Swiss Supreme Court upholds bonus cuts for former Credit Suisse executives

The Swiss Federal Supreme Court has upheld the decision to cancel or reduce bonuses for approximately 1,000 former Credit Suisse executives. This ruling overturns a previous decision by the Federal Administrative Court that had favored the affected employees.

The court ruled that Article 10a of the Banking Act provides a sufficient legal basis for the Swiss Federal Department of Finance to strip variable compensation when a systemically important bank receives state aid. The decision emphasizes the public interest in preventing excessive bonuses during periods where management decisions necessitated massive government-backed liquidity support and guarantees.

The bonus cuts were applied across the top three management levels: the executive board faced total cancellation, the first level below received a 50 percent reduction, and the second level saw a 25 percent reduction. This final ruling concludes the legal dispute between the Swiss Confederation, UBS, and the former Credit Suisse leadership.