With the recent drama in the Swiss banking industry, bonuses have been a heated topic of debate, but at least one bank has been spared. In Zurich, the Cantonal Council isn't interfering with the salary policy of the Zuercher Kantonalbank.
Zurich's Cantonal Council scuttled a renewed attempt to place an upper limit on salaries at Zuercher Kantonalbank (ZKB), with a parliamentary initiative (PI) introduced by the left-leaning Social Democratic Party (SP) rejected by 101 to 66 votes with two abstentions on Monday, according to the news agency «SDA.»
The vote also came under criticism from the center-right parties. While condemning the «bonus culture», they opposed the initiative on the grounds that the Bank Council, elected by the Cantonal Council, is responsible for setting salaries.
SNB Salary Guidelines
The initiative had called for the head of the ZKB to earn no more than Swiss National Bank President Thomas Jordan who last year earned 1.35 million francs, according to the SNB's annual report.
In August of last year, when Martin Scholl handed over the post to successor Urs Baumann, his total compensation amounted to 2.64 million francs. Separate details of Baumann's salary were not provided in the ZKB annual report.
This wasn't the first attempt by Zurich's parliament to force a salary cap at ZKB. At the beginning of 2020, another SP initiative calling for a maximum salary of one million francs for top executives failed.
