Credit Suisse has frozen its bonus pool for 2018. Nevertheless, senior executive pay may rise, despite a significant drop in prices in 2018. Bankers at Deutsche, however, expect to see their bonuses cut by up to 20 percent.
Credit Suisse has decided not to increase its 2018 bonus pool, but award its top executives double-digit pay rises, the «Financial Times» (behind paywall) reported on Thursday evening. The bank will publish its annual results on 14 February.
The Swiss bank’s overall pool of bonuses will remain unchanged from last year's 3.2 billion Swiss francs ($3.2 billion), according to the newspaper, as the board seeks to balance distributions to shareholders with pay for employees.
Pay Rise Despite Share Price Fall
However, despite the bank's share price falling by almost 30 percent in the past year, top executives at Credit Suisse are set to receive a significant raise worth tens of millions of francs, following the lifting of a voluntary cap on their pay imposed in the past two years.
At Credit Suisse, the top 12 managers on the executive board could earn a maximum combined 115 million francs for their work in 2018 if they hit performance targets, up from 70 million francs and 73 million francs in 2017 and 2016 respectively. However, the amount actually awarded is expected to be less than 95 million francs, one person said to the newspaper.
Poor Performance at Deutsche
According to the «FT» the situation is bleaker at Deutsche Bank, where investment banking staff expect a double-digit fall in their bonus pool after the unit recorded one of its worst years since the financial crisis, with share prices falling to record lows.
In certain business units at Deutsche, bonuses are expected to shrink by 15-20 percent, the newspaper said. Last year, bonuses totaled €2.2 billion ($2.49 billion). The bank's final bonus pool will be announced on March 22, when it releases its annual report.
