United Overseas Bank (UOB) is a leading bank in Asia with a global network of more than 500 branches and offices in 19 countries and territories in Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. The bank provides a wide range of financial services globally through three core business segments: group retail, group wholesale banking and global markets.

Here are seven things I learned from the 2019 UOB Bank AGM.

1. UOB’s total income rose 6% year-on-year to S$9.12 billion in 2018. The growth was driven by a 13% increase in net interest income — in line with the rising interest rate environment — and a 5% increase in net fee and commission income, driven by the strong performance in loan-related, credit card,  trade-related  and  fund  management  fees.

2. Net profit after tax increased 18% year-on-year to $4.01billion. Cost-to-income ratio rose marginally to 43.9% as UOB continues to invest in talent