Ralph Hamers, the director of the Swiss bank UBS, was again one of the highest-earning bankers in Europe in 2022; in total he was paid 12.7 million euros. The Dutchman is the only board member of UBS to improve, with 11 percent. His colleagues received a 10 percent lower bonus. Since Hamers took office in 2021, UBS shares have risen 76 percent in value, and many clients of corporate rival Credit Suisse switched to UBS last year. This is due to the ongoing financial problems at this other large Swiss bank.
Hamers is also known in the Netherlands for the relatively high salaries he earns. As CEO of ING, a position he held from 2013 to 2020, he was discredited because the Supervisory Board wanted to increase his salary from 1.6 million euros to 3 million euros in 2018. The board eventually succumbed to political and social pressure , and Hamers’ pay slip remained the same.
Hamers was chairman of the board during part of the period in which ING had seriously deficient anti-money laundering policies. The Court of Appeal in The Hague previously decided that Hamers should be prosecuted for this, after the Public Prosecution Service had originally ruled otherwise. The investigation into this is still ongoing. (NRC)
A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of March 7, 2023