Singaporean bank UOB has revealed plans to increase income from its wealth business twofold by 2030, with its leadership pointing to rising numbers of affluent customers as a key area of focus.
Speaking at the bank’s earnings briefing, deputy chairman and chief executive Wee Ee Cheong said the lender sees room to expand in wealth management because of a broad and growing base of higher-income customers that remains relatively untapped.
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“We see significant opportunities, including with wealth, underpinned by a large and increasingly affluent customer base that is underpenetrated. This gives us a long runway for sustainable, organic growth,” he said.
According to Wee, the near-term priorities are to lift assets under management and raise the share of invested assets under management.
He did not disclose any AUM targets.
The chief executive added: “For this year, the next few quarters, you will start to see the wealth business picking up, because we are focusing on doubling our wealth.”
He said the bank is working on its advisory offering through more tailored solutions, while continuing to add staff, including in private banking, and improving digital and cross-border wealth capabilities, especially in Asean and North Asia.
UOB is also adjusting its business mix towards a “capital-lite, higher ROE growth” strategy, alongside tighter balance sheet management.
For 2026, the bank left its guidance unchanged.
That includes low single-digit loan growth, high single-digit fee income growth, low single-digit operating cost growth and total credit costs of 25 to 30 basis points.
At the same briefing, the bank’s CFO Leong Yung Chee said UOB’s direct exposure to the Middle East is “limited”.
He added that the bank is reviewing possible second-order effects on clients in industries more exposed to energy-related disruption, including transportation, utilities and agriculture.
He said the bank expects uncertainty to continue but believes its capital position and provision buffers leave it equipped to deal with those conditions.
