One-off payout incoming for about 6,000 UOB Group junior employees

This will benefit Class II officers and below, of which 600 are based in Singapore.

UOB will provide its junior employees, Class II officers and below, a one-off extra months' payout to roughly 6,000 employees across the Group this year, of which about 600 are in Singapore. 

This was announced as part of UOB's 2023 financial year report (FY23) released on Thursday (22 February 2024). 

These are some of the highlights of how the Group performed in FY23 compared to FY22:

• Core net profit for FY23 grew 26% from the previous year, to record S$6.1bn, driven by strong net interest income and trading and investment income.
• Net interest income increased by 16% to S$9.7bn, with a net interest margin of 2.09%.
• Net fee income rose to S$2.2bn, up 4%, driven by increased credit card fees and higher wealth fees.
• Other non-interest income doubled to S$2.0bn, primarily due to record-high customer-related treasury income and strong trading and liquidity management activities.
• Core operating expenses increased by 15% to S$5.8bn, driven by broad-based expense growth to support strategic initiatives.
• Despite the rise in expenses, the cost-to-income ratio improved by 1.8% points to 41.5%.

In Q4 2023 vs Q3 2023, 

• Core net profit for the fourth quarter increased by 1% to S$1.5bn.
• Including integration expenses, net profit was $1.4bn.
• Net interest income remained stable at S$2.4bn, with a net interest margin of 2.02%, primarily affected by competition for high-quality credits.
• Net fee income eased to S$569mn, with credit card fees performing strongly due to holiday spending, while wealth fees experienced a modest recovery.
• Other non-interest income remained relatively unchanged at S$438mn.
• Total core operating expenses rose by 4% to S$1.5bn, resulting in a cost-to-income ratio of 43.2%.
• Total allowance decreased to S$152mn, driven by lower specific allowance and the release of pre-emptive general allowance.

Among other updates, the Group shared that it continued to make good progress on their sustainability agenda in 2023, with the setting up of the Sustainability Advisory Panel that comprised three independent industry initiatives in October, allowing UOB to reach S$44.5bn in their sustainable financing portfolio in FY23. 

Commenting on the overall economic outlook ahead, Wee Ee Cheong, Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, UOB said: Global economic outlook remains uncertain in the near term, but Southeast Asia continues to be a bright spot.

"We are optimistic about ASEAN’s potential, driven by improved domestic demand, robust tourism recovery and strong investment flows into the manufacturing sector as companies reconfigure their supply chains."

READ MORE: OCBC announces one-time payout of nearly S$9mn for 14,000 junior employees globally

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