Searches for the highest-paid bank CEOs in Singapore usually start with a simple question. How much does it take to run one of the country’s biggest banks?
A bank CEO’s annual remuneration usually goes beyond fixed salary, with cash bonuses, deferred shares, share-linked awards and benefits often making up a much larger part of the final figure.
The headline number becomes more useful when readers can also see how the package is structured.
Recent changes in disclosure have made the comparison more transparent.
SGX-listed issuers with financial years ending on or after 31 December 2024 must disclose the names, exact amounts and breakdown of remuneration paid to each individual director and chief executive officer in their annual reports.
Against that backdrop, bank CEO salary Singapore comparisons are no longer limited to broad pay bands or vague estimates.
Readers can now look at disclosed remuneration alongside return on equity and net profit, which gives a better sense of Singapore bank CEO compensation in 2025.
We’ve compiled the ranking of the top-paid bank CEOs in Singapore using disclosed remuneration from the official annual reports of Singapore-headquartered listed banks, then placed those figures beside ROE and net profit.
 Salary alone does not tell the full story, but it is a useful starting point for understanding Singapore bank CEO pay 2025.
Top 3 Highest-Paid Bank CEOs in Singapore for 2025
With salary only telling part of the story, the full ranking gives a clearer view of how Singapore bank CEO compensation was structured in 2025.
The table compares total CEO remuneration, fixed salary, ROE and net profit across the three Singapore-headquartered listed banks.
It also shows how close the race was at the top, with the first and second-ranked packages separated by just S$0.04 million, or about S$40,000 when rounded.
Wee Ee Cheong’s disclosed pay stood at S$12.04 million, while Helen Wong followed closely at S$12.00 million.
Tan Su Shan’s package came in lower at S$9.64 million, although DBS reported the highest ROE at 16.2% and the largest net profit at S$11.0 billion among the three banks.
Those numbers make the comparison more useful than a simple salary ranking.
Fixed salary formed only a small portion of each CEO’s total package, with bonuses, deferred shares, deferred awards and other performance-linked components carrying much of the weight.
Many searches around bank CEO salary in Singapore focus on base pay, but the 2025 disclosures show why total remuneration gives a fuller picture.
The largest packages were driven less by fixed salary and more by how each bank rewarded performance, leadership and longer-term outcomes.
1. Wee Ee Cheong, UOB
UOB Deputy Chairman and CEO Wee Ee Cheong topped the 2025 ranking among Singapore’s listed local bank CEOs by disclosed remuneration.
His package, shown in the infographic, reached S$12,042,629 for the year. Fixed salary accounted for S$1,440,000, while the bonus component came in at S$10,560,000. Other benefits added S$42,629.
The split between salary and bonus shows how UOB structured Wee Ee Cheong’s pay in 2025. His fixed salary made up about 12% of the total package, while the bonus drove most of the final figure.
UOB’s annual report also disclosed that the bank deferred 60% of Wee’s variable pay over the next three years, with 40% of the deferred portion delivered in cash and the remaining 60% delivered through share-linked units.
The pay figure sits against a year where UOB reported S$4.7 billion in net profit and an ROE of 9.6%. UOB attributed the lower profit mainly to pre-emptive provisioning, which strengthened coverage during the year.
2. Helen Wong, OCBC
OCBC Group CEO Helen Wong placed second in the 2025 ranking, with total remuneration of S$12 million in her final year leading the bank.
The infographic breaks that figure into S$1.2 million in fixed salary, S$6.286 million in bonus, S$4.191 million in deferred shares and S$323,000 in other benefits.
OCBC also reported ROE of 12.6% and net profit of S$7.42 billion for the year.
While OCBC disclosed S$1.2 million in fixed salary for 2025, Wong’s total pay reached S$12 million after bonus, deferred shares and other benefits were included.
Bonus and deferred shares together made up about 87% of her package, while salary accounted for 10%.
The deferred share component is also worth noting because it formed the second-largest part of Wong’s remuneration after her cash bonus.
Her package included S$4.191 million in deferred shares, reflecting how senior bank compensation is often structured around both current-year performance and longer-term incentives.
Wong’s final year as Group CEO came against a steady performance backdrop. OCBC reported FY2025 net profit of S$7.42 billion, down 2% from the previous year, while ROE remained at 12.6%.
She retired as Group CEO and Executive Director on 31 December 2025, so the disclosed remuneration reflects a full year in the role.
3. Tan Su Shan, DBS
DBS disclosed S$9,643,944 in remuneration for Tan Su Shan for the 2025 performance year, placing her third among Singapore’s listed local bank CEOs.
Taken from DBS’s Remuneration Report, her package comprised S$975,250 in fixed salary, S$3.685 million in cash bonus, S$4.915 million in deferred award and S$68,694 in other benefits.
DBS also stood out on performance, with ROE at 16.2% and net profit at S$11.0 billion, the strongest figures in this comparison.
DBS changed leaders during 2025, which makes Tan’s remuneration less straightforward than a full-year CEO package.
She became Group CEO on 28 March, so the disclosed figure covers her time as Deputy CEO from 1 January to 27 March and as Group CEO from 28 March onward.
Her pay was weighted more towards deferred remuneration than fixed salary.
The S$4.915 million deferred award was the largest component of the package, followed by the S$3.685 million cash bonus, while fixed salary made up just over 10% of total remuneration.
DBS said about 17% of Tan’s deferred award will be in cash, with the remaining portion delivered in shares. Such a structure links part of the CEO package to future vesting rather than immediate cash payout.
Against that pay structure, DBS reported S$11.0 billion in net profit for 2025 and an ROE of 16.2%, the highest among the three listed local banks in this comparison.
FAQs
Who was the highest-paid bank CEO in Singapore in 2025?
UOB’s Wee Ee Cheong had the highest disclosed CEO remuneration among Singapore’s listed local banks in 2025, with total pay of S$12.04 million.
How much did UOB CEO Wee Ee Cheong earn in 2025?
Wee Ee Cheong’s pay in 2025 was S$12.04 million, including S$1.44 million in fixed salary, S$10.56 million in bonus and S$42,629 in other benefits.
How much did OCBC CEO Helen Wong earn in 2025?
Helen Wong’s pay in 2025 was S$12 million, including fixed salary, bonus, deferred shares and other benefits.
How much did DBS CEO Tan Su Shan earn in 2025?
Tan Su Shan’s pay in 2025 was S$9.64 million, including fixed salary, cash bonus, deferred award and other benefits.
Which Singapore bank had the highest ROE in 2025?
DBS had the highest ROE among the three listed local banks at 16.2%, followed by OCBC at 12.6% and UOB at 9.6%.
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore based on an image by shamaoonstudio via Magnific.
Infographic images: Edited by Fintech News Singapore based on images via the respective bank websites.
