There's been a lot in the media about banker compensation (base salaries and bonuses):
Bank of America
Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan has confirmed that investment banker bonuses will be made up of a higher percentage of stock this time around. The bank is expected to cut the cash component of bonuses to between 5 - 25%, depending on the amount of the payout.
The bank has previously indicated that, although the this year's overall bonus pot would be lower than 2008's (comparable figures are difficult to extract due to the Merrill Lynch acquisition and headcount reductions throughout 2009), there were likely to be record payouts for certain key performers.
Staff above VP level are said to have had substantial salary increases last year, with some Managing Directors seeing base pay increased by 100%.
Barclays / Barclays Capital
The Financial Times has reported that the bank's top 11 executives are likely to have 100% of their 2009 bonuses deferred for up to 3 years. The next 2,000 most senior bankers are likely to have 75% of bonuses deferred, with more junior staff receiving 50% in cash, with the remainder in deferred equity.
Senior bankers at Barclays Capital are said to have had their base salaries increased by up to 150%. The salary increases were also backdated 6 months.
Citi
The firm has cut its 2009 staff compensation by 20% to $24.98bn (although staff numbers shrank by some 18% throughout the year). Cash bonuses are thought likely to be limited to $100,000, with any remainder being paid in deferred stock.
Base pay is said to have increased for all investment bank VPs and above last year, with some Managing Directors having their salaries increased by over 100%.
Credit Suisse
The firm is said to have told 400 UK-based Managing Directors that their bonuses have been cut by 30% to take into account the bank bonus tax, and the bank's total investment banking bonus pool is thought to have been cut by 5%.
Credit Suisse has increased the salaries of 7,000 of its most senior staff.
Deutsche Bank
The bank is said to be looking to increase base salaries by as much as 30%, as it moves to change its salary / bonus compensation mix.
Goldman Sachs
Goldman took $519m out of its compensation pot when it reported fourth-quarter earnings last week, donating $500m to charitable causes. Total compensation paid to employees in 2009 came in at $16.2bn, and represented 35.8% of revenues - the lowest level since the firm went public in 1999.
The 'average' Goldman employee is to receive $498,246 for his (or her) toils last year. And The Times has reported that the firm has capped the pay of its 100 London-based Managing Director Partners' compensation to a maximum of $1.6m each, in view of the UK bonus tax and the political climate.
HSBC
The bank has said that 'no decisions' have yet been made about the size of the bonus pool.
JPMorgan
The firm has set aside $9.3bn in compensation at the investment bank, which represents 33% of division revenues (down from 62% in 2008). The 'average' investment banking employee will receive some $378,600.
Morgan Stanley
2009 compensation came in at $14.4bn, with the 'average' employee making $235,000. The firm, however, has allocated a massive 62% of last year's revenues to staff pay - it's highest ratio for over a decade.
Bloomberg has reported that CEO James Gorman has been awarded $8.6m in deferred stock grants for his work last year. Chairman John Mack (who was CEO throughout 2009) just took his $800,000 base salary.
Base pay is said to have been increased for many, with Managing Directors seeing increases of up to 125%.
Royal Bank of Scotland
The UK government majority-owned bank has yet to firm up the exact amount it is to pay out in 2009 bonuses, but the the total is unlikely to exceed $2.4bn. City Minister Lord Myners said earlier this month, however, that he recognised that 'arbitary' payouts would cause a 'significant erosion in the competitiveness of the bank', as disenchanted bankers will leave to ply their trade elsewhere.
UK lawmakers, however, have expressed some concern that former ABN AMRO investment bankers (now at RBS) might be getting bigger bonus payouts in 2009 than they bagged while working at the Dutch firm.
Standard Chartered
The bank has so far refused to disclose the size of its bonus pool.
UBS
Swiss regulators are said to have insisted that UBS cuts its bonus pool by 25% to around $2.93bn.
The bank is said to have increased base salaries for senior investment banking staff by an average of 50% last year, with Managing Directors seeing increases of up to 125%.
Monday, January 25, 2010
UBS Appoints Misra, Psyllidis as Debt Unit Co-Heads - Bloomberg
UBS AG, Switzerland’s biggest bank by assets, appointed Rajeev Misra and Dimitri Psyllidis as co- heads of fixed-income, currencies and commodities.
Misra, 47, and Psyllidis, 43, take on the roles in addition to their responsibilities as global heads of credit and macro, respectively, the Zurich-based bank said in an e-mailed statement today.
Carsten Kengeter, 42, the co-head of UBS’s investment bank, will relinquish his role as co-head of FICC with Jeffrey Mayer, 50, who will take on the new position of executive chairman of FICC, the bank said. UBS is shuffling leadership of the fixed- income unit at a time when the business may be facing lower revenue prospects, according to analysts.
UBS also said it hired Neal Shear, 55, as global head of securities, to be based in Stamford, Connecticut, and Roberto Hoornweg, 41, as the global head of securities distribution, to be based in London.
Shear left New York-based Morgan Stanley in March 2008 after then Chief Executive Officer John Mack demoted him in November 2007 because of bad trades that resulted in the first quarterly loss as a publicly-traded company. Thomas Daula, the former chief risk officer at Morgan Stanley, who also left amid the management reshuffle, joined UBS in June 2008 to take that position at its investment bank.
Hoornweg also worked previously at Morgan Stanley, most recently as head of global interest rates, credit and currencies. He left in July 2009, when the firm hired Jack DiMaio to replace him.
Shear and Hoornweg will be responsible for aligning the equities and debt units and bringing their distribution teams more closely together.
Misra, 47, and Psyllidis, 43, take on the roles in addition to their responsibilities as global heads of credit and macro, respectively, the Zurich-based bank said in an e-mailed statement today.
Carsten Kengeter, 42, the co-head of UBS’s investment bank, will relinquish his role as co-head of FICC with Jeffrey Mayer, 50, who will take on the new position of executive chairman of FICC, the bank said. UBS is shuffling leadership of the fixed- income unit at a time when the business may be facing lower revenue prospects, according to analysts.
UBS also said it hired Neal Shear, 55, as global head of securities, to be based in Stamford, Connecticut, and Roberto Hoornweg, 41, as the global head of securities distribution, to be based in London.
Shear left New York-based Morgan Stanley in March 2008 after then Chief Executive Officer John Mack demoted him in November 2007 because of bad trades that resulted in the first quarterly loss as a publicly-traded company. Thomas Daula, the former chief risk officer at Morgan Stanley, who also left amid the management reshuffle, joined UBS in June 2008 to take that position at its investment bank.
Hoornweg also worked previously at Morgan Stanley, most recently as head of global interest rates, credit and currencies. He left in July 2009, when the firm hired Jack DiMaio to replace him.
Shear and Hoornweg will be responsible for aligning the equities and debt units and bringing their distribution teams more closely together.
Wall Street Firms Cut Pay, ‘Buckling’ to Washington - Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s investment bank slashed their compensation in the fourth quarter, responding to political pressure that will probably persist as details of bonuses for their top executives emerge in coming weeks.
The three Wall Street firms set aside $39.9 billion for pay in 2009, below the 2007 record of $44.7 billion. The total fell short of the $46.1 billion five analysts expected this month and is almost $10 billion less than what some analysts estimated in October.
The three Wall Street firms set aside $39.9 billion for pay in 2009, below the 2007 record of $44.7 billion. The total fell short of the $46.1 billion five analysts expected this month and is almost $10 billion less than what some analysts estimated in October.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Private home prices increased by 7.4 percent in Q4 : URA
The latest figures from Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) show that private home prices increased by 7.4% in the last quarter of 2009. This compares with the 15.8% rise in the preceding quarter.Prices for non-landed properties increased by 7.2% in 4th Quarter 2009. This was markedly reduced from the 15.9% increase in the previous quarter.
In 4th Quarter 2009, prices of apartments and condominiums increased by 9.7% and 6.1% respectively. For the year 2009 as a whole, non-landed property prices rose by 0.5%.
A larger gain of 8.3% was recorded for the prices of landed properties in 4th Quarter 2009. This segment saw a 14.9% increase in the preceding quarter.
Prices of detached, semi-detached and terrace houses increased by 7.9%, 7.6% and 9.4% respectively in 4th Quarter 2009. The whole of year 2009 saw prices of landed properties gained by 7.7%.
URA added that “the prices of private residential properties are not uniform and vary from project to project.”
In 4th Quarter 2009, prices of apartments and condominiums increased by 9.7% and 6.1% respectively. For the year 2009 as a whole, non-landed property prices rose by 0.5%.
A larger gain of 8.3% was recorded for the prices of landed properties in 4th Quarter 2009. This segment saw a 14.9% increase in the preceding quarter.
Prices of detached, semi-detached and terrace houses increased by 7.9%, 7.6% and 9.4% respectively in 4th Quarter 2009. The whole of year 2009 saw prices of landed properties gained by 7.7%.
URA added that “the prices of private residential properties are not uniform and vary from project to project.”
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
UBS CEO Oswald Gruebel has written a 'Panditesque' memo to his staff, attempting to rally the troops for the good fight ahead.
The memo:
'Dear colleagues,
I hope the New Year brings you health, optimism and personal happiness. Exciting times lie ahead of us. Our vision is to make UBS the choice of clients worldwide. It’s time now for us to turn that vision into reality.
Our business is built on strong relationships based on mutual respect for our clients, our shareholders and our business environment in general. Close, strong relationships are essential to understanding what motivates our clients, recognizing their needs and offering them the right solutions. This is what the new UBS must stand for. If we accomplish this, we will continually create added value.
On Investor Day in November, we made it clear that we intend to build on our strengths. We are going to concentrate on wealthy private investors throughout the world, international and Swiss corporate and institutional clients, and the Swiss domestic business. In addition, we want to be a leading bank in growth markets. UBS cannot be everything to everyone everywhere. But we can be among the best in those areas where we’ve placed our priorities. We will rigorously adhere to our strategic principles of reputation, integration and execution. It’s now up to us to go forward and diligently implement this strategy.
As you all know, our reputation, along with trust in the new UBS, is our most valuable asset. For this reason, the Board of Directors and the Executive Board have established a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. This code describes in detail the principles and regulations that we must abide by. What has happened over the past few years must no longer be possible. You will receive your copy of the code in the next few days.
Going forward, we will support our client advisors more systematically so that they have direct access to UBS’s entire range of products and services. This is the only way that we can make our services and expertise easily available to our clients. For this purpose, the new Investment Products Services (IPS) unit will bring together product experts from the business divisions whose knowledge extends from the development stage through sales support to execution. We will announce the details concerning IPS in the coming weeks. It will enable UBS to meet client needs more rapidly, directly and systematically so that the bank becomes an even stronger partner in every respect.
Doing our work to our utmost ability, executing client orders perfectly and delivering excellent client service must be our passion. This requires having the best-qualified management as well as experts in the right places. Our centralized Human Resources organization will contribute greatly in this regard, whether through our Business University, our compensation system or our succession planning.
Each and every one of you creates the new UBS identity through your actions. Every day you make many important decisions. You have the entrepreneurial freedom to do so, and you should use it.
The values that guide our efforts are truth, clarity and performance. Specifically, this means:
- We behave with respect and integrity. We are accurate, realistic and accountable. We always act fairly and abide by the law.
- We make it easy to do business with UBS. We are concise, precise and to the point. We are reliable and consistent.
- We always give our best. We will perform to the highest professional standards. We will lead the market through superior service and execution.
Our new identity must be spread throughout UBS and become second nature to us. I know that this won’t happen overnight. Starting immediately, however, we will begin measuring ourselves against these principles. Thus the identity of the new UBS must be visible and discernible as soon as possible. I am counting on your commitment.
All business division managers are to press ahead with implementing our identity in workshops, and we will delve deeper into the topic at the upcoming Managing Director conferences. Our values will have a direct impact on your daily business, and they will lead to further changes.
The quicker we put our principles and values into practice on a daily basis, the quicker we will see their positive influence on our business. Clients will reward our efforts with their trust, which will help boost asset inflows and expand our business. It is my firm conviction that in a competitive financial environment, the successful companies are those that provide clients with genuine service and performance. A lot of companies promise these values, but only a handful can deliver them in a disciplined and consistent manner. This gap between talk and execution offers us a major opportunity.
I would like to remind you of our immediate business priorities at the start of this year. In Wealth Management it is imperative that we stop the outflow of assets and increase the inflow. Although one-off effects such as tax amnesties are unavoidable, we ourselves must not give clients any reason to leave the bank. Our clients expect us to actively approach them and speak with them regularly. Where we are already doing this, we are acquiring new clients and winning back old ones more successfully. We need to see more of this.
In Investment Banking we have to raise our profitability considerably and concentrate on our client business. The restructuring of our fixed-income business is an urgent priority that we are currently working intensively on. I am happy to report that we are being sought out for many large, global transactions, which is highly motivating for us. In Asset Management our top priority is to generate consistently good gains for our clients. We have made significant progress in this area as well.
We have everything it takes to improve even more. To maximize this potential, we will change the way we operate and manage our business. Each of us must be open to this change and ready take on responsibility. No one has any reason to stand on the sidelines waiting.
Now let’s get to work and put our plans into action.
I’m looking forward to doing so and thank you for your effort and commitment.
Yours,
Oswald J. Grübel'
The memo:
'Dear colleagues,
I hope the New Year brings you health, optimism and personal happiness. Exciting times lie ahead of us. Our vision is to make UBS the choice of clients worldwide. It’s time now for us to turn that vision into reality.
Our business is built on strong relationships based on mutual respect for our clients, our shareholders and our business environment in general. Close, strong relationships are essential to understanding what motivates our clients, recognizing their needs and offering them the right solutions. This is what the new UBS must stand for. If we accomplish this, we will continually create added value.
On Investor Day in November, we made it clear that we intend to build on our strengths. We are going to concentrate on wealthy private investors throughout the world, international and Swiss corporate and institutional clients, and the Swiss domestic business. In addition, we want to be a leading bank in growth markets. UBS cannot be everything to everyone everywhere. But we can be among the best in those areas where we’ve placed our priorities. We will rigorously adhere to our strategic principles of reputation, integration and execution. It’s now up to us to go forward and diligently implement this strategy.
As you all know, our reputation, along with trust in the new UBS, is our most valuable asset. For this reason, the Board of Directors and the Executive Board have established a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. This code describes in detail the principles and regulations that we must abide by. What has happened over the past few years must no longer be possible. You will receive your copy of the code in the next few days.
Going forward, we will support our client advisors more systematically so that they have direct access to UBS’s entire range of products and services. This is the only way that we can make our services and expertise easily available to our clients. For this purpose, the new Investment Products Services (IPS) unit will bring together product experts from the business divisions whose knowledge extends from the development stage through sales support to execution. We will announce the details concerning IPS in the coming weeks. It will enable UBS to meet client needs more rapidly, directly and systematically so that the bank becomes an even stronger partner in every respect.
Doing our work to our utmost ability, executing client orders perfectly and delivering excellent client service must be our passion. This requires having the best-qualified management as well as experts in the right places. Our centralized Human Resources organization will contribute greatly in this regard, whether through our Business University, our compensation system or our succession planning.
Each and every one of you creates the new UBS identity through your actions. Every day you make many important decisions. You have the entrepreneurial freedom to do so, and you should use it.
The values that guide our efforts are truth, clarity and performance. Specifically, this means:
- We behave with respect and integrity. We are accurate, realistic and accountable. We always act fairly and abide by the law.
- We make it easy to do business with UBS. We are concise, precise and to the point. We are reliable and consistent.
- We always give our best. We will perform to the highest professional standards. We will lead the market through superior service and execution.
Our new identity must be spread throughout UBS and become second nature to us. I know that this won’t happen overnight. Starting immediately, however, we will begin measuring ourselves against these principles. Thus the identity of the new UBS must be visible and discernible as soon as possible. I am counting on your commitment.
All business division managers are to press ahead with implementing our identity in workshops, and we will delve deeper into the topic at the upcoming Managing Director conferences. Our values will have a direct impact on your daily business, and they will lead to further changes.
The quicker we put our principles and values into practice on a daily basis, the quicker we will see their positive influence on our business. Clients will reward our efforts with their trust, which will help boost asset inflows and expand our business. It is my firm conviction that in a competitive financial environment, the successful companies are those that provide clients with genuine service and performance. A lot of companies promise these values, but only a handful can deliver them in a disciplined and consistent manner. This gap between talk and execution offers us a major opportunity.
I would like to remind you of our immediate business priorities at the start of this year. In Wealth Management it is imperative that we stop the outflow of assets and increase the inflow. Although one-off effects such as tax amnesties are unavoidable, we ourselves must not give clients any reason to leave the bank. Our clients expect us to actively approach them and speak with them regularly. Where we are already doing this, we are acquiring new clients and winning back old ones more successfully. We need to see more of this.
In Investment Banking we have to raise our profitability considerably and concentrate on our client business. The restructuring of our fixed-income business is an urgent priority that we are currently working intensively on. I am happy to report that we are being sought out for many large, global transactions, which is highly motivating for us. In Asset Management our top priority is to generate consistently good gains for our clients. We have made significant progress in this area as well.
We have everything it takes to improve even more. To maximize this potential, we will change the way we operate and manage our business. Each of us must be open to this change and ready take on responsibility. No one has any reason to stand on the sidelines waiting.
Now let’s get to work and put our plans into action.
I’m looking forward to doing so and thank you for your effort and commitment.
Yours,
Oswald J. Grübel'
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Burj Khalifa is world’s tallest at 828 metres
Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, had been unveiled as the world’s tallest building with an official height of 828 metres. The official ceremony drew over 400,000 people and was heralded with a show of fireworks, lasers and fountain displays.
Burj Khalifa is developed by Emaar Properties and is the world’s tallest building according to the three criteria of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat: 'Height toArchitectural Top', 'Height To Highest Occupied Floor', and 'Height To Tip'.
The tower is 320 metres taller than the now former world’s tallest building since 2004 - Taiwan’s Taipei 101 (509.2m) and 376 metres taller than Malaysia’s Petronas Twin Towers (451.9m).
Burj Khalifa comprises luxury residences and offices, the world’s first Armani Hotel, and the world’s highest observation deck which is located on the 124th floor. It had been reported that around 90 per cent of the offices and apartments have been sold. The observation deck is open to the public on January 5 while the handover of offices and apartments starts in February. Giorgio Armani will officially open the Armani Hotel on March 18.
Burj Khalifa is developed by Emaar Properties and is the world’s tallest building according to the three criteria of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat: 'Height toArchitectural Top', 'Height To Highest Occupied Floor', and 'Height To Tip'.
The tower is 320 metres taller than the now former world’s tallest building since 2004 - Taiwan’s Taipei 101 (509.2m) and 376 metres taller than Malaysia’s Petronas Twin Towers (451.9m).
Burj Khalifa comprises luxury residences and offices, the world’s first Armani Hotel, and the world’s highest observation deck which is located on the 124th floor. It had been reported that around 90 per cent of the offices and apartments have been sold. The observation deck is open to the public on January 5 while the handover of offices and apartments starts in February. Giorgio Armani will officially open the Armani Hotel on March 18.
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