Eastern Life’s credit quality is among the higher tier of Asian insurance credits. Given the S&P AA- and Fitch IFS AA insurer financial strength ratings, strong franchise in Singapore and Malaysia, GEH’s consolidated earnings capacity and capital, and the strategic relationship with OCBC group, this is not an issuer where near-term issuer credit concern is the central focus. However, because GEL standalone CAR/RBC has not been obtained, the assessment of capital headroom remains based on company disclosures and Fitch’s assessment. The direction of credit quality is broadly stable, considering the strong FY2025 earnings and NBEV and 1Q2026 TWNS/NBEV growth, but investment markets and medical claims can cause short-term volatility in comprehensive income and reported capital. Under normal conditions, the probability of a rapid change in credit quality level or direction is not high, but if interest-rate and market valuation, medical claims, regulatory capital, OCBC ratings/support assessment, and AT1/Tier 2 terms deteriorate simultaneously, capital securities could reprice faster than issuer credit.

The first support for this credit view is the insurance franchise. Great Eastern is an insurance group dating back to 1908, with more than 16mn customers centred on Singapore and Malaysia. It combines agency, bancassurance, FA, digital, and partnership channels, and has customer access through collaboration with the OCBC group. For a life insurer, the policyholder base, brand, renewal business, and sales quality support long-term earnings and capital formation, so this base is central to issuer credit.

The second support is GEH’s consolidated financial strength. FY2025 showed profit attributable to shareholders of S$1.207bn, NBEV of S$739.7mn, insurance business profit of S$816.2mn, total assets of S$122.6bn, and total investments of S$109.0bn. In 1Q2026, insurance business profit also increased 33% YoY, and TWNS and NBEV grew. Fitch assesses GEH’s capitalisation as Very Strong, with Prism in the Extremely Strong category at end-2024, and views consolidated financial leverage as low even after the AT1 issuance. However, these are GEH consolidated and Fitch model assessments, and are not a substitute for GEL standalone CAR/RBC.

The largest constraint is insurance liabilities, investment assets, and market sensitivity. Gross insurance contract liabilities of S$107.1bn and total investments of S$109.0bn at end-2025 mean that the company is materially exposed to interest rates, credit spreads, equities, market liquidity, medical claims, mortality and morbidity, surrender, and expense assumptions. FY2025 investment conditions supported earnings, but in 1Q2026 shareholders’ account profit and OCI deteriorated due to the market environment. Even with high ratings, an insurer is not free from market, underwriting, and accounting assumptions.

By security class, GEL’s issuer credit should be clearly separated from AT1/Tier 2. As an issuer, GEL is very strong, but AT1 is a direct, unsecured, subordinated perpetual capital security with risks relating to distribution cancellation, non-cumulative distributions, MAS approval, non-call at the first call date, and maintenance of capital qualification. Tier 2, although it has a maturity and first call, is not senior debt. Investment decisions need to check not only IFS and IDR, but also security rating, terms, price, liquidity, peer comparison, and call assumptions.

The first monitoring focus is GEL/GEH regulatory capital ratios. The company states that it exceeds minimum regulatory levels, but precise GEL standalone CAR/RBC figures have not been obtained. The second is medical claims. Singapore and Malaysia medical cost inflation, loss components, repricing, reinsurance, and customer response should be tracked. The third is investment assets and interest rates. OCI, CE, bond gains/losses, equity valuations, FVTPL gains/losses, duration, and credit spreads should be monitored. The fourth is the OCBC relationship. OCBC ratings, GEH ownership structure, group strategy, and changes in Fitch’s support assessment are important. The fifth is AT1/Tier 2 terms. The Offering Circular should be obtained to review distribution cancellation, write-down, conversion, regulatory event, tax event, event of default, cross-default, and liquidation ranking.

The current credit view is to position Great Eastern Life as a high-quality insurance issuer with very strong insurer financial strength and support from its parent banking group. However, for AT1/Tier 2, the strength of the issuer should be taken as the foundation while explicitly pricing in the term risk of insurance capital securities. Because market spreads are not available, this report does not make a relative-value judgement on buy, hold, or sell. The fundamental focus is the extent to which the strong franchise can continue to absorb medical claims, interest-rate and investment market volatility, insurance liabilities, regulatory capital, and the loss-absorption structure of capital securities in a stable manner.

12. Short Summary & Conclusion

Great Eastern Life is the core life insurance company under Great Eastern Holdings, the insurance arm of the OCBC group. It is a high-quality insurance issuer supported by a strong franchise in Singapore and Malaysia, AA-range insurer financial strength ratings, and a large policyholder base. At the same time, credit strength is affected by insurance contract liabilities, investment assets, interest-rate and market valuation, medical claims, regulatory capital, and support expectations from OCBC. Issuer credit is strong, but for AT1/Tier 2, distribution cancellation, subordination, MAS approval, non-call risk, and individual terms need to be reviewed separately from senior credit.

13. Sources

Primary Company Sources

• Great Eastern Holdings Limited, Annual Report 2025, accessed 2026-05-14.
  https://www.greateasternlife.com/content/dam/corp-site/group/gels-au-corpcomms/english-website/annual-report/great-eastern-holdings-limited-ar-2025.pdf
• Great Eastern Holdings Limited, FY2025 Media Release, 2026-02-24, accessed 2026-05-14.
  https://www.greateasternlife.com/content/dam/corp-site/great-eastern/sg/gels-au-group-mgmt/investor-relations/2025-fy25_media-release%20%28SGX%29.pdf
• Great Eastern Holdings Limited, FY2025 Financial Summary, 2026-02-24, accessed 2026-05-14.
  https://www.greateasternlife.com/content/dam/corp-site/great-eastern/sg/gels-au-group-mgmt/investor-relations/2025-fy25-financial-summary%20%28SGX%29.pdf
• Great Eastern Holdings Limited, 1Q2026 Media Release, 2026-05-06, accessed 2026-05-14.
  https://www.greateasternlife.com/content/dam/corp-site/great-eastern/sg/gels-au-group-mgmt/investor-relations/2026-1q26-media-release.pdf
• Great Eastern Holdings Limited, 1Q2026 Financial Summary, 2026-05-06, accessed 2026-05-14.
  https://www.greateasternlife.com/content/dam/corp-site/great-eastern/sg/gels-au-group-mgmt/investor-relations/2026-1q26-financial-summary.pdf
• Great Eastern Holdings Limited, Stock Information and Credit Ratings page, accessed 2026-05-14.
  https://www.greateasternlife.com/sg/en/about-us/investor-relations/stock-information-and-credit-ratings.html

Rating Agency, Capital Securities, and Parent Sources

• Great Eastern Holdings Limited / Fitch Ratings, Great Eastern Receives First-Time Credit Ratings with Stable Outlook from Fitch, 2025-04-29, accessed 2026-05-14.
  https://www.greateasternlife.com/content/dam/corp-site/great-eastern/sg/gels-au-group-mgmt/investor-relations/20250429-great-eastern-receives-first-time-credit-ratings-with-stable-outlook-from-fitch.pdf
• The Great Eastern Life Assurance Company Limited, Pricing of US$500,000,000 Fixed Rate Perpetual Capital Securities first callable in 2032, 2025-01-14, accessed 2026-05-14.
  https://www.greateasternlife.com/content/dam/corp-site/great-eastern/sg/gels-au-group-mgmt/investor-relations/20250114-pricing-of-usd500m-fixed-rate-perpetual-capital-securities-first-callable-in-2032.pdf
• The Great Eastern Life Assurance Company Limited, Issue of S$500,000,000 3.928 per cent. Subordinated Notes due 2039 First Callable in 2034, 2024-04-17, accessed 2026-05-14.
  https://www.greateasternlife.com/content/dam/corp-site/great-eastern/sg/gels-au-group-mgmt/investor-relations/20240417-issue-of-subordinated-notes-due-2039-first-callable-in-2034.pdf
• Linklaters, Linklaters advises on the first Additional Tier 1 capital issuance by a Singapore insurance company, 2025-01-31, accessed 2026-05-14.
  https://www.linklaters.com/en/about-us/news-and-deals/deals/2025/january/linklaters-advises-on-the-first-additional-tier-1-capital-issuance-by-a-singapore-insurance-company
• OCBC, OCBC backs Great Eastern's delisting proposal with S$0.9 billion conditional exit offer, 2025-06-06, accessed 2026-05-14.
  https://www.ocbc.com/group/media/release/2025/ocbc-backs-great-eastern-delisting-proposal.page
• OCBC, OCBC statement on the approval of Great Eastern Holdings' resolutions B and C, 2025-07-08, accessed 2026-05-14.
  https://www.ocbc.com/group/media/release/2025/ocbc-statement-on-the-approval-of-great-eastern-holdings-resolutions-b-and-c.page

Internal Working Data

• issuer_summary/issuers/great_eastern_life/data/great_eastern_life_key_metrics_20260514.json
• issuer_summary/issuers/great_eastern_life/working/great_eastern_life_20260514_writing_plan.md

Unverified / Pending

• GEL standalone audited financial statements have not been obtained via ACRA. The analysis is centred on GEH consolidated figures and clearly distinguishes them from GEL standalone figures.
• Precise CAR/RBC ratios, available regulatory capital, required capital, and buffers for GEL standalone and major subsidiaries have not been obtained. The capital assessment in this report is based on company disclosures and Fitch’s assessment.
• The Offering Circulars, trust deeds, write-down, conversion, coupon stopper, distribution stopper, regulatory event, tax event, non-viability, event of default, cross-default, and liquidation ranking details for the 2025 AT1 and 2024 Tier 2 have not been obtained. The S&P A rating for the AT1 is the expected rating in the issue announcement, and the current individual security rating is unverified.
• The detailed 2026 S&P and Fitch rating reports have not been obtained. This report uses the ratings, outlooks, and latest review dates on the official ratings page, as well as Fitch’s 2025 first-time rating release.
• Detailed breakdowns of the investment portfolio by currency, rating, duration, and hedging; participating fund asset mix; guaranteed rates on insurance liabilities; surrender rates; medical insurance claims ratios; loss component breakdowns; and reinsurance terms have not been verified.
• Market prices, spreads, yields, OAS, CDS, relative value versus peer insurance AT1/Tier 2, and market assessment of call probability have not been verified. This report does not make a buy, hold, or sell recommendation based on market levels.