Credit Suisse Bonus’ – Because we’re worth it!

Credit Suisse Bonus’ – Because we’re worth it!

 

The Swiss Government  has instructed Credit Suisse to cancel or reduce all outstanding bonus payments for the top three levels of management and examine whether those already paid can be recovered, the Federal Council said on Wednesday.

 

Yes, Credit Suisse employees believe they are entitled to a bonus for driving the bank to destruction. Hard to believe. Would any future employer, let alone another bank, consider giving anyone with this level of delusion and tone-deafness, a job?

 

The Swiss Government  can impose bonus-related measures on a systemically important bank if it received state aid from federal funds. Though this move is unusual the move comes after a massive  public backlash against bonus payments at Credit Suisse, which had to be rescued with close to 260 billion Swiss francs of state funding and guarantees.

 

The bonus decision “will affect around 1,000 employees, who will be deprived of approximately 50-60 million Swiss francs with these measures,” the Government council said.

 

Bonus payments up to the end of 2022 will be canceled for the Executive Board, and then halved for management one level below the board and reduced by 25% for those two levels below. By far not enough.

 

The bank’s top executives had already announced (only after a public backlash) they were not taking a bonus for 2022 in the company’s annual report published in April.

 

The 2022 bonus pool for the Swiss bank’s close to 50,000 employees had already gone down to 635 million Swiss francs from 2.76 billion, because of the drop in the bank’s share price.

 

The Swiss Federal Council pointed out  that Credit Suisse must also report to authorities on whether it is possible to recover paid-out bonuses, and also decided to cancel or reduce bonuses for the top three levels of management, accrued until the merger with UBS is complete.

 

At Credit Suisse’s final annual general meeting, shareholders took to the stage to voice their opposition to the pay Credit Suisse executives and board of directors received in the lead up to its demise.

 

Thomas Minder, a leading proponent of stronger governance over large companies, claimed that Shareholders are partly to blame as they continually voted in favour of the problematic executives.

 

Perhaps the truth lies more in a commitment Mr. Minder made a few years ago to investigate the phenomenon of Swiss companies counting their own votes. We would be very interested to see the results of that investigation?

 

And then true to form, Credit Suisse shareholders "approved" pay for the board of directors for the time until the merger is complete!