UBS investment bankers yesterday learned that their bonus pool would be down by 60%, and that anyone inclined to grumble to division head Carsten Kengeter should be aware that (1) he would have none of it and (2) he himself was taking a bonus of zero, so see point (1). Rank-and-file bankers were perhaps a mite peeved, but they learned today that they have nothing to complain about compared to their formerly better-compensated elders, for whom “down 60%” or “zero bonus” would be an absolute joy when the reality is more like this: Continue reading »
Carsten Kengeter
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Banks
Bonus Watch ’12: UBS Investment Bankers Thought Zero Was The Minimum Bonus? They Thought Wrong
By Matt Levine
Something you might have picked up on recently is that while UBS may possess many strengths, investment banking is not one of them. The unit’s “continued losses” were to blame for net profit falling 76% in the fourth quarter, there was the matter of their little rogue trader, and not even the higher-ups in Zurich believe in the group anymore, announcing that they’d be “scaling back on investment-banking” considerably. So it probably shouldn’t come as much of a shock that, as predicted, bonuses will be down at least 60 percent from last year, though presumably there will still be some anger and acting out to deal with from those whose compensation will take a hit. But should anyone even so much as entertain the thought of coming at i-bank chief Carsten Kengeter with their own personal shit and claims/threats they have a right mind to take that offer from RBS, know this: Continue reading »
As you may have heard, the last 6 to 12 to 36 months months have been somewhat trying for UBS investment bank chief Carsten Kengeter. Profits haven’t been exactly what he’d hoped for, the people of Stamford have (more or less) vowed to beat him with a sack of reeds should the Swiss so much as entertain the idea of leaving Connecticut, employees won’t stop jumping down his throat for one second about getting paid, there was the somewhat unfortunate matter of a $2 billion fraud coming to light, no one will give his team credit for their legitimate months and, to top it all off, it looks like he might not get that promotion he’s been gunning for and was hinted he was in the running for in his last annual review. Most recently, he’s been tasked with firing a whole bunch of employees, a sore point for those not thrilled about potentially loosing their jobs or seeing their colleagues let go. And so, despite all the stress he’s been going through, despite the higher-ups in Zurich riding him like Zorro, and despite things really not going his way, Kengeter dug deep and summoned the troops for a morale boosting session, the message of which he thought would’ve been a big hit. Continue reading »
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Posted in:
Banks
UBS Investment Bank Chief Urges Employees To Remember Firm’s Legitimate Months
By Bess Levin
Carsten Kengeter, head of UBS’ investment banking division, sent a rallying message to staff on Sunday night urging them to “move forward forcefully and decisively” following the disclosure of $2.3bn of losses from unauthorised trading…Mr Kengeter e-mailed staff saying the incident should not “undermine our hard won achievements since the crisis.” [FT, related]
Back in May, UBS AG investment-banking chief Carsten Kengeter told employees that he was “done with their complaints about pay,” and that those asking why they haven’t seen a bonus in several years “just don’t get it.” While the tough love approach may have worked for some, others felt it was too much, with one senior banker noting that “You got off the call and thought ‘how can I stay here any longer?’” And yet, despite the fact that there’s been very high turnover at the bank in the last few months, which many believe has to do with the whole lack of pay situation, there are probably people out there who’d love to work at UBS. Young children in Switzerland. Recent business school graduates who’ve dreamed of living in Stamford their whole lives. Twenty year Wall Street vets looking to jump from Goldman. Unfortunately, those dreams have been dashed by Kengeter, who informed the investment bank that no one is getting, indefinitely. Continue reading »
As you may have heard, UBS has been going through a bit of a rough patch. Despite posting an annual profit (of 7.2 billion Swiss francs) for the first time since 2006, things just haven’t been the same since the crisis, and some have suggested it never will be, claiming that the bank “doesn’t have a chance” getting back to pre-crisis levels because “too much damage has been done.” Not helping things is the fact that there’s been very high turnover in the last couple months, which may have something to do with the fact that people would like to get paid. While a handful of marquee names (within the industry) have been lured with big checks, many senior bankers have heard nary a peep re bonuses in several years (and the staff’s pay overall is nothing to write home about, either). As one might imagine, tension is running high and recently within the investment bank, there’s been a decision, among those who’ve yet to quit, to air their grievances. The reaction from management? Put a sock in it. Continue reading »
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