WEE Cho Yaw will retire from United Overseas Bank after having steered the bank for six decades.

A familiar face at UOB' s shareholders' meeting even after he stepped down as chairman of the board six years ago, Mr Wee is likely to be sorely missed.

He is expected to attend next April' s shareholders meeting when he will retire from the board, said a UOB spokeswoman.

Mr Wee, who turns 89 next January, will relinquish all his board responsibilities next April. He will retain his chairman emeritus title and will also be appointed honorary adviser to the board in recognition of his many years of leadership and contribution to the group, UOB said.

Mr Wee - who was chairman and chief executive of UOB from 1974 to 2007 - owns over 18 per cent of the bank, according to UOB' s 2016 annual report. He joined the United Chinese Bank (UCB) board - the precursor to UOB - in 1958 at age 29 and became UCB managing director in 1960, succeeding his father Wee Kheng Chiang. UCB changed its name to UOB on Jan 23, 1965.

UOB also said that it has nominated former deputy prime minister Wong Kan Seng to succeed incumbent independent non-executive chairman Hsieh Fu Hua who will be retiring next year.

Mr Hsieh, 67, is the first chairman of the bank from outside the Wee family, and would have served six years on the board when he steps down on Feb 14, 2018. Until then, Mr Hsieh will continue to chair the board to oversee matters pertaining to the group' s current financial year.

Mr Wong, 71 was first appointed as a UOB director in July this year.

Mr Wong served 26 years in the Singapore government where he held ministerial appointments in the Communications and Information, Community Development, Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs Ministries. He retired as deputy prime minister in 2011 but remained as a Member of Parliament. After leaving politics in 2015, Mr Wong joined the private sector, serving as chairman and director of companies in the real estate, township development/urbanisation, fund management and real estate investment trust (Reit)/trust sectors.

Paying tribute to Mr Wee, the UOB board described him as one of Singapore' s legendary entrepreneurs who has made immense contributions to the development of the banking industry.

" Under his leadership, UOB expanded greatly, both in scale and scope. It grew from a single branch local bank to a major regional player with more than 500 offices in 19 countries and territories, offering a comprehensive suite of financial services to retail, wholesale and global markets.

He also " guided UOB through several international and regional financial and economic crises, all the while entrenching a culture based on values of thrift, prudence and vigilance" .

CLSA issued Sell Call on UOB 28th July 2017
Hanging in there

UOB continues to trade above our view of fair value SELL

Non-interest income was the primary driver behind UOB&rsquo s slight

outperformance in 2Q17. However, it is the continued strong CET1 build

that stands out. In our view, UOB&rsquo s balance-sheet resilience is already

priced in. We reiterate our SELL recommendation with a revised target

price of S$22.30 (from S$21.40).

Non-interest income support

UOB&rsquo s 2Q17 Npat of S$845m was +5% QoQ and +6% YoY. NII was

marginally ahead on a combination of AIEA and +2bps QoQ margin

expansion. Fee income positively surprised, driven by wealth. Trading income

was also robust. Cost containment was worse than expected which triggered

a C/I ratio of 46% but this was offset by lower bad debts and associate

income. The net result was a 4% beat against our forecasts on the PBT line.

This narrowed to 3% on an after-tax basis. Reported ROE was 10.3%. BVPS

advanced to S$19.63 from 1Q17&rsquo s S$19.35 helped by positive AFS moves

below the line. DPS of S$0.35 was stable YoY and HoH.

CET1 progression is commendable

The bank&rsquo s commodities exposure decreased QoQ from S$28.2bn to S$23.6bn

predominately driven by downstream. Gross loans fell 0.6% QoQ, driven by

USD manufacturing, FIs/hold co and other corporate loans in Greater China

and Rest of World. Deposits balances were broadly stable QoQ as an increase

in USD fixed deposits offset a decrease in SGD current accounts. The group

LDR fell slightly from 86.7% to 86.1% QoQ. The gross NPL ratio was stable at

1.5%. Absolute NPLs rose. New NPA formation remains elevated but fell QoQ

and remains below the mid-2016 levels. SG O& G/shipping remains the main

pressure point. The coverage ratio fell from 116.6% to 113.2%. The fully

loaded CET1 ratio was +50bps QoQ to 13.3% driven by a reduction in RWAs,

profit and strong take up in the scrip dividend.

EPS and DPS broadly unchanged

Management reiterated previous guidance for 2017. Given that 2Q17 was

only slightly ahead of expectations, we have made limited tweaks to our 17-

19CL NPAT figures (+1% per annum). Our DPS forecasts are unchanged.

We reiterate our SELL rating

The changes to our Npat forecast flow through into our GGM-derived target in

the form of higher ROE. Our ROE moves from 10% to 10.1% and this triggers

a revised target price of S$22.30 (previously S$21.40). With UOB trading

above our GGM-derived fair value of 1x 18CL p/BV, we reiterate our SELL

recommendation. DBS (BUY) remains our preferred SG bank