UBS Group AG minimize its bonus pool for final yr by 14% after a harder yr for deal-makers and merchants, whereas elevating Chief Government Officer Sergio Ermotti to the rank of best-paid European financial institution boss.
Ermotti obtained 14.4 million Swiss francs ($15.9 million) in compensation for his first 9 months on the job, together with 12.3 million francs in variable compensation, UBS stated in its annual report Thursday.
UBS introduced again Ermotti as CEO in April final yr to supervise the government-brokered rescue of Credit score Suisse and the multi-year integration of the financial institution’s former rival.
UBS posted a loss within the second half of final yr and has warned that 2024 can be harder as extra advanced integration duties are carried out.
“The board acknowledges Mr. Ermotti’s wonderful efficiency in a defining yr in UBS’s historical past and robust progress in delivering on integration priorities,” UBS stated within the report.
Annual revenue got here in at a report $27.8 billion, pushed virtually completely by the extraordinary results of the acquisition of Credit score Suisse. The so-called unfavourable goodwill impact, associated to the low buy worth for the financial institution, was diminished by $1.2 billion from an earlier estimate.
UBS shares whipsawed after the annual report and have been briefly halted. The inventory was down 2.2% as of 10:05 a.m. in New York Thursday.
Chairman Colm Kelleher obtained mounted compensation of 4.7 million Swiss francs for the 2023-2024 interval.
UBS’s decrease total bonus allocation displays the impression from “difficult working circumstances for the monetary business, and the uncertainty and market volatility ensuing from continued geopolitical tensions,” the financial institution stated in its report.
Banks throughout Europe are slicing the bonus pool at their funding banking divisions after a droop in offers and a slowdown in buying and selling final yr.
BNP Paribas SA minimize whole variable compensation in its funding financial institution by about 5%, whereas Deutsche Financial institution AG diminished its equal pool by greater than 10%.