(Bloomberg) -- United Overseas Bank Ltd. and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd. will give a one-off payment to junior employees globally for the second year in a row to alleviate ongoing cost-of-living concerns.
About 6,000 eligible junior staff across UOB will receive an extra month of bonus to be paid out by April, the Straits Times reported on Monday, citing the Singapore-based lender. The plan will cost the bank up to S$8 million ($5.9 million).
Head of group human resources at UOB, Dean Tong, told the local newspaper that even though inflation rate has moderated, cost of living remains elevated.
UOB’s announcement came hours after Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd. said an estimated S$7.5 million will be handed out to some 11,000 employees across OCBC and its subsidiaries to cope with cost-of-living pressures.
The number represents about 40% of OCBC Group’s overall headcount in 17 markets, the lender said in a statement. Eligible employees will receive the payout from February to April.
About 4,000 junior employees will receive S$1,000 each in Singapore. They include new entrants to the workforce and unionized employees, OCBC added.
While core inflation in Singapore is expected to fall in 2025, the forecasted rate of 2% remains higher than the 1.1% seen during pre-pandemic years from 2015 to 2019, OCBC said.
Earlier this year, both banks handed out one-off payments to some employees to help them cope with rising living costs. DBS Bank Ltd. also planned a one-time bonus to junior staff across the group in February.
“DBS is committed to ensuring our employees are well supported through our holistic employee value proposition. We also constantly review our employee compensation to ensure it is competitive to the market,” a DBS spokesperson told ST in response to whether they are planning another payout.
(Adds UOB’s payout plan, DBS’s comment from the Straits Times.)
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