UBS sign-up lures fuel bonuses anger

Bankers' disillusionment over their bonuses deepened today as it emerged that UBS, which has been slashing payouts for most staff, hired brokers in the US on bumper pay deals.

The Swiss bank hired more than 200 in October, November and December last year in the hope of stemming defections of rich clients to other firms.

A scandal over allegations that it helped Americans evade taxes has battered the bank's reputation in the country.

Among the new hires were two teams of five Texas-based brokers from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. According to Bloomberg, UBS lured defectors with signing bonuses of 260% of the revenue they had brought in over the previous 12 months. That was well over double the industry norm.

Meanwhile, it emerged that Credit Suisse is planning to cut bonuses for investment bankers by about 55% and Deutsche Bank is reducing its by about 60%.

At Credit Suisse, chief executive Brady Dougan, chairman Walter Kielholz and investment banking head Paul Calello will forgo 2008 bonuses.