Singapore’s United Overseas Bank will reward around 6,000 junior staff with a one-off half-month base salary payout despite recording a drop in 2025 net profit.
The payouts are scheduled to be distributed in the second quarter of this year “in recognition of their contributions amid a challenging external environment” and will total around S$4 million (US$3.16 million), the bank said in its earnings report on Tuesday.
It also said that it remains committed to maintaining a fair and competitive wage structure for its employees, according to Mothership.
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A banking customer uses a United Overseas Bank (UOB) ATM in the Raffles Place financial district in Singapore on Aug. 10, 2023. Photo by AFP |
The payout comes even as UOB posted a 7% year-on-year decline in fourth-quarter net profit to S$1.41 billion as margin pressures offset loan growth, Reuters reported.
For the full year, its net profit stood at S$4.7 billion, down from S$6 billion in 2024.
The bank attributed the decline largely to pre-emptive general allowances set aside in the third quarter to bolster provision coverage amid rising macroeconomic uncertainties.
Its net interest margin, a key measure of profitability, narrowed to 1.89% in 2025 from 2.03% the previous year, while net interest income slipped 3% to S$9.36 billion.
DBS, another Singaporean bank, also announced a S$1,000 bonus for thousands of its junior employees when it released its 2025 earnings earlier this month, according to The Straits Times.
