Big Swiss banks must introduce a new salary system as the basic idea of paying bonuses became "partially perverted", Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz said in an interview published on Saturday. In a second interview, Merz said he wanted clear answers this month from UBS AG - the largest Swiss bank in which the government has taken a 9.3 percent stake - on its salaries and bonus payments.
UBS and the country's second bank, Credit Suisse Group AG, have to accept that the government will intervene on questions of salaries and bonuses, he told the German-language newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung.
"Things happened here that are not acceptable. The basic idea of the bonus has been partially perverted," said Merz, who has recently returned to his post after a heart attack in late September. UBS, one of the worst hit lenders in the financial crisis, is facing domestic criticism over executive pay after risky US investments nearly brought it to its knees and prompted the government to step in.