Swiss bank managers have little reason to worry about their compensation, according to a study presented by Mercer consultants. Maybe a little more surprising is the growth of the fixed wage component across the financial-market segments.
UBS tomorrow will publish its compensation report. It will show whether Sergio Ermotti, the best-paid CEO among Swiss blue chip companies, has received another pay increase.
The remuneration of the bank bosses tends to act as a decent enough guideline for the pay of their charges. And the bank managers once more have little reason for concern, a study compiled by Mercer showed.
Bonus Pool More or Less Unchanged
The consultants polled 42 globally active businesses in 14 countries for this year’s «Global Financial Services Executive Compensation Snapshot Survey» – 52 percent of which based in Europe. The result: the average fixed component of the total remuneration in the banking industry will rise 1.9 to 2.4 percent this year.
Two thirds of the surveyed companies said that the bonus pool in 2017 will be little changed or equal to the pool in 2016. Eleven percent expected a substantial increase.
Best Talent Retention Strategies
The bank and insurers are mulling the question how they are going to retain their best talents with stagnant bonuses on offer. Some 63 percent of companies intend to adjust their compensation policy in the coming 12 months, 38 percent promised to revise their rules on parental leave, while a third say that they will adjust fringe benefits.
Some 40 percent of companies plan to modify their rules about equal pay in the coming year, with European companies clearly in the lead, according to the survey.
A third of the financial-services firms intend to make non-financial targets more bonus-relevant, including such applying to the general behavior of staff.
Sector Trends
As is usual, the pay increase won’t be the same for all branches in the industry (see table below).
It is notable that wages in retail banking are catching up after being regarded as «boring» for a long time. Today, big banks are profiting from solid earnings in retail banking.
Expert Pay
The staff taking home the biggest increases however are experts such as those working in legal and compliance.
In an environment with tightening regulation, every second company said it increased the basic wages of their staff in legal and compliance. In Europe, the figure was a staggering 73 percent of all surveyed.
