Junior investment bankers at UBS received a smaller salary bump when promoted to the first associate tier this year, following changes to the Swiss bank's compensation structure.
Analysts in Zurich learned in July that they would be promoted to the 'Associate 0' level with a base salary of roughly 155,000 Swiss francs, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity. This tier pays around 20,000 francs less than previously. UBS leadership deemed the prior salary leap from analyst to associate to be too large, leading to the introduction of the additional intermediate step.
Young UBS bankers remain in the Associate 0 position for six months and subsequently receive another salary increase to the original 175,000 francs upon advancing to Associate 1. This adjustment is reflected in similar changes across the bank's units in Europe and does not affect existing associate bankers. UBS declined to comment on the changes.
The base salary for the newest generation of investment banking associates at UBS in Zurich continues to sit well above the Swiss median gross wage reported by the Federal Statistical Office. Since acquiring Credit Suisse in 2023, UBS has cut more than 20,000 full-time equivalents, including at its home base in Switzerland, contributing to a doubling of unemployed bankers in the canton of Zurich in under three years.
Other major banks are making comparable adjustments to their remuneration structures. Barclays announced this year that it would align banker pay more closely with Wall Street firms by offering higher variable compensation and lower fixed salaries. Meanwhile, Citigroup shortened the waiting period for investment banking analysts to reach the associate level from three years to two.
