UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti took home nearly double what he did last year after bonuses granted early in his tenure were paid out. Officially, the Swiss bank kept him at virtually the same level of pay as last year.
Sergio Ermotti pocketed 11.9 million Swiss francs ($11.9 million) last year in so-called realized compensation – or what UBS actually paid him in cash and awards during 2018. This is nearly double his real take-home pay from 2017, which stood at 6.5 million francs.
The reason for Ermotti's windfall is that contingent capital instruments that UBS gave him in 2012 – when he was a new CEO with a plan to dramatically curb the bank's fixed income arm in favor of wealth management – matured last March. The disclosure represents an unprecedented move to transparency over executive pay in Switzerland, where remuneration is a closely-watched topic for top bankers and CEOs.
Top European Earner
The long-standing UBS CEO is sure to hold onto his spot as one of Europe's best-paid bankers: Ermotti was awarded 14.1 million francs in total pay last year, which is just off 14.2 million francs in 2017 – much of it deferred into the future. Ermotti signaled in January that after seven years at the helm, he isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
The sum doesn't include nearly 1 million francs in social security contributions UBS is obliged to pay for Ermotti, who turns 59 in May. «The board of directors recognized Mr. Ermotti's continued focus on managing the group for the long term and delivering sustainable performance», UBS wrote in its annual report, released on Friday.
Credit Suisse Awaited
Ermotti has largely escaped the scathing criticism in Switzerland, which passed caps on executive pay in 2013, that his crosstown rival Tidjane Thiam and Credit Suisse has been subject to over bonuses. Credit Suisse, which releases details on pay next Friday, is expected to raise Thiam's salary, following a largely successful three-year revamp of the bank.
Overall pay for UBS' top management also held largely steady at 100 million francs, despite adding two members when Piero Novelli and Robert Karofsky took over the investment bank in autumn as well as when Markus Ronner was promoted in November
France Provisions
The Zurich-based wealth manager also said that it has lifted its legal provisions in a key French criminal case to 450 million euros ($509 million). UBS suffered the «worst case» setback from a French court last month, which ordered a 4.5-billion euro penalty, the highest ever levied against UBS.
UBS has shredded the verdict and vowed to appeal, a process that will keep the bank mired in the scandal for at least another two years. Weber and Ermotti also addressed another open wound in the annual report: UBS' languishing share price.
«In our view, the current share price doesn’t reflect the long-run value of our franchise», the two wrote in a three-page letter to shareholders. The banking sector as a whole corrected last year, and UBS remains one of the highest valued banks in Europe, they wrote, and outperforms peers in Europe in payouts to shareholders.
