Or has he?
The veteran Dunedin city councillor said at least some banking experience had been established for Mr Ong and "I still welcome" him as a new councillor and as a fellow mayoral candidate who had raised concerns about Dunedin City Council debt levels.
However, the Facebook post from Cr Vandervis included conditional statements and was still largely sceptical — Mr Ong was cautious in response.
He noted there was history at the council of legal action and code of conduct complaints, including through the past term.
Mr Ong said he was entitled to head in that direction, but such activity was a drain on time and money when council resources were scarce, he said.
During the election campaign, Mr Ong said he was a finance expert and former banking vice-president, associate director and international banker.
The Otago Daily Times has this week been in touch with banks he listed.
Rabobank said Mr Ong was employed by Rabobank Singapore in its mergers and acquisitions team from 2007 to 2010.
The Singapore office confirmed he was an associate director in this team.
Royal Bank of Canada said "a Benedict Ong was an employee of RBC Wealth Management in Singapore from May 2013 to December 2017".
United Overseas Bank (UOB) said its HR records included someone with the name Benedict Alvin Ong.
This name was also a match with the University of New South Wales graduate register, which listed him as obtaining a bachelor of commerce in 2004.
Speculation was rife on social media after the election about Mr Ong’s credentials.
Cr Vandervis said Mr Ong made many extraordinary claims.
On Thursday, Cr Vandervis accepted the information provided by Rabobank, having also inquired himself.
"If Mr Ong can produce independent evidence that he held a vice-president role at any leading global bank — Royal Bank of Canada, Rabobank International, UOB Bank, or Bank Sarasin-Rabo ... I will sincerely apologise to him [for having questioned this]."
Cr Vandervis said Mr Ong’s work experience included lower-level banking.
