Ongoing proceedings Federal Court halts bonus payments to former CS managers
Former CS managers will not receive any bonuses for the time being. This has been decided by the Federal Supreme Court.
10.07.2025, 12:04
SDA
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- Bonuses to former top managers at Credit Suisse remain frozen for the time being.
- The Federal Supreme Court has ruled in favor of UBS and the Swiss Confederation in the dispute over the payment freeze.
- The ruling of the Federal Administrative Court is thus suspended until the conclusion of the proceedings.
The bonuses for members of the top three management levels of the former Credit Suisse will not be paid out until the Federal Supreme Court proceedings have been concluded. Switzerland's highest court has approved the requests by UBS and the federal government for suspensive effect.
For reasons of procedural economy and legal certainty, the Federal Supreme Court considers it necessary to grant suspensive effect to the appeals filed by UBS and the Confederation against the Federal Administrative Court's bonus ruling at the end of March. This is the result of two rulings published by the Federal Supreme Court on Thursday.
In a pilot ruling, the Federal Administrative Court upheld the appeals of a dozen people. They were directed against the payment freeze imposed by the Federal Department of Finance (FDF) on bonuses for the top three management levels of Credit Suisse, which had merged with UBS. The Federal Administrative Court ruled that there was no legal basis for this order. The bonuses were guaranteed remuneration based on an employment contract.
Further cases pending
In its rulings, the Federal Supreme Court states that the bonus reductions are of an employment law or civil law nature and fall within the jurisdiction of the civil courts or, if applicable, arbitration tribunals. It is obvious that the decision on the legality of the FDF ruling could influence the outcome of these proceedings.
Furthermore, contradictory rulings are possible if the suspensive effect is not granted. The court also points out that these first proceedings are pilot proceedings and that further cases are pending before the Federal Administrative Court. (Orders 2C_322/2025 and 2C_323/2025 of 7.7.2025)
