OCBC chief donates $650,600 as 2019 pay rises 3.5%
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OCBC CEO Samuel Tsien (right) and NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng with children of My First Skool at the launch of the OCBC-NTUC First Campus Bridging Programme last September. Looking on were NTUC First Campus chief child support officer Phoon Chew Ping and NTUC assistant secretary-general Patrick Tay.
PHOTO: OCBC BANK
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OCBC Bank chief executive Samuel Tsien's total pay rose 3.5 per cent to $11.1 million last year, the bank's annual report noted yesterday.
His remuneration for 2019 comprised a cash bonus of $5.84 million, deferred shares worth $3.89 million and other benefits of $102,157, and came on top of the base salary of $1.2 million, which was largely flat compared with 2018.
OCBC also said yesterday that Mr Tsien has contributed $650,600 of his 2019 base salary of $1.2 million to support community and environmental causes under the #OCBCCares Programme.
His donation helped fund 21 projects benefiting needy families, the elderly and people with special needs, it added, noting that Mr Tsien did not request the 2.5 times of tax deduction benefits for his donation.
Mr Tsien contributed to the OCBC-NTUC First Campus Bridging Programme, which ensures that from this year to 2025, more than 2,500 children from needy families can enjoy two years of free pre-school education.
He was also the main contributor to the bank's five-year habitat enhancement project, in which critically endangered trees are planted on Coney Island. Besides supporting forestation, these trees can help to store carbon dioxide.
Mr Tsien said in the annual report that the bank saw consumer confidence dwindle and companies delay their investment and expansion plans amid the coronavirus outbreak.
While it is expected that the pandemic will be contained later in the year, he noted that the impact on consumer sentiment and investment confidence will last longer.
"Several of the geopolitical and sociopolitical developments will also continue to pose new challenges for us as they drag on into this year, and it will take some time before normalcy can be restored," Mr Tsien said.
"I am hopeful the virus will be contained later in the year, and gradual recovery of investment spending and consumer sentiments will commence soon thereafter, starting with China. The recovery will be slow in the beginning but will accelerate as it continues."
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TOP EARNERS
$11.1m
OCBC Bank chief executive Samuel Tsien's salary for 2019, comprising a cash bonus of $5.84 million, deferred shares worth $3.89 million and other benefits of $102,157, on top of the base salary of $1.2 million.
$12.13m
DBS Group CEO Piyush Gupta's 2019 pay, which rose about 2 per cent.
$10.75m
United Overseas Bank CEO Wee Ee Cheong's 2019 total salary, which saw a 1.8 per cent increase.
Meanwhile, DBS Group said earlier that CEO Piyush Gupta had made a personal donation of $500,000 to the Community Chest.
The announcement came separately from the bank's annual report released the same day, which showed his pay last year rose just about 2 per cent to $12.13 million.
His remuneration for 2019 comprised a cash bonus of $4.59 million and shares worth $6.27 million. These came on top of a base salary of $1.2 million, which was unchanged from the previous year.
United Overseas Bank CEO Wee Ee Cheong saw a 1.8 per cent rise in his 2019 total salary to $10.75 million. His base pay was unchanged at $1.2 million, with the remaining amount captured in bonuses.
As was the case in 2018, 60 per cent of the variable pay due to Mr Wee will be deferred and will vest over three years.
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