UBS AGM: Compensation report approved in consultative vote
Published: Wednesday, Apr 24th 2024, 14:30
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The shareholders of the major bank UBS approved the 2023 remuneration report by a clear majority in an advisory vote at the Annual General Meeting in Basel on Wednesday. However, the high salary of CEO Sergio Ermotti in particular led to numerous critical votes. But questions on environmental and climate issues also took up a lot of space.
The Board of Directors' proposal to confirm the 2023 remuneration report in an advisory vote was approved by UBS shareholders with 83.5 percent of votes in favor. Other remuneration agenda items were still open, which were to follow in the course of the event.
Many shareholders were disconcerted by the high salary of CEO Sergio Ermotti, who received total remuneration of CHF 14.4 million for his nine-month term of office. "The salary and bonus excesses continue unabated", said one small shareholder. The representative of the shareholders' association Actares accused the Board of Directors of accepting a loss of reputation and trust with such remuneration.
The representative of the Ethos shareholders' association also referred to the adjustment of the benchmarks for the achievement of bonus targets. According to media reports in recent weeks, CEO Ermotti's total remuneration in 2023 could even rise to as much as CHF 20.5 million as a result of these adjustments. In future, UBS must clearly communicate how high the bonuses for the Executive Board will be, said the Ethos representative.
Chairman of the Board of Directors Colm Kelleher, however, defended the CEO's remuneration. The Board of Directors thus acknowledged the CEO's "outstanding performance". "Sergio Ermotti has probably the most difficult job in the financial sector worldwide", praised the Chairman.
Sustainability votes
In an advisory vote, the shareholders also approved the bank's sustainability report with 93.4% of votes in favor. In his vote, Chairman of the Board of Directors Kelleher referred to the bank's ambitious sustainability goals.
The big bank's climate and sustainability policy was the focus of many comments. Although UBS has committed itself to a net zero target, it simultaneously supports companies whose business models are not compatible with these goals, criticized a representative of the environmental organization Greenpeace, which also drew attention to itself outside the meeting venue. An activist from the Philippines, for example, accused the bank of contributing to environmental pollution in her country.
Management report clearly approved
The shareholders also approved the stock report as well as the consolidated and annual financial statements of the UBS Group with 99.2 percent and the dividend distribution with 99.4 percent of votes in favor.
According to the information provided, a total of 1538 shareholders and the independent proxy were present at the Annual General Meeting at St. Jakobshalle in Basel. In total, they represented 77.99% of all shares with voting rights, or 1.95 billion votes. Of these, however, 1.94 billion were represented by the independent proxy.
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