Swiss bankers' millionaire dreams fade

When Werner Rueegg managed wealth for clients of Credit Suisse Group AG, Oswald Gruebel, who became chief executive officer at the Zurich-based bank, promised to make him rich.

“Ossie Gruebel told us: ‘To serve a millionaire, you have to be a millionaire and I promise you I will make you a millionaire,’” said Rueegg, 48, who has spent the last three years of a 28-year career at Bank Sarasin & Cie.

Those days may be over with the average pay of Swiss private bankers declining more than six per cent to 245,000 Swiss francs ($263,000) this year from 2008, according to data compiled by Boston Consulting Group.

The pay squeeze comes as profit margins for UBS AG , Credit Suisse and other Swiss banks decline in the wake of the financial crisis.