How the Wee family, Singapore’s richest banking dynasty, built Southeast Asia’s third largest lender

Originally established as a merchant bank in 1935 by Sarawak-born businessman Wee Kheng Chiang and later flourished under the leadership of his son, the late billionaire Wee Cho Yaw, UOB has grown from a single branch in Singapore into the region’s third largest banking giant with S$537.6 billion (US$404 billion) in assets as of December 2024.

The family’s business interests also include some of the city-state’s most prominent companies, including Singapore’s largest listed property developer UOL Group, the family’s commodity and spice trading firm Kheng Leong, and Haw Par, the manufacturer of the iconic Tiger Balm analgesic.

Cho Yaw’s five children, led by eldest son Wee Ee Cheong, inherited the family fortune after he passed away last February, securing them the 7th spot on Forbes’ Singapore’s 50 Richest 2024 ranking list.

Wee Ee Cheong, Chief Executive Officer of United Overseas Bank at UOB Plaza on Aug. 1, 2022. Photo by SPH Media via AFP

Nine decades of growth

Their wealth is rooted in decades of expansion led by the late billionaire, who started his career when he was just 19, according to The Business Times.

Cho Yaw began working at Kheng Leong in 1949 and, nearly a decade later, joined the board of United Chinese Bank, as UOB was then known.

By 1960, he was appointed its managing director following his father’s departure. Five years into his tenure, the firm established its first overseas branch in Hong Kong and rebranded itself as its current name.

Over the next two decades, UOB embarked on a journey of rapid expansion, both domestically and internationally. It acquired several local lenders while setting up branches, offices, and agencies in key financial hubs, including London, New York, Los Angeles, Seoul, and Beijing.

The defining moment of his career came in 2001 when he orchestrated Singapore’s largest corporate takeover at the time. Facing competition from the city-state’s largest lender DBS, Cho Yaw personally approached Overseas Union Bank founder George Lien Ying Chow and the Lien family, persuading them to sell their stakes to UOB.

By 2007, when he stepped down as CEO and handed the reins to his eldest son, Ee Cheong, UOB’s total assets had surged from S$2.8 billion to over S$253 billion while its global presence expanded from 75 branches and offices to more than 500.

In 2013, he also retired as UOB’s chairman but stayed on as chairman emeritus and honorary adviser before his official departure from the board in 2018.

Since taking over as CEO, Ee Cheong has driven an ambitious expansion strategy, focusing on growth beyond Singapore, particularly in Southeast Asia.

His boldest move came in 2022 when he spent S$4.9 billion to acquire Citibank’s consumer banking operations in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The deal, aimed at strengthening UOB’s regional ambitions, included retail deposits, wealth management services, and secured and unsecured lending portfolios.

"If UOB today continues to be just a Singapore bank, we’ll be very vulnerable," he said in an interview with Forbes Asia, noting that the acquisition accelerated UOB’s regional expansion by at least five years.

Ee Cheong has also worked to refresh UOB’s image, moving beyond its reputation as a bank for older customers. The lender’s Citibank acquisition and recent technological advancements have helped it attract younger clients.

The firm reported a record net profit of S$6.04 billion in 2024, up 6% from the previous year, fueled by strong fee income and gains from trading and investments.

UOL Group recently became Singapore’s largest listed property developer after shares of its closest rival, City Developments Limited, hit a 16-year low amid a boardroom feud between billionaire Kwek Leng Beng and his son.

A family legacy

When Cho Yaw passed away last year at the age of 95, his net worth was estimated to be US$7.2 billion.

He was remembered not just as the titan who shaped Singapore’s bank industry, but also as a family man with a warm personality, as reported by The Straits Times.

Professor Ho Teck Hua, Nanyang Technological University’s president, said those who interacted with him describe him as a generous mentor who took the time to listen to young people and offer his guidance.

He made it a tradition to bring together the four generations of his family for Sunday dinners, believing that frequent gatherings strengthened family bonds, according to Lianhe Zaobao.

Late billionaire Wee Cho Yaw, Chairman Emeritus and Honorary Adviser to the UOB Group. Photo courtesy of the company

In a 2014 biography, he expressed pride that all his children were involved in family-related businesses at the time.

His second son, Wee Ee Chao, is the chairman of brokerage United Overseas Bank Kay Hian and Haw Par, while his youngest son, Wee Ee Lim, is UOL’s chairman.

According to filings seen by Bloomberg last Wednesday, the estate of the late UOB patriarch has recently completed the transfer of his wealth to his heirs, marking one of Singapore’s largest wealth transfers in decades.

Looking ahead, Ee Cheong, who turns 72 this year, said he is not ready to retire but would consider handing over leadership to a professional manager when the time comes.

As for family succession, he said members of the controlling Wee family are "more than welcome" to be part of the bank’s future leadership.

"But I think they need passion, they need love, and they need the desire to be part of the team," he said at a media briefing last year.

He also hopes that his heirs will remember UOB as a legacy passed down by their grandfather or great-grandfather.

"His [Cho Yaw’s] legacy will live on in the principles that he has imparted – to do right by our customers and to value relationships for the long term," he said.