UOB CEO’s pay drops 5.5% in 2024 despite record profit

SINGAPORE: UOB deputy chairman and CEO Wee Ee Cheong’s total pay for 2024 dropped by 5.5% to S$15 million, even though the bank posted a 5.8% increase in net profit to S$6.05 billion.

In UOB’s annual report released on Friday (March 21), his pay included a salary of S$1.44 million and a bonus of S$13.56 million. He also received S$46,944 in benefits, such as transport and event-related perks.

According to The Business Times, Mr Wee’s 2024 salary was 2% higher than in 2023, but his bonus fell by 7.7% from S$14.69 million in the previous year.

The report stated that 60% of Mr Wee’s variable pay is deferred and will be paid over the next three years. Of this, 40% will be given in deferred cash, while the remaining amount will be in share-linked units.

Mr Wee’s total pay was lower than that of outgoing DBS CEO Piyush Gupta, who saw his pay increase by 56.5% year-on-year (YoY) to S$17.6 million in 2024.

In UOB’s annual report, Mr Wee said that the bank’s financial performance stayed strong in 2024, with total income rising 3% YoY to S$14.3 billion as of Dec 31.

He also mentioned that UOB’s acquisition of Citigroup’s consumer banking businesses in Southeast Asia boosted its retail customer base to 8.4 million across ASEAN. He said the acquisition accelerated UOB’s regional growth by five years.

He added that with acquisition costs tapering off, the bank is now focused on deepening customer engagement to drive further growth. /TISG

Read also: DBS CEO Piyush Gupta’s salary down 27% at S$11.2M after pay cut