UBS slashes bonus pool for Asian investment bankers by 8%

The ongoing equities rout and stiffer competition for deals hit compensation packages.

Bloomberg reports that UBS Group is said to have cut the bonuses for its investment banking team in Asia by about 8% as fees took a beating from the ongoing market rout that hit equitiy offerings hard. 

Also read: China's explosive wealth boom triggers private bank hiring spree

Managing directors were the hardest hit, sources told Bloomberg, although executive directors are not spared as they will also receive no bonus for 2018 compared to the year before. 

The shrinking bonuses for investment bankers represents a stark contrast from 2017 when bonuses rose by as much as 6% on the back of heftier deals and efforts to retain talent.

Also read: Singapore private banking bonuses up by as much as 7% in 2017 

Stock sales plunged in the final three months of 2018 as the MSCI Asia Pacific Index suffered its worst quarterly performance in three years, adding to the woes of global investment banks already being squeezed by tighter competition for deals. In fact, UBS' ranking in arranging share sales in ASEAN markets fell to 11th last year from seventh the year before, data compiled by Bloomberg show

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