DBS CEO Piyush Gupta received the highest remuneration among bank CEOs in the Asia Pacific region in financial year (FY) 2015, totaling $7.7 million (S$10.9 million).This is 8% more than the year before, while UOB’s deputy chairman and CEO Wee Ee Cheong, Singapore’s best-paid bank CEO in FY 2014, saw a 10% decline in his total remuneration.

Top executives of most Chinese banks saw a massive reduction in their remuneration, already lower than peers in the region. The total pay of Jiang Jianqing, former chairman of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, was slashed in half to around $84,000, equivalent to 1.1% of Gupta’s salary, as a consequence of the government’s plan to reform the pay structure of state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

Top Gamblers

Performance-based remuneration as % of total remuneration

Performance- based Remunation Ranking Bank Country CEO Title

Performance-based  Remuneration as % of Total Remuneration
1 DBS Group Singapore Piyush Gupta CEO 88.5%
2 OCBC Bank Singapore Samuel N. Tsien Group CEO 87.5%
3 United Overseas Bank Singapore  Wee Ee Cheong Deputy Chairman & CEO 86.7%
4 Macquarie Bank Australia Mary J. Reemst Managing Director & CEO 82.2%
5 Kasikornbank  Thailand Banthoon Lamsam Chairman and CEO 73.4%
6 Affin Bank Malaysia Zulkiflee Abbas Bin Abdul Hamid Former Managing Director & CEO 71.5%
7 Dah Sing Banking Group Hong Kong Harold Tsu-Hing Wong Managing Director & Chief Executive 68.6%
8 RHB Capital Malaysia Khairussaleh Ramli Group Managing Director 67.1%
9 Commonwealth Bank of Australia Australia Ian Narev Managing Director & CEO 65.8%
10 Thanachart Bank Thailand Somjate Moosirilert CEO and Presiden 62.3%
11 Public Bank Malaysia Tay Ah Lek Managing Director & CEO 61.1%
12 ANZ Australia Michael Smith Former Chief Executive Officer 59.0%
13 National Australia Bank Australia Andrew Thorburn Group CEO and Managing Director 57.0%
14 Maybank Malaysia Abdul Farid Alias Group President & Chief Executive Officer 56.5%
15 Bank of East Asia Hong Kong David Li Kwok-Po Chairman & Chief Executive  55.7%
16 Bank of Queensland Australia Jon Sutton Managing Director & CEO 55.5%
17 Westpac Banking Corporation Australia Brian Hartzer Managing Director & CEO 55.3%
18 Hang Seng Bank Hong Kong Rose Lee Wai Mun Vice Chairman and Chief Executive 52.3%
19 Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Australia Mike Hirst Managing Director & CEO 50.3%
20 Entie Commercial Bank Taiwan Mark Zoltan Chiba Former Chairman  48.3%

 

Biggest Bottom-Line Chewers
CEO remuneration as % of bank net profit

CEO Remuneration as % of Bank Net Profit Ranking

 Bank Country  CEO  Title

CEO Remuneration as % of Bank Net Profit
1 Affin Bank Malaysia  Zulkiflee Abbas Bin Abdul Hamid  Former Managing Director & CEO  1.38%
2 Chong Hing Bank  Hong Kong  Leung Ko May Yee Margaret  Deputy Chairman and Managing Director  1.21%
3 Dah Sing Banking Group  Hong Kong  Harold Tsu-Hing Wong  Managing Director & Chief Executive  1.03%
4 Bank of Queensland  Australia  Jon Sutton  Managing Director & CEO  0.87%
5 Bendigo and Adelaide Bank  Australia  Mike Hirst  Managing Director & CEO  0.68%
6 Bank of East Asia  Hong Kong  David Li Kwok-Po  Chairman & Chief Executive  0.50%
7 Public Bank  Malaysia  Tay Ah Lek  Managing Director & CEO  0.34%
8 RHB Capital  Malaysia  Khairussaleh Ramli  Group Managing Director  0.33%
9 Hong Leong Financial Group  Malaysia  Choong Yee How  Former President & CEO  0.33%
10 United Overseas Bank  Singapore  Wee Ee Cheong  Deputy Chairman & CEO  0.29%
11 OCBC Bank  Singapore  Samuel N. Tsien  Group CEO  0.26%
12 DBS Group  Singapore  Piyush Gupta  CEO  0.24%
13 CIMB Group  Malaysia  Tengku Zafrul Aziz  Group Chief Executive Officer/Executive Director  0.24%
14 YES BANK  India  Rana Kapoor  Managing Director & CEO  0.22%
15 Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank  Taiwan Daniel M. Tsai  Chairman  0.16% - 0.27%
16 Macquarie Bank  Australia  Mary J. Reemst  Managing Director & CEO  0.19%
17 ANZ  Australia Michael Smith  Former Chief Executive Officer  0.14%
18 Commonwealth Bank of Australia  Australia Ian Narev  Managing Director & CEO  0.09%
19 Maybank  Malaysia  Abdul Farid Alias  Group President & Chief Executive Officer  0.09%
20 Entie Commercial Bank  Taiwan  Mark Zoltan Chiba  Former Chairman  0.09%

 

Top Overhead Blowers
CEO remuneration as % of total personnel expense

CEO Remuneration as % of Total Personnel Expense Ranking Bank  Country  CEO  Title  CEO Remuneration as % of Total Personnel Expense
1 Chong Hing Bank Hong Kong Leung Ko May Yee Margaret Deputy Chairman and Managing Director 2.14%
2 Dah Sing Banking Group Hong Kong Harold Tsu-Hing Wong Managing Director & Chief Executive 1.55%
3 Affin Bank  Malaysia  Zulkiflee Abbas Bin Abdul Hamid  Former Managing Director & CEO  1.34%
4 Bank of Queensland Australia  Jon Sutton  Managing Director & CEO  1.08%
5 Public Bank  Malaysia  Tay Ah Lek  Managing Director & CEO  0.84%
6 Hong Leong Financial Group  Malaysia  Choong Yee How  Former President & CEO  0.72%
7 Bendigo and Adelaide Bank  Australia  Mike Hirst  Managing Director & CEO  0.62%
8 Bank of East Asia  Hong Kong  David Li Kwok-Po  Chairman & Chief Executive  0.52%
9 OCBC Bank  Singapore Samuel N. Tsien  Group CEO  0.47%
10 United Overseas Bank  Singapore  Wee Ee Cheong  Deputy Chairman & CEO  0.45%
11 Hang Seng Bank  Hong Kong  Rose Lee Wai Mun  Vice Chairman and Chief Executive  0.44%
12 YES BANK  India  Rana Kapoor  Managing Director & CEO  0.44%
13 DBS Group  Singapore Piyush Gupta  CEO  0.41%
14 Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank  Taiwan  Daniel M. Tsa  Chairman 0.27% - 0.44%
15 Macquarie Bank Australia  Mary J Reemst  Managing Director & CEO  0.28%
16 RHB Capital  Malaysia  Khairussaleh Ramli  Group Managing Director  0.22%
17 ANZ Australia  Michael Smith  Former Chief Executive Officer  0.20%
18 Shengjing Bank  China Zhang Yukun  Executive Director & Chairman  0.17%
19 Entie Commercial Bank  Taiwan  Mark Zoltan Chiba  Former Chairman  0.15%
20 Commonwealth Bank of Australia  Australia  Ian Narev  Managing Director & CEO  0.14%

 

Top Inequality Creators
CEO remuneration / average staff expense

CEO Remuneration / Average Staff Expense Ranking Bank Country  CEO Title  CEO Remuneration / Average Staff Expense
1 Hong Leong Financial Group  Malaysia  Choong Yee How  Former President & CEO  200.3
2 Public Bank Malaysia Tay Ah Lek  Managing Director & CEO  154.5
3 OCBC Bank  Singapore Samuel N. Tsien  Samuel N. Tsien  139.7
4 United Overseas Bank  Singapore  Wee Ee Cheong  Deputy Chairman & CEO  111.8
5 ANZ  Australia  Michael Smith  Former Chief Executive Officer  99.2
6 DBS Group  Singapore  Piyush Gupta  CEO  91.1
7 Bank of East Asia  Hong Kong  David Li Kwok-Po  Chairman & Chief Executive  71.6
8 Commonwealth Bank of Australia  Australia Ian Narev  Managing Director & CEO  65.7
9 YES BANK  India  Rana Kapoor  Managing Director & CEO  65.5
10 CIMB Group  Malaysia  Tengku Zafrul Aziz  Group Chief Executive Officer/Executive Director  52.7
11 Maybank Malaysia Abdul Farid Alias  Group President & Chief Executive Officer  49.9
12 National Australia Bank  Australia  Andrew Thorburn  Group CEO and Managing Director  49.5
13 Affin Bank  Malaysia  Zulkiflee Abbas Bin Abdul Hamid F  Former Managing Director & CEO  48.5
14 Hang Seng Bank  Hong Kong  Rose Lee Wai Mun  Vice Chairman and Chief Executive  45.0
15 Dah Sing Banking Group  Hong Kong  Harold Tsu-Hing Wong  Managing Director & Chief Executive  40.7
16 Westpac Banking Corporation  Australia  Brian Hartzer  Managing Director & CEO  39.8

17

 RHB Capital  Malaysia Khairussaleh Ramli  Group Managing Director  35.5
18 Chong Hing Bank  Hong Kong  Leung Ko May Yee Margaret  Deputy Chairman and Managing Directo  34.2
19 Bendigo and Adelaide Bank  Australia Mike Hirst  Managing Director & CEO  28.7
20 Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank  Taiwan Daniel M. Tsai  Chairman 17.9 - 29.9

 

Source: Asian Banker Research
Notes: Only bank CEOs and their equivalent have been surveyed. Bank CEOs who have stepped down from their positions or retired include Choong Yee How of Hong Leong Financial Group (Malaysia), Mark Zoltan Chiba of Entie Commercial Bank (Taiwan), Michael Smith of ANZ (Australia) and Zulkiflee Abbas Bin Abdul Hamid of Affin Bank (Malaysia)