The citizens of Zurich reject wage ceilings for bankers

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Now it’s settled. After the CS debacle, parties outbid each other with demands on how to end the wage shocks of top bankers.

In the canton of Zurich, the left failed on Monday due to resistance from the bourgeoisie. The initiative of three politicians from the SP and the Alternative List (AL) provides for a wage ceiling for the top of the Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB).

In Bern for more regulation, in Zurich not

The top bankers are not allowed to earn more than the president of the Swiss National Bank, who raised a total of 1.35 million Swiss francs last year. Together with UBS, Postfinance and Raiffeisen and the defunct Credit Suisse, ZKB is one of the banks considered systemically important.

The cantonal council of Zurich rejected the demand by a vote of 101 to 66. While the SVP, as well as the SP and the Greens, oppose the CS-UBS deal brokered by the Bundesrat on a national level and prominent representatives of the party are campaigning for a bonus cap, no one in Zurich wants to know about the proposal .

“Almost Unbearable”

The situation is similar to the FDP. The Zurich FDP member of the Council of States Ruedi Noser (62) also submitted a proposal last week in Bern that wants to cap the bonuses of the bank leaders. He demands that the bonuses paid cannot exceed 15 percent of the reported net profit.

But in Zurich the tenor was different on Monday: “The FDP is against wages dictated by the state, wherever you want to start,” says FDP cantonal councilor Dieter Kläy (59). Mitte and GLP also voted against the wage cap with a large majority. The bourgeoisie would “writhe and turn” claiming it was “almost unbearable,” according to the accusation from the left.

Twelve times more than a government council member

Regardless of the CS debacle, the bourgeoisie relies on self-regulation. The arguments are always the same: a wage ceiling would make it more difficult to find staff. Since the search is international, wages must also be able to keep up with international competition.

The ZKB, like all cantonal banks, is wholly owned by the canton and is now expected to review its own accounting and remuneration system. Former ZKB boss Martin Scholl (62) earned CHF 2.64 million in 2022 – for the period from January to August when he resigned. Calculated over the whole year, that is about 4 million Swiss francs. Twelve times what a councilor of Zurich earns.

ZKB wages are rising and rising

According to the SP, the wages of bank directors have risen by more than 62 percent in the past ten years and bonuses by no less than 72 percent. By 2022, bonus payouts amounted to nearly a third of earnings. So twice as much as the Zurich FDP Council of States Noser wants to set as a maximum.

Although the left rejected their claim: the emotional debate in Zurich is a warning shot, not only for the ZKB leadership. SP cantonal councilor Stefan Feldmann (52) spoke of the “last chance” for the ZKB to learn lessons. If you don’t, sooner or later a citizens’ initiative will be put on the table. “And everyone in this room knows how this vote ends,” he said menacingly.

Source:Blick