(Bloomberg) -- United Overseas Bank Ltd. will consider a share buyback, among other options, Chief Executive Officer Wee Ee Cheong says at an earnings briefing on Friday.
Shares of the Singapore lender jumped as much as 5.6% after his comments, the most since June 2020. It is now trading at a record high, similar to rival DBS Group Holdings Ltd. whose stock surged this week after it unveiled a new share buyback program and signaled more of such moves may come.
The bank is “actively” looking to take full advantage of capital management, hopefully by the end of the year, according to Wee. UOB has excess capital of about S$2 billion ($1.5 billion) to S$2.5 billion, said Chief Financial Officer Lee Wai Fai.
The lender earlier reported higher-than-expected earnings for the third quarter, driven by record fees underpinned by wealth management. Trading and investment income also rose.
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