Banks

Ethos criticizes UBS remuneration report and share buyback

UBS criticized by Ethos for remuneration report and share buyback (archive picture)

Keystone

In the run-up to the Annual General Meeting on April 10, the major bank UBS is facing criticism. The shareholders' association Ethos recommends that shareholders reject the remuneration report, the share buyback program and the sustainability report.

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27.03.2025, 08:10•27.03.2025, 10:12

"The remuneration of the UBS management bodies is too high compared to European financial institutions", it said in a statement on Thursday. Ethos acknowledges that the bank has not further increased the remuneration of CEO Sergio Ermotti for 2024 compared to 2023. Nevertheless, the salary remains one of the highest in Switzerland and Europe.

Another criticism is that the variable remuneration of members of the Executive Board can amount to a maximum of seven times the basic salary. This potentially leads to excessive remuneration. "Such high payments and the very high leverage for variable remuneration can encourage excessive risk-taking, as the financial crisis of 2008 or the recent collapse of Credit Suisse have shown", Ethos Director Vincent Kaufmann is quoted as saying in the press release. This is not in the interests of long-term shareholders.

Sustainability report with "significant gaps"

The shareholders' association is also committed to strengthening the bank's own funds and is therefore against the planned new share buyback program. The UBS Board of Directors' proposal to buy back and cancel shares contradicts the current discussion on tightening capital requirements for large banks following the collapse of Credit Suisse, Ethos added.

The bank is also withdrawing certain sustainability commitments: UBS has watered down its ambitions with regard to climate change, diversity and equality as well as investment exclusion criteria. According to Ethos, there are also significant gaps in the group's sustainability report. For example, UBS only partially publishes greenhouse gas emissions in connection with loans granted.

UBS proud of its performance

UBS did not wish to comment directly on Ethos' recommendations. At the request of the news agency AWP, a spokesperson merely referred to statements made by Chairman of the Board of Directors Colm Kelleher in the 2024 annual report, which the bank published last week. The management's compensation for 2024 reflects the performance-based approach. And the majority of the variable remuneration will be deferred over several years.

The teams had made progress on integration in 2024, strengthening UBS's position as a leading global wealth manager and confirming the bank's role as a driver of prosperity in the Swiss home market, Kelleher said.