This payment will be distributed to junior-level personnel across all Maybank’s Singaporean divisions, including Maybank Singapore, Etiqa Insurance Singapore, Maybank Asset Management Singapore, and Maybank Securities Singapore, as the lender said Friday without revealing the exact number of the beneficiaries, as reported by The Straits Times.

Alvin Lee, the country chief executive of Maybank Singapore, said in a statement that the payout seeks to acknowledge the diligent work of their junior staff and to alleviate some of their financial worries.

He highlighted that Maybank – the fourth largest bank in Southeast Asia in terms of assets – is committed to ensuring its workforce receives equitable and transparent compensation that is in line with industry standards.

This is in addition to other employee benefits such as opportunities for professional development through training initiatives and comprehensive healthcare coverage.

Maybank implemented a similar measure last year. In March, they announced that they had provided up to $1,250 each to 141 junior employees to help counteract the growing cost of living.

Other lenders such as DBS Bank, UOB, and OCBC Bank, have also issued comparable one-time payments to their staff.

UOB said in December that approximately 6,000 eligible junior-level employees throughout the group can anticipate receiving a one-off bonus equivalent to an extra month’s salary, which is scheduled to be paid by April 2025.

Similarly, OCBC had announced that around 4,000 junior employees within the OCBC Group in Singapore would each receive a payment of SGD1,000 to aid them in managing concerns to the cost of living, which continues to be elevated due to inflation.

DBS Bank, in February last year, had also provided bonuses of SGD1,000 to over 5,500 of their junior staff members located in Singapore.