Transparency on Bonus Payments: Lukb and Zuger Kantonalbank Lead the Way in Central Switzerland

Bonus payments in the banking industry are always a topic of discussion. The Zuger and Luzerner Kantonalbank rely on transparency on this issue.

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Salaries of bank employees, especially those at management level, are always a heated topic. This was also evident in the recent debacle surrounding Credit Suisse. Exact salary details are rare, what is often known is that they are increasing. Sometimes very strong.

On the other hand, the Luzerner Kantonalbank (Lukb) and the Zuger Kantonalbank are transparent. A look at the most recent annual reports, which were published in March, shows this. In 2022, Lukb CEO Daniel Salzmann earned gross and including employer and employee contributions almost 1.3 million francs – around 10,000 francs more than in the previous year. Around 508,000 francs of that goes to “variable wages”, i.e. bonus payments.

As is customary in the banking industry, Lukb pays a significant part of the variable salary in the form of shares. In Salzmann’s case, these are shares worth CHF 355,000. As the “Luzerner Zeitung” writes, these shares are blocked for several years. If the CEO also does not achieve the set targets, the bonus could also be lower. If the bank doesn’t make a profit, the entire management doesn’t get a bonus.

According to the annual report, the entire management of Lukb earned 5.3 million Swiss francs in 2022 – almost exactly the same as in the previous year.

Lower numbers in Zug

A look across the canton border to Zug shows that the CEO of Zuger Kantonalbank, Hanspeter Rhyner, earns around CHF 1.1 million less than his Lucerne counterpart. The five-strong management brought in a total of 3.6 million Swiss francs. That is less than in the comparative year 2015, writes the “LZ”. With the change in management in 2021, the objectives of the new strategy were adjusted, which also changed the remuneration of the management, a spokesman told the newspaper.

The other four regional banks in Central Switzerland communicate the salaries of their management in less detail and less transparency. A similarly precise list is missing in the annual reports. As the “Luzerner Zeitung” writes, in contrast to the listed cantonal banks in Lucerne and Zug, they are not obliged to publish more detailed information.