[SINGAPORE] In the last two years, DBS Group and OCBC had changes at the helm. Could UOB follow suit by appointing a new CEO soon?

Wee Ee Cheong, 73, has been CEO for over 19 years. He is also UOB’s deputy chairman. If he passes the CEO baton, the bank will likely appoint a non-Wee family member to succeed him.

He took over from his father, the late Wee Cho Yaw, as the bank’s CEO in 2007.

Before that, Wee Cho Yaw succeeded his father, the late Wee Kheng Chiang, as UOB’s chairman and CEO in 1974. Wee Kheng Chiang founded United Chinese Bank, which is now UOB, with partners in 1935.

Appointing a non-Wee family member as the bank’s CEO will be historic. However, the handing over of its executive leadership reins might be largely uneventful.

An insider such as group chief financial officer Leong Yung Chee, who is in his 50s, could be a suitable choice to be the next CEO.

Leong has extensive experience in the financial services industry. He was with Macquarie (Singapore) before joining UOB in 2016, and holds degrees from Imperial College London and Stanford University.

Importantly, Wee Ee Cheong, who is a substantial shareholder of UOB, would be familiar with Leong, having worked closely with him.

However, while investors focus on the possible leadership change at UOB, might the bigger question be whether the bank – which trails DBS and OCBC substantially in market capitalisation and profitability, among others – should undergo a transformative merger to ensure its long-term sustainability?

Recent performance

For the first six months, UOB’s net profit grew 3 per cent from the year-ago period to S$2.9 billion, while DBS’ net profit rose 5 per cent to S$6 billion and OCBC’s jumped 13 per cent to S$4.2 billion.

As at end-June, UOB held total assets of S$590 billion, compared with DBS’ S$966 billion and OCBC’s S$730 billion.

Year to date, UOB’s share-price gain trails the share-price increases of DBS and OCBC.

For 2025, DBS, OCBC and UOB achieved return on equity (ROE) of 16.2, 12.6 and 9.6 per cent, respectively.

From 2021 to 2025, DBS’ simple average ROE was the highest, followed by OCBC and then UOB.

Sure, the easing headwind for banks of falling interest rates negatively impacting net interest margin might help all three local banks. For one, UOB could gain much from higher interest rates.

However, the bank is arguably less well-placed than DBS and OCBC to benefit from the structural tailwind of growth in wealth-management income, amid Singapore’s rising importance as a wealth-management centre because of its stability and safe haven status.

For H1, UOB’s gross wealth fees amounted to S$462 million. DBS’ gross fee income from wealth management in the first six months exceeded S$1.8 billion and OCBC’s net fees and commissions from wealth management in the same period was S$892 million.

While UOB is pushing hard to grow in wealth management, it faces fierce competition, and not just from larger local players such as DBS and OCBC. Major foreign banks are also banking on growing in wealth management in the Republic.

Going forward, could UOB lag even further in size and profitability versus the leading two among the local banks – DBS and OCBC?

Should it trail its peers in performance, UOB may find it harder to attract and retain talent; invest adequately in artificial intelligence, technology and risk-management capabilities; win over equity investors and so forth.

Mergers and acquisitions a possibility

UOB’s history includes successful transformative acquisitions, such as that of Chung Khiaw Bank in 1971 and Overseas Union Bank in 2001.

Today, the bank is betting big on Asean’s growth.

Subject to overcoming potentially tough regulatory hurdles, should it merge with a leading Malaysian bank, thereby strengthening its position in handling Singapore-Malaysia flows?

Perhaps, when the Wee family no longer holds the reins of executive leadership at UOB, they may – in their capacity as major shareholders – welcome the strengthening of UOB by making it part of banks with strong Asian businesses, including in wealth management such as HSBC or Standard Chartered.

Intriguingly, if regulators permit, could the trio of DBS, OCBC and UOB become a duo, with UOB joining hands with either DBS or OCBC?

A possible tie-up between OCBC and UOB could create a formidable competitor to DBS, which is currently South-east Asia’s largest bank.

The Wee family can be proud of leading UOB well for over nine decades and steering it through various economic and financial crises. Today, the bank is well-capitalised and has a strong franchise.

However, while Asia’s long-term economic prospects are bright, the financial sector faces enormous challenges from heightened geopolitical uncertainties, fraying multilateralism, technological disruptions and the rise of AI, among others.

As the Wee family possibly retreats from executive leadership of UOB soon, the storied family might wish to think hard over whether to encourage the bank to pursue a transformative merger to boost competitiveness.

A stronger UOB can be great for preserving and growing the family’s wealth over the long term.

Ultimately, a merger which makes the 91-year-old bank more fighting fit can benefit the Wee family and its other shareholders.

The writer is a shareholder of UOB