UOB has appointed Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) chairman Ong Chong Tee as an independent director, the bank announced on Friday (Dec 23).

 

The 61-year old&rsquo s appointment will take effect from Jan 1, 2023. Ong was also appointed as member of the bank&rsquo s executive committee and board risk management committee.

 

He was selected as the bank&rsquo s nominating committee and the board agreed that he possesses the necessary experience, skills and qualifications to be appointed as an independent director of the committee.

 

He was formerly the deputy managing director of financial supervision at the Monetary Authority of Singapore from September 2013 to March 2021.

 

Aside from his post as Acra chairman, he is also a director of several other companies and a council member at GIC&rsquo s Risk Committee and the Council for Board Diversity.

 

Separately, OCBC has appointed a new chairman as its current chairman, Ooi Sang Kuang, will retire on Jan 31, 2023.

 

The bank named Andrew Lee Kok Keng as non-executive board chairman with effect from Feb 1, 2023. OCBC said the nominating committee had assessed both internal and external candidates before choosing Lee for the role.

 

Lee is an existing non-executive and independent director of OCBC. His nomination was approved by the board.

On Nov 11, United Overseas Bank independent chairman Wong Kan Seng acquired 10,000 shares at an average price of S$29.39 per share. This increased his direct interest in the company to 31,800 shares.

 

Wong was appointed to the board of United Overseas Bank in July 2017 and assumed the role of chairman in February 2018. He is also the chairman of CapitaLand Group, CLA Real Estate Holdings, and a director of Boao Forum for Asia. Wong previously served for 26 years in the Singapore government, where he held various ministerial appointments in the Communications and Information, Community Development, Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs Ministries, and at the National Population and Talent Division (Prime Minister&rsquo s Office). He retired as Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security in 2011 but remained as a Member of Parliament till 2015. He joined the private sector in 2011 and served as chairman on the boards of Singapore-Sichuan Investment Holdings, Singbridge Holdings and Singbridge International Singapore.

 

On Oct 28, United Overseas Bank provided a business update, with a record high S$1.4 billion net profit for Q3 2022, up 34 per cent from Q3 2021 and driven by strong net interest income, higher customer-related treasury income and lower credit allowance. Deputy chairman Wee Ee Cheong noted with the update that the group had also recently launched its brand refresh, where it laid out its sharpened purpose &ndash to build the future of Asean, adding that the award-winning digital platform, UOB TMRW, also reached a significant milestone in August, achieving 1 million digitally-acquired customers.