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SINGAPORE (BLOOMBERG) – The Chief Executive Officer of United Overseas Bank Ltd said that he felt comfortable leaving his family to take over the lender that his grandfather had founded there. has more than eight decades.
"I always go, as I said, to welcome people who have the right values," said 66-year-old Wee Ee Cheong, who took over the reins of his father in 2007, when he ;an interview. "If they can do the work, why not?"
UOB is the only bank in Singapore still headed by a family after OCBC Bank and others who have chosen foreigners as CEOs or who have merged. Under Mr. Wee's billionaire father, UOB emerged from the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s and was strong enough to take advantage of the consolidation that left the country under the control of three major banks.
With only one of his three children in the banking sector, Mr. Wee said that he would not force any of them to enter the industry. This differs from his career, which started at the bank in 1979 and was more like an "arranged marriage," he said.
"Maybe these days, about 40 years ago, you have limited choices," said Mr. Wee. "You just come in and your father says to try, you just try to do it."
Despite being open to the next generation, Mr. Wee does not rule out keeping her in the family. His 35-year-old son, Teng Chuen, is the UOB's first vice-president and learns how management works, said Wee. Teng Wen, the eldest child, runs an empire of the local hospitality, while Grace, the youngest, is in consultation.
Wee Kheng Chiang founded the bank in 1935 before passing it on to his son Wee Cho Yaw in 1960. At age 90, Mr. Wee Cho Yaw embarked on a series of 10-bank takeovers. The family owns more than 20% of UOB, according to the CEO.
UOB has generated a net total return of 66% for investors since the current leader took over, according to Bloomberg's calculations. This equates to 74% for OCBC and 87% for DBS Group Holdings Ltd during the same period.
Asked about the possibility of further consolidation of banks in Singapore, Wee said it would not necessarily make sense, as the three banks are focusing more on their own expansion abroad and are competing with foreign companies on their territory. "We are more outward-looking," he said. "It's not like we're all in Singapore."
Mr. Wee stated that he would continue to run the bank as long as he would remain healthy, to ensure the establishment of a strong and respectful team of stewardship principles for the next phase. of the UOB project.
"For me, it's the responsibility," he said. "I have to make sure that there is a proper succession."
According to a 2014 biography, Mr. Wee's father was proud that his children worked for family-related businesses. But Mr. Wee Cho Yaw also lamented that his grandchildren were not so involved in the financial group and expressed the hope that this could change in the future – what his son described in the Interview as a "wishful thinking".
"The wealth you inherited, in the end, if you have good judgment, you trust the individual," Mr. Wee said. "You have the right people to handle it for you."
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