UBS chief Ralph Hamers’ pay jumps 11% but overall bonus pool falls

UBS chief executive Ralph Hamers enjoyed an 11 per cent pay bump last year, cementing his position as Europe’s best-paid bank boss.

The Dutch executive, who joined from Dutch bank ING in 2020, earned a total of SFr12.2mn ($13mn) in pay and bonuses, up from SFr11mn the year before, UBS disclosed in its annual report on Monday.

UBS enjoyed a strong finish to last year as it benefited from clients defecting from rival Credit Suisse, which has been beset by multiple crises. While the bank’s wealth management business shone, its global markets division was hit by the wider slowdown in capital markets.

Despite profits at the bank edging up by just 2 per cent last year, UBS’s wealth management business has helped the bank outgun rivals. UBS shares have surged 76 per cent since Hamers took over.

“The board of directors recognised that Ralph Hamers successfully led UBS through a challenging year and delivered good financial results despite significant headwinds due to geopolitical and macroeconomic developments,” the bank wrote in its annual report.

Hamers had complained about his level of pay at ING, which was subject to strict EU rules on banker pay. On joining UBS, Hamers became one of the highest earning bank bosses in Europe, comfortably beating peers in the EU, the UK and Switzerland.

The increase in Hamers’ compensation came as the Swiss lender’s overall bonus pool dropped 10 per cent to SFr3.3bn from the previous year.

UBS returned a total of $7.3bn to shareholders in 2022 and has said it will increase its dividend by 10 per cent.