UBS execs bag $52m in bonuses

Zurich - Swiss bank UBS said on Monday that its top executives were awarded 54.9 million Swiss francs ($52m) in bonuses in 2009 as the total wage bill for senior echelons soared with the bank's return to profit.

Members of the group executive board and board of directors earned a total of 69.4m Swiss francs in 2009 in wages and incentives, an increase of 58.7m over the previous year, the bank said in its annual report.

UBS said the total wage bill for the bank's leaders nonetheless represented a cut of 72% over pre-financial crisis levels in 2006.

Bonuses paid to top banking executives in Europe and the United States have come under sharp public scrutiny in the wake of the financial crisis, forcing several bank bosses notably in Britain to rein in incentives and top flight pay.

About 71% of the overall bonus payments for senior staff were deferred under new rules tying incentives to longer term performance, the bank added.

Overall, some 2.9bn francs in variable compensation was paid to about 65 000 staff at UBS, a spokesperson said.

Some 39m francs of the 2009 awards went to six top executives who stood down last year, after Switzerland's once biggest bank plunged deep into financial trouble, largely due to contractual obligations, UBS added.

The highest paid executive at UBS was Carsten Kengeter, joint chief executive of UBS's Investment Bank, who received 12.5m Swiss francs in incentives.

The group's chief executive, Oswald Gruebel, who took over last year, has voluntarily renounced any incentive awards for 2009, while UBS directors are paid a combination of a fixed fee and blocked shares.

Chairperson Kaspar Villiger, who also joined in 2009, renounced any share award and cut his annual salary from 2.0m Swiss francs to 850 000 francs, UBS said.

- Sapa