Swiss banks probed for likely collusion on junior salaries

Bloomberg

Dozens of Swiss banks are facing a preliminary investigation by the nation’s competition watchdog on suspicion lenders colluded to limit the pay of junior recruits in one of Europe’s biggest financial centers.
“It concerns the market for young talent,” Patrik Ducrey, the director of Switzerland’s Competition Commission said in a telephone interview.
“We have indications employers are talking about salaries — not to fix minimum salaries but to fix maximum salaries.”
Ducrey declined to name any of the banks facing the preliminary investigation but said they include both “big banks and private banks” in Switzerland. The 34 banks under investigation are all based in six German-speaking regions of the country, Comco said in a statement.
European lenders from Spain to Germany have faced staff cost pressures as higher inflation prompts demands for fatter pay packages.
Switzerland’s dual-track education system funnels thousands of both university graduates and apprentices into the banking system each year.
In the aftermath of the pandemic, junior Wall St. bankers were able to bid for starting salaries in excess of $100,000 amid a general crunch in available talent.