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The bonus culture of the Swiss financial center has been shaking heads for years. However, at the latest since the Credit Suisse (CS) debacle, the Swiss public’s suspicions have turned into open anger.
The research by “Weekend Switzerland” is even more stark: not only bank managers are honorably rewarded for their services. Even in state-owned companies, bonus payments are the order of the day.
BKW boss most collected
One name stands out at the summit: Suzanne Thoma (61), who until last year was president of the energy company BKW. The current Sulzer CEO received an additional CHF 764,000 in 2021 in addition to his regular salary.
Variable compensation is in stark contrast to other bosses in comparable positions. His Zurich counterpart, Benedikt Löpfe, chairman of the EWZ, is not receiving any additional compensation.
Posta, SBB and Co.
Thoma isn’t the only well-known executive to have gilded his work in the past. Post-CEO Roberto Cirillo (51), SBB boss Vincent Ducrot (60) and Alex Bristol (55), senior manager of air traffic control company Skyguide, received grants of CHF 100,000 each.
This means the trio’s employers can get away with cheap. Because other state-owned companies offer much more. The variable pay amount for Swisscom CEO Christoph Aeschlimann (46) and Ruag armaments group chairman André Wall (58) is CHF 250,000 each.
Politicians are watching – so far
Bonus payouts create excitement mainly because politicians can have a say in state-owned companies. But this struggles with binding regulations. For example, on Monday, the Zurich cantonal parliament rejected the proposal of the head of the Zurich Cantonal Bank (ZKB) for a salary cap. ZKB outperforms UBS even in bonus payouts.
Something is happening at the national level. FDP Councilor Ruedi Noser (62) recently advocated for bonuses for CS employees. Now, in private session at CS, he has presented a motion to amend the Capital Companies Act.
Proposal: In the future, bonuses for all employees may not exceed 15 percent of reported net profit. Higher payouts must be approved by a company’s general meeting. Noser’s proposal is yet to be discussed in the Council. (ste)
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
