Switzerland: top bankers bonus payouts come under fire...

The Swiss authorities are considering tougher rules over high pay and bonuses at big banks, says acting Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf.

The move, revealed on Sunday, follows on from a turbulent week in which the country's largest bank UBS was given a huge government bailout. The bank's bonus policy has also come under fire.

UBS's rescue package, worth more than SFr60 billion ($53 billion) and announced on Thursday, sent shockwaves through Switzerland.

The surprise bailout has, however, prompted some politicians and the media to once again question the multimillion bonuses and large salaries awarded to bankers in the past.

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For its part, the German-language tabloid Blick, the most widely-read non-free newspaper in the country, has stepped up its campaign to make former and present top bankers to pay back their bonuses.

Particularly under Blick's fire is former UBS chairman Marcel Ospel, whom it said had been paid SFr130 million during his ten years at the helm. Full story...

See also:

1. Credit crunch? Not for the fat cats...
2. Crisis? Not for the fat cats at Barclays...
3. Lehman Bros head took home $300m!!!
4. Huge bonuses paid to City bankers was a factor in the credit crunch...