Can you imagine the urgency with which Goldman will now seek to emerge from under the TARP?

UBS AG, the Swiss bank which received government assistance, will stick to a policy of paying market wages after being criticized for raising salaries at its investment bank, Chief Executive Officer Oswald Gruebel told employees.
“We have to pay our employees in line with the market,” Gruebel said in an internal memo to staff today. “We will stick to this stance, even if it is criticized in the emotional debate over salaries.”
UBS is boosting salaries for senior bankers at its investment bank by an average of 50 percent to stem defections, three people with knowledge of the matter said earlier this month. The bank cut its bonus pool by 78 percent in January after amassing the biggest loss in Swiss corporate history in 2008 and turning to the Swiss government for help.

Our favorite part has to be “UBS AG, the Swiss bank which received government assistance.” Which government, how much assistance and when received seem details that either escaped the notice of Elena Logutenkova and Ambereen Choudhury, or didn’t seem to matter that much when it came time to email the copy editor and head out for a 90 minute Frappuccino.™ We can’t say we blame them much. Pointing an ugly finger at banks that have “received government assistance” is a full time job. But, be that as it may, UBS is the place to be. Obviously. Well, there is the little matter of all those Eastern European mortgages denominated in Swiss Franc, but… that’s for later.
UBS Will Stick to Market-Level Salaries, Gruebel Tells Staff [Bloomberg]