Times of London reports a package of more than 1 bln pounds in bonuses for staff at UBS, the Swiss bank, is expected next month and threatens to reignite the debate over the ethics of exceptional rewards for bankers during the present worldwide banking crisis. UBS is to pay out around SFr2 billion (1.3 bln pounds) in bonuses next month, despite heading for a SFr8 billion fourth-quarter loss, the biggest quarterly deficit ever sustained by a Swiss company. The bonus payments were agreed last week by Finma, the new Swiss financial regulator, whose consent UBS is obliged to seek after it was bailed out by the Swiss Government last autumn. A spokesman for Finma would not be drawn on the precise amount of the bonus payment, which will be disclosed in UBS's fourth-quarter results on February 10. However, he said: "It's correct that we have given the green light to the 2008 bonus. The decision was taken this week".
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