Ready For Rough Waters | Global Finance Magazine

Wee Ee Cheong, deputy chairman and CEO of United Overseas Bank (UOB), named the Best Bank in Asia-Pacific, discusses what 2025 will bring.

Global Finance: What drove UOB’s performance in 2024?

Wee Ee Cheong: UOB is strategically reshaping our business mix to diversify our revenue engines, with a disciplined approach to managing our balance sheet and growing fee-based income.

In wholesale banking, our enhanced platforms and sector-specific solutions help finance cross-border businesses, leading to higher fees and cross-border income. We aim to be the number-one cross-border trade bank in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). With an extensive regional footprint and our combination of strong sector expertise and local-market knowledge enables us to help businesses navigate market complexities and to seize opportunities in ASEAN.

In retail banking, the acquisition of the Citigroup consumer-banking business in four Southeast Asian markets has enabled us to scale our credit card and brought cross-selling opportunities to our 8.4 million customers. Consequently, our card fees and wealth management income have seen robust growth. We continue to invest in our UOB TMRW digital banking app, which is being rolled out across our key markets.

These diversified income drivers are recurring, and demonstrate results. We see tremendous opportunities to grow our franchise and will be steadfast and focused in our execution.

GF: What are the greatest challenges UOB face in 2025?

Wee: We expect disruptions, and we expect demand to slow in the immediate future due to rising geopolitical risks and tariffs. Businesses and countries will face greater urgency, in a multipolar world order, to diversify their markets, integrate more closely regionally, and innovate to create more value.

With its population of 600 million, ASEAN is driven by megatrends such as regional economic and trade integration, supply chain resilience, digital innovation, and sustainability. We believe in ASEAN’s resilience.

As global trade and supply chains transform significantly, ASEAN remains an attractive market. UOB’s regional footprint and service offerings position us to seize emerging opportunities in the mid to long term.

To stay ahead of rapid technological change, we place innovation at the core of our strategy-enhancing efficiency, unlocking new opportunities, and strengthening our competitive edge.

GF: Do you expect sustainable finance to continue to grow in 2025?

Wee: Economic opportunities around decarbonization continue to drive sustainable-financing flows in Asia, and the region continues to benefit from sustainable developments. UOB’s net-zero commitment is aligned with Singapore’s commitment to net zero by 2050. We remain on track for all five of our priority sectors—power, automotive, real estate, construction, and steel—for which we have set net-zero targets.

To meet our targets, we have an end-to-end net-zero operationalization program covering governance, policies, capacity-building, technology, and pragmatic measures to support our clients’ transition to a sustainable economy. This program involves developing high-quality green-financing products and engaging with clients to promote sustainable practices.

Our clients’ demand for sustainable financing continues to grow; and as of December 2024, our sustainable financing portfolio had increased 43% year over year to more than 57 billion Singapore dollars ($41.9 billion).

GF: What is the bank doing to capture the next generation of customers?

Wee: The bank seeks to understand the aspirations, lifestyles, and expectations of the next generation of customers by systematically collecting and analyzing their feedback. We aim to go beyond financial needs to support young businesses’ digitalization, sustainability, and regionalization needs as they grow and scale.

Our digital banking platforms: UOB TMRW, UOB Infinity, and the UOB SME app, enable younger customers to access on-the-go financial management through an omnichannel approach. Our lifestyle partnerships for concerts and top acts bring renowned performances and deliver exciting lifestyle experiences for our younger customers across the region.

For our business customers, we recognize the importance of equipping the next generation of leaders with skills, insights, and connections necessary to preserve family and business legacies.

Our programs include The Business Circle, which offers masterclasses, workshops, and overseas business missions, on digital transformation, sustainability, and business diversification. The Next Gen Programme prepares successors for future responsibilities, enhancing their competencies to protect and grow inherited wealth with sessions focused on entrepreneurship, digital innovation, and technology.