ZURICH: Credit Suisse bucked the trend set by its European peers and increased bonuses by 6 percent last year despite reporting a large annual loss, as Tidjane Thiam, chief executive, pressed ahead with restructuring.
The Swiss bank also revealed that the pay of its chairman Urs Rohner had risen by 23 percent to almost SFr4 million ($4m) for the 12 months up to this year’s annual shareholder meeting.
The pay rises followed a year of “significant transition”, Credit Suisse said in its annual report, and reflected a recruitment drive in targeted growth areas.
Since joining Credit Suisse in July 2015 from UK insurer Prudential, Thiam has pushed to expand the Swiss bank’s businesses managing the wealth of the world’s rich, especially in fast-growing emerging economies, and has contracted its investment bank.
Credit Suisse’s annual report showed Thiam received a total pay of SFr11.9 million last year, less than the SFr13.7 million received by Sergio Ermotti, chief executive of Swiss rival UBS.
However, Credit Suisse risked a political backlash in Switzerland by revealing it had agreed pay of SFr3.98 million for Rohner, compared with SFr3.23 million in the 12 months up to last year’s annual meeting.
Swiss chairmen have more responsibilities than in other European countries, including overseeing strategy, but Rohner, who has headed Credit Suisse’s board since 2011, has faced criticism for waiting too long before appointing a new chief executive.
