Swiss authorities have limited bonus payments for Credit Suisse employees, penalizing bankers whose awards have already been hard hit by the bank’s recent share price dive.
The Swiss government said in a statement on Tuesday that it is “temporarily suspending” remuneration that has already been granted in the years up to 2022 but deferred, such as share awards.
Already paid or immediately payable bonuses for the year 2022 will not be retroactively banned “for reasons of legal certainty,” the government added.
“The aim of this is also to avoid impacting employees who did not themselves cause the crisis,” it said.
It is unclear how many of Credit Suisse’s employees will be affected by the move. The bank declined requests for comment.
Any shares earned in long-term awards are worth far less than staff may have hoped just a week ago, with the recent fall in Credit Suisse’s share price wiping out more than US$600mln from the value of deferred stock held by the firm’s bankers.
Some staff bonuses were also reportedly paid in AT1s or CoCo bonds, which were rendered worthless in the deal that saw UBS take over its beleaguered rival.
The government’s bonus freeze comes after Credit Suisse earlier this week assured employees in a memo that they would still receive their bonuses despite its collapse and rescue..
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