How much did Europe's best-paid bank boss earn last year?

Newly appointed Group Chief Executive Officer of Swiss Bank UBS Sergio Ermotti attends a news conference in Zurich, Switzerland Wednesday, March 29, 2023.

UBS Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti earned 14.4 million Swiss francs (€14.7 million) in compensation for his nine months on the job in 2023, according to the bank’s annual report.

This is more than what the CEO of HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank, received last year, sending Ermotti to the top of the best-paid European bank executives’ list.

He rejoined UBS in April 2023 to orchestrate the multi-year work of the emergency takeover of Credit Suisse, after serving as CEO of the banking group from November 2011 to October 2020.

Ermotti’s pay package is more than that of HSBC’s Noel Quinn (€12.4 million) and the executive chair of Santander, Ana Botin (€12.24 million), according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, UBS has cut the overall amount allocated for bonuses across the group by 14%.

The UBS annual report praised Ermotti’s work saying that “while focused on the intense work of integrating Credit Suisse, we achieved underlying profitability at Group level despite the challenging macroeconomic environment marked by global concerns about interest rates and economic growth.”

In 2023, the UBS Group’s annual net profit was $27.8 billion.

The integration of Credit Suisse is still ongoing and UBS said it is still reviewing potential misstatements in the lender’s financial reports, according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, CEO Ermotti appears to be open to extending his time even after the acquisition of Credit Suisse is complete.

“Sergio has committed to stay at least until the completion of the integration process, if not longer,” said a joint letter from the CEO and chairman addressed to the shareholders.