Wee Cho Yaw was all the governance UOB needed

UNITED Overseas Bank (UOB) has always been Wee Cho Yaw’s bank to me; and owning its shares has – in my mind – been akin to riding along with the legendary businessman.

Wee was UOB’s chairman and chief executive for more than three decades beginning in 1974, during which time he expanded the financial services group substantially.

Even after he handed the position of chief executive to his son Wee Ee Cheong in 2007, and stepped down as chairman in 2013, I still imagined that big decisions at UOB were never made without him being consulted.

Corporate governance advocates might roll their eyes at such an old-fashioned and simple-minded attitude to investing.

Since the early 2000s, there has…