City bankers’ pay outstrips foreign peers
SENIOR bankers in London can expect to earn twice as much as their Swiss counterparts, despite recent tax hikes.
Financial recruitment specialist Selby Jennings said that even after factoring in the bumper 50 per cent tax rate for workers earning more than £150,000 a year bankers fare far better in the UK.
A typical senior banker can expect a remuneration package of £825,000, giving them a take-home salary of £422,970. This compares to typical pay of just £383,000 in Geneva, of which £226,100 will make its way into the banker’s pocket.
Commodity traders based in London can expect to take home around a third more than their Geneva counterpart (£133,870 compared to £101,000). Quantity analysts will earn £105,695 compared to Swiss pay of around £85,900.
Only junior staff would benefit from relocating to the Alps, with Equities researchers with just one or two years experience earning £70,000 (£47,610 after tax) compared to £83,000 in Geneva (£60,200 after tax).
Adam Buck, managing director at Selby Jennings, said: “Geneva and Zurich are relatively small financial centres compared to London. In reality there are relatively few senior banking roles in Switzerland paying over £150,000. London and New York are the only markets large enough to offer those roles in any significant quantity.”
“Bankers earning enough to be caught by the 50p tax rate will find far fewer job opportunities in Switzerland compared to London.”
Top executives in London can expect to pay 48.7 per cent of their final salary in income tax and national insurance, compared to 41 per cent in Geneva.