ZURICH • UBS Group boosted chief executive officer Sergio Ermotti's pay and increased the bank's bonus pool by about 6 per cent after underlying profit rose.

The Zurich-based lender boosted the bonus pool for last year to 3.1 billion Swiss francs (S$4.3 billion), according to its annual report published yesterday.

Mr Ermotti remains the highest-paid executive, earning 14.2 million francs (S$20 million), up from the 13.7 million francs he received in 2016. That includes 11.4 million francs in variable compensation.

UBS Group's investment bank allocated the biggest discretionary payouts to the highest-revenue generators and younger employees as competition from other industries intensifies.

Mr Andrea Orcel, head of UBS' investment bank, said earlier that 2017 would be a "tricky year" for compensation in the industry, but that his company had done slightly better than a year earlier.

"We delivered excellent financial results, maintained our strong capital position and achieved our net cost reduction target in 2017," the bank said in the report. The previous year, the Swiss lender handed out the smallest bonuses in four years, awarding employees about 2.9 billion francs.

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