UBS Group To Restructure Pay For Corporate Center Staff

Per an article by Financial Times, UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) has overhauled pay policy for 10,000 staff with a view to reduce uncertainty about bonuses and save the time that managers spend on allocating these.

The bank would no longer distribute variable bonuses to employees working in the corporate center, consisting of human resources, marketing and communications staff. However, they will be receiving fixed annual bonuses equal to nearly half of their monthly salary.

In view of these changes, the Swiss bank will raise fixed remuneration for some employees in case their overall remuneration falls as a result of the new policy.

The bank seeks to move away from variable bonuses to a system that prioritizes transparency and eliminates cases of weak group performance. Also, the new policy is likely to enable the managers to focus more on “developmental opportunities”, according to a UBS spokesman.

UBS at present, does not plan to extend the new pay policy to other parts of the bank.

Recently, it was in news for plans to continue smooth operations post Brexit. It received a clear signal from the London court to move assets worth up to €32 billion from Britain to Germany on Mar 1, 2019. The move is expected to result in transfer of less than 200 jobs.

The court has approved transfer of operations from UBS Limited — the company’s London-based subsidiary conducting investment banking activities — to Frankfurt-based UBS Europe SE. (Read more: UBS Gets Court Approval to Move Euro 32B of Assets From UK)

UBS has been settling lawsuits and regulatory probes with a goal to strengthen its core operations. Also, it is focused on controlling costs, which will aid bottom-line growth. However, the top line remains under pressure due to a persistent negative interest rate environment in the domestic economy.

In three months’ time, UBS has lost 7% on the NYSE against 2.6% growth recorded by the industry.

The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

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