UBS Group AG (UBSG) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. I welcome you most warmly to the Annual General Meeting of the UBS Group AG. And thank you for the interest you're showing in following our event online this morning. In according to Article 13 of the Articles Association of UBS Group AG, I hereby formally open the AGM and assume the chairmanship. Ralph Hamers, our new group CEO; and Markus Baumann, our General Secretary, are also taking part in today's Annual General Meeting. I appoint Markus Baumann as the minute taker. I welcome BDO AG of Solothurn, which will be keeping tally of the votes today. And I welcome the independent proxy, Altorfer Duss & Beilstein AG of Zurich, represented by Dr. Urs Zeltner. Welcome to you all. I'd also like to welcome the statutory auditors, Ernst & Young AG of Basel and Mr. [ Roman Santomayor ], Notary, Attorney at Zurich, which will be publicly notarizing certain resolutions today. The invitation to today's AGM was published in the Swiss commercial gazette on the 9th of March 2021. On the 4th of January 2021, we published in the Swiss commercial gazette and on our website, a communication to our shareholders, informing them that if they wish to submit items for the agenda, these needed to be sent as recent proposals by the 12th of February 2021. We have not received any such requests for items to be added to the agenda. I can therefore confirm that the AGM has been convened in due manner and in accordance with the Articles of Association and the law as well as with Ordinance #3 of the Federal Government of Switzerland dated 19th of June 2020 regarding measures to combat COVID-19, and I confirm that the AGM is as competent to pass resolutions. In accordance with Article 17 paragraph one of the Articles Association of the UBS Group AG, those will be cast today by an absolute majority of votes cast, excluding any empty or spoiled ballot papers. Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed shareholders, as you can see, unfortunately, the Annual General Meeting once again has to take place virtually. That's not how any of us wanted to be, least of all me, because dialogue with you is and always has been very important to me. We can all only hope that, by this time next year, we will again be allowed to sit together, look back on the year and discuss it together. 2020 was a truly extraordinary year. A pandemic that gripped communities all over the world presented, and continues to present, challenges for every aspect of society: for politics, for health care systems, for the economy, for you and for us simply everything has been affected. And COVID-19 has caused enormous suffering. Personal suffering for those who fell ill themselves, or who, in the worst case, lost a loved one. But suffering has also been due to the various lockdowns, compulsory closures and far-reaching restrictions on working life. It is hard for all of us to imagine the enormous stress that this has caused to those affected and continues to cause. Our thoughts should be and are with all of them. Even the hope that normal life would soon resume, thanks to the vaccine, has not been fulfilled at least to date. Of course, our employees and their families are also affected by this pandemic. Right from the start, our priority has been to protect everyone working at the firm. That's why we switched to working from home, early and consistently. Thanks to good planning, the firm has been able to continue to offer our clients all our usual services de-centrally from the very beginning of the pandemic, for which they were and continue to be very grateful. After all, in a crisis like this, being able to access reliable banking services and advice in an uncertain environment is all the more important. Furthermore, UBS, as Switzerland's biggest bank, was able to make an important contribution to the supply of funding, both by offering loans itself and as part of the federal loan scheme. So UBS has proven itself to be highly resilient in this crisis. What's more, the firm has also been extraordinarily successful. That is reflected in last year's results. Pretax profit increased to $8.2 billion. Net profit was $6.6 billion. And the returns to you, dear UBS shareholders, will amount to a total of $3.7 billion. Our CEO, Ralph Hamers, will tell you about our financial results in more detail later. So it's clear, we can be proud of our results. At this point, I would like to take the opportunity to thank and congratulate all our employees, and in particular, Sergio Ermotti and Ralph Hamers, our 2 CEOs during last year. They and their teams have done an outstanding job. I would also like to express my personal best wishes to Sergio in his new role and hope that it brings him success and satisfaction. He played a crucial role in the success of UBS over the last 9 years. Now the pandemic certainly put every business model, including ours, to the test. And today, I can say that UBS has passed that test. The firm is healthy, and our business model is stable. Our 4 business divisions are successfully meeting the many and varied needs of our clients, and the way the different business areas interlock is working better all the time. Even during the pandemic, and even with its staff working from home, UBS has been able to serve its clients safely and reliably. Year after year on this occasion, I have highlighted how many billions we were investing in digitalization. Some of you may have asked yourselves, is all that money really being used in the right way? The COVID-19 crisis has now shown that our investment in digital systems over recent years was not only the right thing to do, but critically important. The pandemic is changing us and our environment. Which of those changes will be permanent? We don't exactly know yet. Certainly, the pandemic is changing the economy. Among the big winners in this crisis are the technology companies and especially the big ones in the United States of America. Almost nothing happened without them and almost everything relied on them. This is not without risk for the traditional financial services industry. After taking over the flow of data and goods, why shouldn't tech companies also take control of financial flows? Here at UBS, we need to be aware of this challenge and remain active and innovative ourselves. We also need to look at where the tech companies constitute competition for us and where they are potential partners. For the firm, if we are being purely pragmatic, that definitely means not resting on our laurels. Yes, it was a good year for us as a business, but things won't necessarily continue like that. Just as the pandemic did before, even now it keeps causing setbacks. We've been able to adapt continuously to an environment that is uncertain and changes quickly. We on the Board are aware of this and always have been. Conscious of the challenges to come, we defined a clear profile for the new CEO that we were looking for. In Ralph Hamers, we have found a modern CEO who entirely matches that profile. The Board of Directors assessed him out deeply before appointing him as CEO of UBS. The investigation in The Netherlands that has recently been reopened into his activities as the former CEO at ING does nothing, in our view, to change our previous assessment. Ralph Hamers enjoys full confidence of the entire Board of Directors in his leadership of our company. And from day 1, Ralph Hamers has justified the trust we have placed in him. He is tackling the challenges of the future with extensive expertise, tremendous strength, tenacity and enthusiasm. What is important for him is that everyone work as a team. He wants to work with the employees to change the firm together, to develop its full potential together, to set new goals together and to achieve them together. We can already see the first results of this. The hierarchy is becoming more permeable, bottom-up developments are being supported. The ultimate goal is to make the organization not only leaner but also more agile. I've already mentioned what a good year it was for UBS in financial terms. The primary beneficiaries of that are you, the shareholders, we are paying a dividend of $0.37 per share. In addition, last year, we adjusted the ratio between dividends and share buybacks in favor of buybacks. We bought back shares worth $350 million and allocated $2 billion for share buybacks to the relevant reserves. We have already used some of these reserves for buybacks. We have also asked you to vote on a buyback program to the tune CHF 4 billion. We are confident that the focus on share buybacks is attractive to you as shareholders in the present circumstances because it increases yield per share. In good years, the employees also benefit from the results, although we have always shown caution when awarding pay increases. For the most senior managers, the rule is still the same: successes have to be consolidated over the years. However, as promised, once again, the returns to shareholders totaling USD 3.7 billion, exceed the variable elements of employee pay. What the future will bring is still unclear. We find ourselves in unknown territory. We don't know when or how we will emerge from the COVID-19 crisis. The collateral damage caused by border closures, lockdowns and other restrictions are huge, even if the availability of vaccines improves. This crisis will have an impact on the economy and in particular on national budgets for years, if not decades, to come. The central banks will potentially keep their purse strings open for years and interest rates remain low. However, the recent rise in inflation puts this scenario at risk. If inflation continues to rise, central banks could be forced to raise interest rates sooner than expected. Whatever happens, UBS is equally well placed for either possible solution -- situation. Admittedly, low interest rates are not good for traditional banking, but they put wind in the sails of share prices and bonds, and that's good for our wealth management business. And alternatively, if interest rates rise, our interest-earning business benefits. As you know, in recent years, UBS has dealt with most of the issues from the past and brought them to a conclusion. The main case still open is the one in France, which you will have been hearing and reading about in the media in recent weeks. We have presented our case to the court consistently and are confident that this will be acknowledged by the French judicial system. But today, we are not only looking back, we're looking forward also. In particular, sustainability remains a central focus. In this regard, you have heard me talking for years about how important I believe this subject is. Both within the company and among investors, awareness of suitability (sic) [ sustainability ] is becoming deeply embedded and indeed it is being demanded. Ultimately, it's all about making everything we do more sustainable and ensuring that it is compatible with protecting the environment and meeting climate goals. We must not destroy the very basis of our existence. The firm has taken many steps in this direction, but we can and will do even more. We have an ambitious climate strategy and have made significant progress on this even during last year. We know that climate change brings risks for our clients. And we are able to highlight these risks and help our clients to deal with them. Last year, we managed climate-relevant sustainable investments for clients amounting to more than $160 billion. In order to do our part in limiting damage to the climate, we have reduced our financing of carbon-heavy companies by 28% only since 2018. And of course, we are also taking action ourselves. For example, since last year, we've drawn 100% of our global electricity requirement from renewable energy sources. However, we are also put to the test of society, as tensions before and during the crisis have shown. These are the major challenges of the future. The pandemic will pass. I'm confident that over time, the situation will normalize. But then we should once again consider the basic foundations on which our firm is built. There has to be a state of equilibrium in both the environment and society. And at the same time, we have to get used to what is being called the new normal because the world will not be the same when this viral storm is over. Ladies and gentlemen, in conclusion, I would like to say a big thank you, firstly, of course, to you, our esteemed shareholders. You are the cornerstones of this firm. Your trust is what supports us. I would also like to thank our employees for their extraordinary performance in this extraordinary year, those in direct contact with clients and those in the back office, those in group management and on the Board of Directors. I must also thank all our clients, those who have already been with us for many years and those who are new to us. They are the reason for our existence. Hopefully, next year, we will once again be able to meet in person in St. Jakobshalle in Basel as usual. I am confident that we will then be able to report on yet more good news from our ever-changing firm. I'm now pleased to hand over to our new CEO, Ralph Hamers.

Good morning, valued shareholders, and thank you very much, Axel. I'm delighted to be here. Of course, I would much prefer it if we could see each other face to face. I miss personal contact, as I'm sure you do too, with family, with friends, with clients and with colleagues. Now asking the question, how are you, really means something again, and we have to look out for one another. On the subject of personal contact, I have been welcomed very warmly by everyone at UBS. I'm very grateful for that, and I feel very comfortable here. However, as UBS shareholders, you want to know more than that: how is your bank performing? What happens next? In which direction do we want to go? Over the next few minutes, I shall try to answer those questions here. In my first 6 months at UBS, it has become clear to me that, as a bank, we are already in a very strong position. That was made particularly apparent by our reaction to the pandemic last year. I am proud of the way that my colleagues here in Switzerland and around the world have coped with the multiple challenges associated with COVID-19. In this kind of situation, having sound foundations is essential. And we have strong client relationships, which have often been in place for many years. For many of our clients, we are the ultimate bank. We have a strong brand and a robust balance sheet, both of which promise quality and stability. Our business model is the right one, and we are broadly diversified. Above all, we have a strong team. I sense that everyone at the firm is determined to maintain and build on UBS's leading position. And I also feel that they have the courage to tread new paths. None of us will forget 2020 any time soon. Much was unfamiliar to us, but we could also see that new ways of working are possible. We never lost contact with our clients. We were there for them. That's our job, whatever the situation. I would also like to thank my predecessor, Sergio Ermotti. From early on, UBS set up a business model that would deliver steady revenue and constantly generate capital. The bank was an early investor in technology. That's precisely why we were able to continue to advise and support our clients during the pandemic, with no interruption to our services, even while working from home. Our work was very successful last year in all areas without exception. We achieved or indeed exceeded all our objectives. The return on CET1 capital of over 17% shows that our firm creates value. And 2020 also showed that we are big and strong where it matters, to all our stakeholders. We are the largest truly global wealth manager and also #1 in Asia. Assets under management have increased to over $3 trillion. We also managed nearly $1.1 trillion in Asset Management. The Investment Bank is in the top 5 worldwide for equities and even the top 3 for foreign exchange trading. And we are Switzerland's leading universal bank. Improved cooperation across all regions and divisions is paying off because that's how we serve our clients best. Working together is important in business but also in society. Particularly in a crisis, we all need to stand together even more closely. And we've done that, too. We've supported COVID-related projects in Switzerland and around the world. Our employees have helped numerous organizations that are local to them. My special thanks goes to everyone who worked for the good of all during this last year in addition to doing their jobs. And to those who are still doing so. Now we're slowly finding a way out of the pandemic. Unfortunately, it's taking longer than we all would like. The world will be different from how it was before this crisis. And our successes last year are by no means a guarantee of success in the future. The challenges are becoming no less significant. People's expectations of digital services have been advanced by several years due to the pandemic. That's why we need to continue to invest in developing technology, today more than ever. But you can only invest if you have the necessary critical mass and are profitable. Negative interest rates are putting banks' traditional business models under pressure. Many banks today don't earn their capital costs. However, we could also see a chance in this environment to create investment opportunities for our clients. Climate change is one of the biggest challenges for us all and will change economies forever. The UN Climate Conference estimates that the investment required to run a CO2-neutral economy is $3.5 trillion a year. As the world's leading wealth manager, we can play an important role here and advise our clients accordingly. And of course, I haven't even mentioned geopolitical tensions, the challenges of the regulatory environment and everyday problems, such as the highly competitive market. Ladies and gentlemen, for our clients, our internal organization is not important. They just want to be confident that everything works properly. They want to be given the best solutions to their problems, easily, quickly and reliably. They want a partner who knows what they need right now and who understands the questions that will arise in the future and how to answer those. That entails being open-minded in our dealings with other players in the market. As we heard the Chairman say, tech companies are the big winners in this crisis, and we can learn a great deal from them. For example, about using data. I also regard tech giants and fintechs as our partners. And that's why we are working with them. For example, in the field of the cloud and on finding new solutions for our clients. These partnerships enable us to be faster and more flexible, I'm sure that we can benefit from them as a firm. But they mean that in future, we must also be a great deal, more agile in our work. What is the bank actually about? Perhaps someone wants to build a house or found a new company or expand his or her business into new markets or a couple want to invest their assets such that their children and grandchildren can benefit from them. These are important decisions in life. And you can discuss such decisions only with someone that you trust, trust their advice, their expertise, their knowledge. That's why for me, trust is at the heart of our work. Firstly, our clients have to be able to trust us to do what is best for them. And secondly, I want to equip all our employees, at all levels, with the skills to find the best services for our clients, and then provide those services quickly and at their own initiative. Finally, it's a question of what makes UBS different, what is the real meaning and purpose of what we do? We are in the process of peeling back the layers to identify that purpose with the help of many colleagues from all areas of the firm. Not as a marketing slogan for outsiders, but as our own internal compass that will help us to continue to do the right thing in future for our clients, for our employees and for all our stakeholders. As well as the purpose, the other thing that's important for me is focus. What do we want to do? And what should we leave aside? In the bank, we've defined 6 matters on which we should concentrate: we want to expand our strong client base yet more; we want to develop our strong culture yet more, that is to say, become more agile and integrated; we want to become even more efficient; we want to use technology in such a way that we differentiate ourselves by the nature of the client experience we provide; we want to continue to build on our leading role in sustainability; and we want to continue to maintain a robust balance sheet, whatever the circumstances around us. Ladies and gentlemen, hopefully, the worst of the pandemic will soon be behind us. I hope that you are all in good health and will remain so. The big global challenges are clear: climate change, societal change and the tensions associated with it, digitalization and handling data responsibly. We, at UBS, will need strength, knowledge and agility to cope with all of this and to take advantage of the opportunities ahead, and in this way, perhaps make the world a little better. I would like to thank the Board of Directors and the Chairman for placing their trust in me by appointing me CEO. My thanks go to all our employees around the world. They have made such an extraordinary effort this last year and continued to be there for our clients every day. I thank our clients. And there are more and more of them worldwide every day. They entrust their assets to us and, with them, their desires and their aspirations. And of course, and above all, I also thank you, our valued shareholders. I promise you that all of us here at the firm will do everything we can to offer all our stakeholders the very best of UBS. Thank you very much indeed.

Thank you. I'd now like to ask Markus Baumann to tell us about the proxy arrangements. In accordance with Article 689E, Paragraph 2 of the Swiss Code of Obligations, I would like to inform you of the following. The independent proxy represents 2,146,061,226 votes. Thereby representing all of the votes. More than 16,000 shareholders have informed us -- informed the independent proxy of their voting which is using the e-voting platform. And we're very pleased about that positive development that the system is being used in that way. Since no shareholders were able to be present today, and it's, therefore, not possible for new motions to be brought here today, and all the votes have been communicated to the independent proxy prior to this meeting, the outcome of the votes is already available. For that reason, we're going to depart from usual practice, and we will be grouping together the points on today's agenda into 4 blocks. The first block comprises the proposals related to the annual report and the consolidated financial statement, the dividend, the discharge of members of the Board of Directors and the Group Executive Board and the share buyback program. The annual report for 2020 has been available on our website and it could also be ordered. Additionally, it is available for inspection at the headquarters of UBS Group AG at Bahnhofstrasse 45 in Zurich. On this block of agenda items, we've received 4 questions from Actares, which Mr. Baumann is going to read out, and Mr. Hamers will respond to.

The questions from Actares are as follows: one, is the current business policy of UBS compatible with the 1.5-degree C climate goal? Two, if the current business policy of UBS is not compatible with the 1.5-degree C objective, when will the appropriate measures be taken? Three, when will the bank produce a time frame, clearly demonstrating when it will exit the coal industry? And four, what expectations does UBS have regarding the transition strategies of its clients? Mr. Hamers?

Thank you. Axel Weber in his speech has already mentioned the importance of sustainability and indeed highlighted it, and our focus on sustainability also means that we are constantly questioning our own activities and striving to improve ourselves. As part of a broad strategic assessment, I, therefore, ordered a comprehensive review of our sustainability positioning. Questions like those posed by Actares are questions that we're asking ourselves in the context of that review. And the outcome of the review will be published during this year, during 2021. But allow me to say on the matter of the environment and climate change that, of course, UBS will be communicating a company-wide commitment to achieving net 0, and we won't just do this as a far off long-term objective. But instead, we will be providing details of how we intend to attain that objective. And you will be able to follow how we do this step by step. Allow me to just make a couple of personal comments by way of closure on these answers. Before I joined the bank. I'd always been very impressed by UBS's position as a leading financial institution in the area of sustainable finance. And I can assure you that I'll be doing all I can to make sure that we remain like this in the future.

Thank you very much. We have not received any further questions. We can then proceed. I note that Ernst & Young AG, statutory auditors recommends that the consolidated stand-alone financial statements of UBS Group AG for the financial year 2020 be approved. The auditor's reports are contained in the financial information and do not contain any reservations. As you've already heard, we are reporting very healthy results. And you, as shareholders, should benefit from them first and foremost. We've adjusted the ratio between dividends and share buybacks as announced in favor of buybacks, and we are proposing a healthy ordinary dividend of $0.37 in cash per share. The cap on dividend payout of CHF 2,628 million is as it stands today and with prevailing interest rates not achieved, and the cap, therefore, has no effect at this moment. Board of Directors also proposed that the discharge be granted to members of the Board of Directors and the Group Executive Board for the financial year 2020. And this will be done as in the previous year, leaving aside all matters relating to the cross-border issue in France. The names of the people who served on the Board of Directors and in the Group Executive Board during the financial year 2020, and upon whose discharge you are to vote are being shown on the screen now. The members of the Board of Directors and the Group Executive Board of UBS Group AG are not allowed to vote on this agenda item. We also propose the approval of the ongoing share buyback program for 2021 to 2024 were up to CHF 4 billion. All shares bought back as part of this program will be canceled by way of capital reduction carried out at 1 or more future AGMs. The agreement of shareholders on share buybacks is not required by law. Nevertheless, having such an approval provides us with greater flexibility to execute repurchases and efficiently manage our capital. Finally, the shares bought back, as part of the buyback program 2018 to 2021, were CHF 15.6 million at nominal value and with a market value of almost CHF 2 billion will be canceled by today's decision and our share capital will be reduced accordingly. And we may now proceed to the votes on these items. Agenda Item 1, the Board of Directors proposes that the management report for the financial year 2020 as well as the group and consolidated financial statements of UBS Group AG for the financial year 2020 be approved. Agenda Item 3, the Board of Directors proposes about USD 3,127 million or CHF 3,004 million out of the USD 3,841 million or CHF 3,635 million of UBS Group AG's profits for 2020 be allocated to the voluntary earnings reserve. Additionally, the Board of Directors proposes the payment of an ordinary dividend of USD 0.37 gross in cash per share with a nominal value of CHF 0.10, whereas USD 740 million be taken from the annual profits for 2020 to 50%, and the other 50% coming from the capital contribution reserve. Item 4, the Board of Directors proposes that discharge be granted to members of the Board of Directors and the Group Executive Board for the financial year 2020, leaving aside all matters related to the cross-border issue in France. Agenda Item 11, Board of Directors proposes that: Firstly, the company's share capital be reduced by CHF 15,663,240 from CHF 385,905,539.50 to CHF 370,242,299.50 by canceling 156,632,400 registered shares with a nominal value of CHF 0.10, all of which are held in treasury; secondly, under this point, Board of Directors proposes that it be acknowledged, that according to the special audit report prepared by Ernst & Young Limited the claims of creditors will be covered even after the capital reduction; thirdly, under this item that Article 4 Paragraph 1 of the Articles of Association be amended accordingly. We also have Agenda Item 12, whereby the Board of Directors proposes that it be authorized to buy back shares for cancellation purposes in an aggregate value of up to CHF 4 billion until the AGM 2024. Any shares bought back under this authority are intended to be canceled by way of capital reduction, which will be subject to shareholders' approval at 1 or several subsequent AGMs. The acquisition and holding of such shares are not subject to the 10% threshold for UBS Group AG's own share within the meaning of Article 659 Paragraph 1 of the Swiss Code of Obligations. Markus Baumann will now announce the results of the votes to you.

As you can see from the results on the screen, the shareholders have decided as follows: 99.5% of the votes cast are in favor of the annual report, 99.6% are in favor of the dividend, 91.4% are in favor of granting discharge the members of the Board of Directors and the Group Executive Board for the financial year 2020, 99.5% are in favor of the share capital reduction and 93.2% are in favor of the share buyback program.

The AGM has, therefore, approved the proposals of the Board of Directors on Agenda Items 1, 3, 4, 11 and 12. And I would ask Mr. [ Santomayor ], our notary, to notarize the results for Agenda Item 11. We can now move on to the second block of agenda items, which deal with the compensation report and all compensation-related votes. Our compensation policy is aligned on our strategic priorities. It enables our employees to focus on our clients and their needs to deliver sustainable results and to fulfill our growth ambitions. In the past year, UBS has achieved the best results over the last 10 years. This very strong performance should be reflected in our pay-for-performance system and so does come through into the compensation of our employees. However, we and the Board of Directors and the Group Executive Board are very much aware of the particular market circumstances at the moment. And we have, therefore, been very moderate with our increases in variable compensation. Doing the ongoing consultations that we've had with shareholders over the last few weeks, we have received largely positive feedback about our compensation structures, including the introduction of the long-term incentive plan last year. When assessing our arrangements during 2020, we came to the conclusion that this system is still a suitable way of supporting our alignment with our objectives and with shareholder interests. Now allow me to just point out a few matters here. The sum proposed for the Board of Directors is unchanged from last year. My own compensation and that of my colleagues on the Board of Directors has in fact been reduced by an average of 14% in the past year. The pool for performance-related awards to Group Executive Board for 2020 is CHF 85 million, and it's based on our principles for performance-related compensation. In the financial year 2019, because of the unusual circumstances related to the court case in France, the pool was reduced by 14%. We therefore see the year 2018 as a more appropriate yardstick for comparison. The pool for the Group Executive Board increased by 16% vis-à-vis 2018, but only by 1% per member of the Group Executive Board. The aggregate sum for fixed compensation of the Group Executive Board proposed for 2022 is unchanged on the previous year and reflects the stable base salaries for the Group CEO and the other members of the Group Executive Board. The brochure entitled say on pay, which was appended to the invitation to today's meeting, provides plenty of additional information about our compensation policies. Further information on the compensation structure of the Group Executive Board and the Board of Directors, including information about our governance and compensation policy can be found in the compensation report 2020 for the UBS Group AG, and that's part of our annual report. It's also available on our website. We have not received any questions for Agenda Items 2 and 8.1 to 8.3, and we can, therefore, proceed to the votes. Just to recall, let me remind you of what we're actually voting on Agenda Item 2, the Board of Directors proposes that the remuneration report, the compensation report 2020 of UBS Group AG be ratified in an advisory vote. Agenda Item 8.1, the Board of Directors proposes that the maximum aggregate amount of compensation for members of the Board of Directors totaling CHF 13 million for the period running from the ordinary Annual General Meeting 2021 to the ordinary AGM 2020 to be approved. Agenda Item 8.2, the Board of Directors proposes that the maximum aggregate amount of variable compensation of the members of the Group Executive Board to the tune of CHF 85 million for the financial year 2020 be approved. And Agenda Item 8.3, the Board of Directors proposes the maximum aggregate amount of fixed compensation for members of the Group Executive Board to the tune of CHF 33 million for the financial year 2020 to be approved. Markus Baumann will now give you the results of the votes.

As you can see from the screen, the votes are as follows: 85.7% of the shareholder votes cast are in favor of the compensation report, 91.1% of votes are in favor of the compensation of the Board of Directors, 84.76% in favor of the variable compensation of the Group Executive Board, 91.8% in favor of the fixed compensation of the Group Executive Board. The Annual General Meeting has therefore approve the proposals of Board of Directors under Agenda Items 2, 8.1, 8.2 and 8.3. Dear shareholders, I would like to thank you for the high level of approval for our proposals, higher than in the previous year, I note. I very much appreciate your support for the direction that the Board of Directors has chosen to take. And I can assure you that we will continue to act with a good sense of proportion in the future and always critically question our own communications in the future.

This brings us on to the third group of items, including reelections and elections of members of the Board of Directors and members of the compensation committee. Before moving on to the annual reelections, I would like to say farewell to one of the colleagues, Beatrice di Mauro was elected as a member of the Board of Directors 8 years ago and does not stand for reelection today. On behalf of the entire Board of Directors, I would like to thank her for her work on the Board of Directors and the Audit and Risk Committee and the Corporate Culture and Responsibility Committee and wish her all the best for her future activities. The detailed CVs and the mandates in listed and unlisted companies of the members of the Board of Directors who stand for reelection can be found in the German-speaking annual report on Page 142 and following. I would also like to present to you the new members up for election of the Board of Directors, Claudia Böckstiegel and Patrick Firmenich. Claudia Böckstiegel was born in 1964 and is a Swiss German citizen. Since 2020, she's been General Counsel, member of the Executive Committee of Roche Holding, where in 2001, she began her career. Claudia Böckstiegel graduated in Mannheim and Heidelberg from -- as a lawyer, and has acquired Masters of Law from Georgetown University. Patrick Firmenich was born in 1962 and holds Swiss citizenship. Since 2016, he's been the Chairman of the Board of Firmenich International SA, where between 2002 and 2014, he was CEO. Before that, he held various positions in the legal and banking sectors, and he holds a masters degree of law at the University -- from the University of Geneva and an MBA from INSEAD. We have not received any questions on these items. So let's proceed to the votes on items 5, 6 and 7. I will read out the motions again, the Board of Directors under Item 5 proposes to elect Jeremy Anderson, William C. Dudley, Reto Francioni, Fred Hu, Mark Hughes, Nathalie Rachou, Julie Richardson, Dieter Wemmer, Jeanette Wong and myself as Chairman of the Board for another year of office. Item 6.1, the Board of Directors proposes election of Claudia Böckstiegel for a 1-year period of office as a member of the Board of Directors. Item 6.2, the Board of Directors proposes election of Patrick Firmenich for a 1-year term of office as a member of the Board of Directors. Item 7, the Board of Directors proposes to reelect Julie Richardson, Reto Francioni, Dieter Wemmer and Jeanette Wong as members of the compensation committee for the term of office of 1 year. The Board of Directors intends in its initial meeting to appoint Julie Richardson as Chairwoman of the compensation committee. Again, Markus Baumann will announce to you the results on this group of items.

As you can see from the results displayed, shareholders have approved the Board's motions at vast majorities with regard to reelections of members of the Board of Directors. As far as elections are concerned, 99.2% of the vote was in favor of Claudia Böckstiegel, 99.3% in favor of the election of Patrick Firmenich. Shareholders at a vast majority have also carried the Board's motions with regard to reelections of the members of the compensation committee.

Well, thank you very much for this kind of support. The Annual General Meeting has thus carried the Board's motions on Items 5, 6.1, 6.2 and 7. The members elected, reelected of the Board of Directors and the members of the compensation committee have announced to me in the run-up to the AGM that they would accept election or reelection. And I congratulate all those elected or reelected on election, reelection. Moving on to the fourth and final group of items, election of the auditors and the independent proxy as well as an amendment to the articles. We have not received any comments or questions on items 9.1 to 9.3 and 10. So let's move on to the votes of the item 9.1. The Board of Directors proposed reelection of ADB Altorfer Duss & Beilstein of Zurich as independent proxy for a term of office of 1 year ending at the end of the ordinary Annual General Meeting in 2022. Item 9.2, the Board of Directors proposes reelection of Ernst & Young of Basel for a 1-year term of office as auditors of the consolidated financial statements and the stand-alone financial statements of UBS Group AG. Item 9.3, the Board of Directors proposes reelection of BDO of Zurich for a 3-year term of office as special auditors. And Item 10, the Board of Directors proposes that based on a request from FINMA, the Swiss regulator, Article 23 Paragraph 1 of the articles of the firm be amended as is being shown on screen. Markus Baumann will now announce the results on these items of the votes and these items to you.

As you can see from the screen, the shareholders have carried the Board's motions at vast majorities on those 4 items.

The Annual General meeting thus has approved the Board's motions on items 9.1, 9.2, 9.3 and 10. Let me again ask Mr. [ Santomayor ], the notary to officially authenticate the results on Item 10. Dear shareholders this brings us to the end of this annual General meeting. I would like to thank you for the trust that you have expressed to UBS Group AG by approving the Board's motions. Detailed results of the votes and the presentations made today will be published on our website following the Annual General Meeting. And in the course of the next 2 weeks, you will find in the bridge version of the minutes of the AGM today. The next ordinary Annual General Meeting of UBS Group AG will take place on April 6, 2022 at St. Jakobshalle in Basel, and I do hope that I'll be able to welcome you in person and on site. Ladies and gentlemen, the ordinary Annual General Meeting in 2021 is thus closed. Stay safe. [Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]