The upcoming season of annual general meetings could be a tricky one for the big Swiss banks. One major topic is likely to be salaries on the executive floor, as is already becoming apparent.
The new UBS CEO Ralph Hamers has set new standards when it comes to salary increases: He has virtually increased his salary six-fold in the Corona year 2020 thanks to his move to UBS, according to a report by Swiss business magazine «Bilanz» (behind paywall).
Above all, the bonus of about three million Swiss francs goes too far for voting rights adviser Ethos, which is why it rejects the remuneration report.
«That's Not On»
«A bonus of three million for four months, two of which are teaching months, that's not on,» said Ethos Chief Vincent Kaufmann. Hamers previously earned less than two million a year as head of ING, while at UBS he was paid a total of 4.2 million francs for the few months alone.
This means that Hamers earns almost as much over the year as his predecessor Sergio Ermotti, who earned 13.3 million francs in his last year at the helm of UBS. The annual general meeting of UBS will take place on April 8, 2021.
