Credit Suisse Board accepted to cut their bonus

Credit Suisse chief executive Tidjane Thiam and the bank's board of directors have offered to cut their own bonuses by 40% ahead of its annual meeting. They also proposed to keep total board pay at the same level as 2015 and 2016.

The move follows pressure from Swiss lawmakers and the bank's shareholders to address excessive executive pay. Glass Lewis & Co and Geneva-based Ethos, which advises major Swiss pension funds that may represent up to 5 per cent of the bank's market capitalisation, also criticised the bonuses. The pair had opposed executive and director compensation packages last year, as well, without success. Still, at that meeting, almost one in five shareholders voted to reject the proposed packages.

The Swiss bank has posted two straight years of losses but its top 12 executives were awarded 78m Swiss francs ($77m) in pay this year. Mr Thiam, who used to head insurance giant Prudential, was awarded 12m Swiss francs in total pay in 2016.

In a statement late on Thursday night, Credit Suisse said its 12-strong executive board had volunteered for a 40 per cent cut to the payments after shareholders polled by the bank “expressed reservations” about the bonuses for top managers.
“My highest priority is to see through the turnaround of Credit Suisse which is under way,” Mr Thiam added. “I hope that this decision will alleviate some of the concerns expressed by some shareholders and will allow the executive team to continue to focus on the task at hand.”

Swiss law requires companies listed in the country to give shareholders a binding annual vote on executive pay. Credit Suisse's investors are scheduled to meet on April 28.