Regardless of how well the CEO of the combined banking giant performs and wins over clients, public sentiment shifts each spring when his salary is disclosed. This year is no exception.

According to Monday’s report, UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti received a total compensation of CHF 14.9 million last year. His salary consists of a fixed base salary of CHF 2.8 million, with variable components amounting to CHF 12.1 million.

Novartis CEO Earns Even More

For comparison, Ermotti earned CHF 14.4 million in the previous year, though that covered only nine months. Despite being among Switzerland’s top executives, he is not the highest-paid. Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan received CHF 19.2 million, while Sunrise CEO André Krause earned CHF 15.4 million.

UBS Chairman Colm Kelleher received a fixed fee of CHF 5.5 million in 2024, comprising a cash payment of CHF 2.75 million and an equity component of 90,675 UBS shares valued at CHF 30.328 per share.

This year, multimillion-dollar salaries are expected to spark even more debate following a recent decision by the Swiss Council of States. Last week, the chamber narrowly passed a motion (21 to 19 votes) to cap executive compensation in the banking sector at CHF 5 million per person.

Colm Kelleher’s Regret

Last September, UBS Chairman Kelleher defended Ermotti’s multimillion-dollar salary in a newspaper interview. «Relatively speaking, we paid Sergio Ermotti only 10% more than his predecessor, despite him taking on a much more challenging task, which he has handled exceptionally well. Would it have been fair to pay him the same? I don’t think so,» he told SonntagsBlick.

Kelleher added that Ermotti works «seven days a week, around the clock, to turn around the completely disastrous situation we inherited in March 2023.» Looking back, Kelleher admitted that he may have «underestimated how parts of the public would react to this level of compensation.»