SINGAPORE – UOB will make a one-off payment to its junior employees to help them cope with rising costs of living, joining local peers DBS Bank and OCBC Bank in doing so.

Singapore’s third-largest bank will pay an extra month of bonus to about 6,000 employees across the group, of whom 600 are based here. The lender also counts Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Greater China as its key markets.

Its move is in line with recent recommendations by Singapore’s National Wages Council to help employees cope with rising costs.

UOB chief executive Wee Ee Cheong told a results briefing on Feb 22 that junior staff are the most vulnerable group affected by higher costs of living, adding: “We always ensure that our pay and benefits to all employees are fair and market competitive.”

The initiative is expected to cost the bank less than $10 million.

UOB said that staff wages are complemented by a comprehensive range of perks and benefits that are sustainable for the long term, including enhanced medical support and training programmes.

The bank’s earnings were lifted towards the end of 2023 by strong growth in credit card fees and a recovery in wealth management fees. Net profit for the three months to December 2023 rose 22 per cent to $1.4 billion from $1.15 billion a year ago, it said on Feb 22.

However, its net interest income fell 6 per cent to $2.4 billion, reversing a boost from high interest rates, which had increased margins but also weighed on loan growth.

OCBC said on Feb 20 that a total of 4,600 junior group employees in Singapore, comprising about 40 per cent of the group’s workforce here, will each receive a $1,000 payout in February or March.

On Feb 7, Singapore’s largest bank DBS said that junior employees – who make up half of the total headcount of about 40,000 employees – will receive a one-time bonus of $1,000 each. More than 5,500 staff in Singapore will receive the payout. For employees outside Singapore, the one-time bonus will be indexed to the local market’s purchasing power parity.