SINGAPORE - With its net profit hitting a record high of $4.6 billion for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2022, the salary of UOB’s chief executive officer has also gone up.

Mr Wee Ee Cheong’s annual pay for 2022 came in at $14.2 million, a 30.2 per cent increase from the $10.9 million in 2021.

His annual remuneration comprises a base salary of $1.2 million, a bonus of $13 million, as well as benefits-in-kind and other transport-related benefits amounting to $37,577.

Earlier in March, Singapore’s biggest bank, DBS Bank, disclosed in its annual report that CEO Piyush Gupta received $15.4 million in pay for 2022, a 13.2 per cent increase from a year ago.

UOB’s annual report published on Thursday showed that 60 per cent of Mr Wee’s variable pay is deferred, and will vest over the next three years.

Of the deferred sum, 40 per cent will be issued in deferred cash, while the remaining 60 per cent will be in the form of share-linked units.

Since Mr Wee is already remunerated as an employee of UOB, he does not receive any fees for serving as an executive director on the bank’s board and its board committees. As a substantial shareholder, he is also ineligible to participate in UOB’s share plan.

This is a scheme which allows the delivery of UOB ordinary shares held in treasury by the bank.

Mr Wee said in the annual report that 2022 was a strong year financially for UOB.

The bank’s core net profit, which excluded one-off costs from integrating Citigroup’s Malaysia and Thailand consumer businesses, was a record high of $4.8 billion, an increase of 18 per cent from a year earlier.

Correspondingly, return on equity increased to 11.9 per cent for the year.

UOB’s shares closed at $29.42 on Thursday, down eight cents, or 0.3 per cent.
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