|
Prev Blog << |
UBS gets some bonus $$$ back |
Next Blog >> |
 |
Category: Inspirational Current Grade: A- Total Views: 1062 Member Comments: 1 |
Posted on: 11/25/2008 Posted by: JohnCorey Blog Points: 1666 View all blogs >> |
It looks like some banking executives are handing back money they were paid or money they are still owed. Yes, it might only be money they were still owed. In any event, the quote from the former Chairman of UBS is more honest than I expected.
“I hope that my action will help to resolve a situation that was inconceivable to me until a short while ago,” said Mr Ospel. The three men said they “want to make clear that they are facing up to reality” and accepted in hindsight that some decisions “would have been taken differently”.
There has been a lot of unrest in Switzerland with lots of press reports of public outcry. It is a tiny country so even the wealthy cannot hide. They are used to being just normal people in the street who can walk or go out for dinner.
The full article is from the FT.com site. You need to register there to read it. It should be noted that the 4 people who have handed back money are all Swiss. The other executives that have not made a decision are mostly British or American. Cultural differences?
I worked at Swiss Bank Corp. They are the bank that did a reverse take over of Union Bank of Switzerland (today's UBS). I have meet Woffli more than once and knew who Ospel was when he was in charge or SBC. These are proud Swiss who rarely do things in such a public way. Ospel was the driver behind the merger to form UBS so the admission that maybe things got out of hand is personal confirmation of a big stain on his legacy.
John Corey
www.ChelseaPrivateEquity.com/blog
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d54991b0-bb2c-11dd-bc6c-0000779fd18c.html
“I hope that my action will help to resolve a situation that was inconceivable to me until a short while ago,” said Mr Ospel. The three men said they “want to make clear that they are facing up to reality” and accepted in hindsight that some decisions “would have been taken differently”.
There has been a lot of unrest in Switzerland with lots of press reports of public outcry. It is a tiny country so even the wealthy cannot hide. They are used to being just normal people in the street who can walk or go out for dinner.
The full article is from the FT.com site. You need to register there to read it. It should be noted that the 4 people who have handed back money are all Swiss. The other executives that have not made a decision are mostly British or American. Cultural differences?
I worked at Swiss Bank Corp. They are the bank that did a reverse take over of Union Bank of Switzerland (today's UBS). I have meet Woffli more than once and knew who Ospel was when he was in charge or SBC. These are proud Swiss who rarely do things in such a public way. Ospel was the driver behind the merger to form UBS so the admission that maybe things got out of hand is personal confirmation of a big stain on his legacy.
John Corey
www.ChelseaPrivateEquity.com/blog
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d54991b0-bb2c-11dd-bc6c-0000779fd18c.html
I find it interesting that the trend of reporting exec pay per SEC regs once caused an unpresidented escalation in pay (i.e., "paycheck" envy). Now, however, it appears that those regs are finally resulting in the types of moves (i.e., responsible bonuses for execs) that these regs were supposed to accomplish. It only took almost a total economic crash to accomplish this.
wsblogger