After cutting bonuses after 2021, an even larger cut to the bonus pool at Credit Suisse is being mulled at the troubled bank after a turbulent year.
Credit Suisse is said to be considering a cut to its bonus pool to around 1 billion Swiss francs ($1.1 billion), which would amount to nearly half the amount of the previous year, according to a «Bloomberg» (behind paywall) story Wednesday citing people familiar with the matter.
The bank is walking a difficult path with bonuses as it seeks to retain talented staff during its restructuring which is not expected to lead to profits until 2024. In 2021, the bonus pool shrank by 32 percent and was lowered after Swiss financial markets regulator Finma asked for significant reductions. Just two years ago, the bank paid out 2.9 billion francs in variable compensation.
According to the «Bloomberg» story, bonuses are likely to see a great deal of divergence as the bank has to balance the need to keep employees critical to the restructuring happy while balancing that against poorer performers. Some will get not any bonus altogether.
New Paymaster
In February of last year, Credit Suisse announced it hired Stuart Woodward as the new head of EMEA executive and regulatory compensation and developed a reputation as a bonus cutter. He previously served in a senior compensation role at Lloyds Bank Group for almost a decade, where it is presumed he was part of the decision to omit bonuses for 2020 at the British bank, according to a story from «efinancialcareers.com» at the time.
Discussions are still ongoing and the result could still change.
Credit Suisse declined to comment to Bloomberg.
