UBS cuts bonus pool
UBS has cut its bonus pool by 17% to CHF2.9bn ($2.9bn), after posting a FY16 net profit that was almost half the previous year. Meanwhile, CEO Sergio Ermotti, took a hit to his bonus of 5.2%. The reduction in the bonus pool follows the bank's effort to prevent the sort of risk taking that occurred in the run up to the financial crisis.

UBS cut its bonus pool by 17% in 2016 to 2.9 billion Swiss francs ($2.9 billion) after full-year net profit almost halved at Switzerland's biggest bank.

In its compensation report published today, UBS also disclosed that its chief executive Sergio Ermotti received 13.7 million francs in total compensation for 2016, down from 14.3 million a year earlier.

His bonus for the year was down 5.2%.

While lower profits weigh on bonuses, UBS has also cut the proportion of earnings dedicated to bonuses in recent years in an effort to prevent the sort of risk-taking which contributed to the financial crisis.

Most European investment banks paid out smaller bonuses in 2016 as they cut costs and sought to meet shareholder demands for a greater share of profits.

German rival Deutsche Bank cut bonuses drastically as it struggles to turn a profit and faces a big bill for litigation.

UBS also today lowered its 2016 profit, originally reported in January, by 102 million francs to reflect a settlement in March with the National Credit Union Association over mis-selling residential mortgage-backed securities.

This resulted in full-year net profit coming in at 3.2 billion francs from 6.2 billion in 2015.