[SINGAPORE] UOB chief executive officer Wee Ee Cheong’s annual salary for 2024 dipped, despite the bank reporting a record net profit for the full year.
Wee, who is also deputy chairman of the bank, was paid S$15 million, which comprises a salary of S$1.44 million and a bonus of S$13.56 million, UOB’s 2024 annual report showed on Friday (Mar 21).
Other benefits in kind, including transport and event-related perks, amounted to S$46,944.
His annual package is down 5.7 per cent from the S$15.9 million he was paid in 2023. His 2024 salary was 2 per cent higher than the year before, even as his bonus fell 7.7 per cent from the S$14.69 million in 2023.
The report noted that 60 per cent of his variable pay is deferred and will vest over the next three years. Of the deferred variable pay, 40 per cent will be issued in deferred cash, while the remainder will be in the form of share-linked units.
The CEO’s remuneration fell even though UOB posted a 5.8 per cent increase in net profit to a record S$6.05 billion.
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Wee’s total salary is also lower than that of outgoing DBS CEO Piyush Gupta, who received a 56.5 per cent year-on-year pay bump to S$17.6 million for the same period.
In UOB’s annual report, Wee noted that the bank’s financial performance remained resilient in 2024, with total income for the financial year ended Dec 31 up 3 per cent year on year to S$14.3 billion.
He added that UOB’s acquisition of Citigroup’s consumer banking businesses in South-east Asia has “supercharged” its retail customer base to 8.4 million across Asean, accelerating the lender’s regional growth by five years.
“With acquisition costs tapering off, we are now laser-focused on deepening customer engagement to unlock further growth,” he said.
UOB shares rose S$0.15, or 0.4 per cent, to S$37.95 on Friday.
