UBS leads 200 top market cap coys in employee performance metric

• $242,085 net income per worker
• 4 of top 10 banks with most net income in US
• Lessons for Nigerian lenders in employee performance metric

Ben Eguzozie

UBS, the world’s largest private bank with headquarters in Switzerland, leads the world’s 200 largest companies by market capitalisation on the list of banks that most efficiently utilise their workforce to achieve high levels of profitability, according to new financial data compiled by BestBrokers.

The data sourced from Companies Market Cap ranking the 200 largest companies as of 28 June 2024, shows that UBS generated an outstanding $242,085 in net income per worker.

UBS, with its 115,038-strong workforce showcased exceptional financial performance, the report indicated.

BestBrokers divided each corporation’s annual net income for 2023 by the number of its full-time staff and determined the amount of profit each team member brings into the business. The firms were then ranked accordingly and filtered the top-performing banking institutions in this metric.

Apart from private banking, UBS  provides wealth management, asset management and investment banking services. 

Saudi Arabia’s Al Rajhi Bank, ranked second, achieving $212,296 in profit per employee, with a significantly smaller workforce of 20,878 people.

Key takeaways from the report indicated that four of the top ten banks generating the most net income per employee are based in the United States. China has three banks on the list, while Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, and Australia each have one representative.

UBS stands out as the top bank globally in terms of profit per employee, with $242,085 generated per worker, despite having a workforce over five times larger than industry peer Al Rajhi Bank, which ranks second.

Investment banking and securities firm Goldman Sachs, headquartered in New York City, ranks third with $174,547 in net income per employee. CM Bank from China follows closely with a profit of $173,098 per staff member, even with a substantial workforce of 116,529.

Banking giants JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America also feature prominently, achieving $159,883 and $124,484 in profit per worker, in that order.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia and ICBC, the largest bank in China, and the world, by total assets as of April 2024, are at the bottom of the top ten list, with $120,564 and $119,455 in profit per employee, respectively.

In particular, Nigerian lenders have a lot to learn in employee motivation with the aim of utilising the same to achieve optimum performance metric.