UBS lifts junior banker pay for a second time to rival Wall Street

[NEW YORK] UBS Group increased pay for junior bankers in the US for a second time in less than a year, bringing the Swiss lender in line with Wall Street rivals trying to stem defections amid a race for talent.

UBS increased base salaries for first-year analysts to US$110,000, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private information.

The bank already lifted pay for junior bankers in the US to US$100,000 effective from August, Bloomberg News reported last year.

As the pandemic delivered windfalls - and long hours of toil - across Wall Street, major US banks began lifting junior-banker pay in a bid to retain younger staff weighed down by work.

Citigroup boosted first-year analyst salaries to US$110,000 earlier this year after investment-banking revenue soared in 2021. JPMorgan Chase & Co raised junior bankers' pay to the same level in January, the second increase in 7 months.

A representative for UBS declined to comment. The pay increase was first reported earlier Friday (Apr 8) by Financial News. In May of last year, Bloomberg reported that UBS will pay a US$40,000 one-time bonus to its global banking analysts when they are promoted. BLOOMBERG