With renewed investments in analytics, omnichannel capabilities and sustainability initiatives, UOB Thailand is positioning itself for long-term leadership in Thailand’s evolving retail and SMEs financial services landscape.

Realising synergies and consolidating gains from Citibank integration

The acquisition and integration of Citibank (Citi)’s consumer banking business in Thailand has substantially expanded UOB Thailand’s retail customer base—from 1.5 million to 2.5 million. According to Yuttachai Teyarachakul, Managing Director, Head of Personal Financial Services at UOB Thailand, this transformation not only scaled operations but also created new opportunities for deepening customer relationships and expanding product penetration.

UOB Thailand achieved a particularly high conversion of cardholders into deposit customers. Over 40% of the migrated Citi cardholders also opened CASA (current and savings) accounts, significantly above the uptake rate in other ASEAN markets. This CASA penetration served as the entry point to initiate broader wealth and banking relationships.

Despite a 7% decline in gross retail revenue in financial year 2024—largely due to waived fees and conservative lending—UOB Thailand maintained growth momentum in key product lines. The bank’s mortgage loan book grew 3.8%, outpacing the market average of 2.6%. UOB Thailand now claims to be the largest foreign retail mortgage lender in Thailand.

With 92% of Citi’s Thai retail customers successfully migrated and re-carded, the bank expects to fully realise revenue synergies in 2025 through enhanced cross-sell and digital engagement.

Unlocking cost synergies and restoring operating leverage

During the initial phase of integration in 2024, the bank’s cost structure temporarily increased due to the need to operate both UOB and Citi systems concurrently, ensuring legal and operational continuity. This required maintaining several separate Citi applications throughout the transition. “With the successful migration to UOB Thailand’s core platform, we are realising up to 30% cost savings on a per-unit basis,” said Yuttachai.

This transition, coupled with growing deposit and loan balances, is expected to bring CIR below 60% in 2025, and further down in the medium term as scale efficiencies kick in.

Meanwhile, retail non-performing loans (NPLs) spiked to 3.65% in 2024, largely driven by a regulatory increase in minimum credit card repayment rates. However, UOB Thailand maintained a consistently lower risk profile, with NPLs 20% below the industry average. Yuttachai said the credit cycle began to stabilise in the fourth quarter (4Q) of 2024, and the bank expects continued improvement into 2025. 

Elevating brand equity through lifestyle-led cardholder engagement

UOB Thailand has made lifestyle experiences a cornerstone of its card and wealth engagement strategy. Exclusive access to regional concerts and cultural events—such as Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and Korean pop acts—helped drive both brand recognition and cardholder satisfaction.

“These experiences differentiate us in a competitive market and enhance emotional attachment to our brand,” said Yuttachai. The bank’s regional rewards platform enables Thai customers to access cross-border promotions, supporting ASEAN-wide customer loyalty.

The most visible commitment came in 2024 with the launch of UOB Live, a 6,000-seat event venue located in Bangkok’s Emsphere lifestyle complex. Developed in partnership with entertainment group AEG, it reinforces the bank’s value proposition of “money-can’t-buy” privileges.

Reinventing branch banking through omnichannel integration

UOB Thailand’s physical branches have been redefined to focus on advisory, experience and personalised engagement. Under the leadership of Piyaporn Ratanaprasartporn, Executive Director, Head of Channels and Digitalisation, the E2E Anytime Anywhere Branch initiative integrates digital and data-driven tools to create seamless service across online and offline channels.

Key innovations include Smart Queue Management, Smart Customer Relationship Management (CRM) with Next Best Solution (NBS), My Wealth Planner and milestone-driven engagement. Customers can now receive real-time advice, and staff are empowered with portfolio dashboards to track product adoption, referral outcomes and customer sentiment.

The initiative has delivered results across the board: Net promotor score (NPS) rose 8.1% year-on-year, customer satisfaction increased to 96%, and employee engagement hit a high of 96%. Productivity improved as well, with a 67% increase in successful referrals and double-digit deposit and loan growth.

Delivering lifecycle support to SMEs through analytics and tailored engagement

UOB Thailand has taken a holistic approach to serving customers from the newly acquired portfolio, many of whom are both individuals and business owners. By integrating retail and SME capabilities, we are able to support their personal finances while also providing tailored financial solutions to help grow their businesses. This end-to-end support ensures our customers benefit from comprehensive advice and services that meet their needs at every level.

In 2024, UOB Thailand launched its SME Digital Advisory Platform to enable full lifecycle engagement—from awareness and onboarding to advisory and trade support. The platform integrates a Smart CRM that creates “digital twins” of each SME customer, predictive behavioural alerts, and real-time follow-up tools for relationship managers.

“Our goal is to transform relationship managers (RMs) from sellers to trusted advisors,” said Sayumrat Maranate, Executive Director, Head of Business Banking. “We now segment SMEs by size and business model, offering lending and trade solutions tailored to each growth stage.”

The initiative led to a 44% increase in trade revenue, 10% loan growth, and 21% improvement in revenue per staff. NPS for SME customers also rose to 78.3%, with employee engagement reaching 94%.

Scaling ESG enablement for SME sustainability and competitiveness

As environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards become increasingly central to supply chain and customer expectations, UOB Thailand is enabling SMEs to adapt through a combination of advisory, analytics, and access to ecosystem partners. Under the direction of Sayumrat, the bank introduced colour-coded ESG risk mapping to help RMs identify clients most exposed to environmental or regulatory risks.

Tools like the Sustainability Compass help SMEs assess their current sustainability status and provide a personalised roadmap toward improvement. SMEs are also offered access to green financing products, government grants, and third-party certifications.

UOB Thailand collaborates with the Thai E-commerce Association and major platforms like TikTok to extend the digital visibility of these SMEs, ensuring that sustainability and digitisation progress in tandem.

“We want to support SMEs as they move up the value chain—from micro to medium, from domestic to ASEAN-wide,” said Sayumrat. “And we do that with data, partnership and continuous learning.”