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)