UBS bonus pool rises 10%, Ermotti hovers at $19 Million

UBS increased its bonus pool for last year by 10% as the Credit Suisse integration nears its end, while keeping CEO Sergio Ermotti’s compensation at the same level. 

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Ermotti received 14.9 million Swiss francs ($19.1 million) in compensation for the year 2025, including 12.1 million francs in variable compensation, UBS said in its annual report Monday. That’s unchanged in Swiss franc terms.

“Our compensation framework remains largely unchanged from the previous year, as we continue to foster a strict pay-for-performance approach,” UBS Chairman Colm Kelleher said in the report. 

UBS’s higher bonus allocation reflects the group’s financial performance from 2024, progress with the integration and the resolution of litigation matters, as well as market-competitive considerations, the bank said in its report. 

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Ermotti’s base salary of 2.5 million Swiss francs is unchanged since 2011, according to the report.

UBS brought back Ermotti as CEO in April 2023 to oversee the government-brokered rescue of its former rival Credit Suisse. UBS has since been facing difficulties with the Swiss government and is still trying to convince authorities to water down planned changes to regulations that could impose as much as $26 billion in fresh capital requirements. The bank has strongly criticized the government’s stance, arguing it would render UBS uncompetitive. 

Ermotti has signaled his intention to step down once the integration is over. The bank is putting together a list of potential successors for the CEO role, while Kelleher has floated the idea of Ermotti eventually taking over from him.

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Some units at UBS’ investment bank saw their bonus pools rise by as much as 20% for 2025, Bloomberg reported earlier.

The investment bank booked a 34% gain in operating profit last year, aided by the volatility unleashed by President Donald Trump’s tariff onslaught in the second quarter.