LONDON - The head of UBS’s investment bank was the company’s highest-paid executive in 2013, earning more than Sergio P. Ermotti, the Swiss lender’s chief executive, according to its annual report released on Friday.
Andrea Orcel received 11.4 million Swiss francs, or about $13 million, last year, including a base salary of 1.5 million Swiss francs and a cash bonus of 1 million Swiss francs. The bulk of his compensation was in company stock.
Mr. Ermotti received 10.7 million Swiss francs, including a base salary of 2.5 million Swiss francs and a cash bonus of 1 million Swiss francs. He received 8.9 million Swiss francs in total compensation in 2012, when he was the highest-paid executive.
The bank also disclosed that it is examining its precious-metals business as part of an internal review of its foreign exchange operations amid a series of investigations by regulators into potential manipulation of the currency markets.
Mr. Orcel was named the sole chief executive of the investment bank in November 2012 after joining UBS from Bank of America Merrill Lynch in July of that year.
“He guided the business and its employees through a period of intense and sometimes challenging transformation following the announcement of the acceleration of the implementation of the firm’s strategy in late 2012,†UBS said.
The bank cut 10,000 jobs in 2012 as part of an effort to transform itself into a smaller, more profitable firm focused on wealth management and away from more risky trading activity in its investment bank.
In 2013, UBS reported profit of 3.17 billion Swiss francs, compared with a loss of 2.48 billion Swiss francs in the previous year.
In the annual report, the bank cited the strong financial performance under Mr. Ermotti and “progress towards the successful implementation of the firm’s ambitious strategy â€" a strategy focused on sustainable performance, best-in-class capital ratios, and vigilance on operational risk and on effectiveness and efficiency.â€
The escalating pay of bankers has been a key concern for politicians in Europe as they try to discourage riskier behavior from financial institutions.
Last week, the European Commission adopted a framework for bonus caps for bank employees.
On Thursday, the Bank of England unveiled proposals to expand its ability to claw back bonuses from bankers and their bosses for up to six years when there is either misconduct, actions that lead to significant losses or failures of risk management.
In noting the internal review of its foreign exchange operations, UBS said that “a number of authorities also are reportedly investigating potential manipulation of precious metal prices†and that it is cooperating with the authorities.
As part of an investigation into the potential manipulation of the $5 trillion-a-day foreign exchange market, British regulators have been looking into whether global benchmarks tied to gold trading were improperly influenced, according to people familiar with the matter.
More than 20 traders have been placed on leave or fired as a result of internal investigations at several large institutions in foreign exchange trading, including Barclays, JPMorgan Chase and UBS.
Deutsche Bank, the largest player in the currency trading market, with a share of about 15 percent, and Citigroup have fired employees as a result of their own investigations.
The Bank of England recently suspended a staff member pending the outcome of an investigation into whether the employee complied with its internal control processes. The central bank is facing questions about whether its employees knew of or condoned any manipulation of the currency markets.
The Bank of England has said its internal review has found no evidence that staff members colluded to manipulate the currency markets or to share confidential client information.
None of the banks or the suspended or fired traders have been accused of wrongdoing by the authorities.
