We are delighted to see so many of you here today, and I'd like to welcome you most warmly to our [meeting]. Welcome also to those of you who are following this morning's AGM live over the internet in English or in German. In accordance with Article 13 of the Articles of Association of UBS Group AG, I hereby declare open the ordinary AGM. I take up my position as chairman, and I would like to introduce those of my colleagues who are here, followed by Markus Baumann, the group General Counsel, Sergio Ermotti, our CEO. I hereby appoint Markus Baumann as minute taker for today's AGM. Proxy, Altorfer Duss & Beilstein AG of Zurich is also here represented by Dr. Urs. In particular, the lead auditors for the fiscal year 2017.
The invitation to today's AGM was published in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce, Number 63 of the register of UBS Group AG. Additionally, around 6,000 shareholders decided not to receive a printed copy of the invitation and the annexes thereto, and simply had the QR code sent to them at home. We're delighted to see this technical development and the fact that you've accepted it so widely. On the first of information that anybody wishing to request items for the agenda should file to resolutions today. Allow me to just make a few organizational comments at 11 o'clock, and you will then be called to take the floor when the time comes. In accordance with Article 70. Many of the people I talk to from abroad ask me why I think this is the case. I always give the same answer. I say it's because of debating sustainability.
Decisions in mind. Swiss companies, in spite of the need for quarterly reporting, are more strongly focused on achieving good results over the long term. That certainly applies to UBS.
UBS is
There you will see a correction in our deferred tax assets following the comprehensive tax reform in the U.S. We were obliged to reduce these assets, and that has left its mark. Including the tax effects in the U.S., rose 22% to CHF 4 billion. The good news about the tax reform is that it will help us in the long term because corporate tax rates in the U.S. have been significantly reduced. The Tier 1 capital ratio or in our ability to return capital to you, our shareholders. For banks like ours, dealing with this kind of uncertainty is part of our business. Good corporate risk that's often underestimated. That's the risk of inflation.
We also don't know whether the policies in the USA, namely expansionary monetary policy, low taxation and high debt, will really lead to sustainable economic growth or not. Questions like these show how important it is for a company to be diversified so that opportunities and risks are all well in the first quarter of this year. I'm convinced that Asia will continue to be important for UBS. Optimistic as well. For 10 years now, the international community has been striving to make the financial services industry more secure through clearer rules. Even though it has cost us a lot of effort and a great deal of money to implement these new regulations. We now have a clearer picture of what the capital requirement is. Sustainability isn't just a buzzword for us at UBS. We have focused our entire organization for both significantly.
Our clients are also attaching ever-greater importance. Our clients have already invested 35% of the assets that we manage for them, amounting to nearly CHF 1,000 billion on the products. Within our range, of course, sustainability products. We don't just talk about sustainability, we also act in that way. Environmental protection. Just to give you one example of something that we've done, 2020. Our commitment is being recognized as well. On the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices, UBS is number 1 in our sector for the third year in a row. Here in Switzerland, we don't have to look very far. It's in all of our interests to stop this trend. If we can succeed in convincing our users. Blockchain and artificial intelligence, we see these as technologies with tremendous potential for a benefit to all of us, clients, shareholders, and the bank itself.
As much as Bitcoin and the like, they are not transparent, and they're therefore overly risky. Switzerland, as a financial center, needs to be careful not to take any risks here that could damage its reputation.
UBS must digitalize.
As the customer expected, digital interfaces these days. Within the bank itself, we can use the latest technology to make our processes as streamlined and cost-effective as possible. This is why, over the next few years, we will be investing around 10% of our profits in further technological development. People ask me increasingly often, "Do banks actually have a future when fintech, robotic advisors" UBS takes this challenge very seriously. Not only that, we are actively trying to shape it as well. I'm convinced that we as a bank do definitely have a future. The more complex the world becomes, and it becomes more complex with every year that passes, the more important it is for everyone who can keep an eye on the bigger picture and is able to offer the right resources and solutions to deal with that complexity.
We at UBS are trusted partners beyond the needs of our clients. Our capital strength and the concentration of our resources are success for UBS. This is also reflected in remuneration. The same principle applies here, we only reward sustainable success. You as shareholders are going to get to vote today on pay in a separate agenda item. Of course, when the results for 2016 were poorer, variable compensation went down. 2017, we're reporting considerably higher operating profit, compensation is going up, albeit only slightly. Where will UBS go? During that time, we've experienced highs and lows, for example, during the financial crisis. We announce a new strategy every year because our existing strategy is working. Ladies and gentlemen, the greatest threat to our continuing success is complacency. We must guard against that.
It's important for you to know what we do with the capital entrusted to us. On the one hand, we increased the dividend by 8% to CHF 0.65 per share this year. Over the next three years, we're planning to buy back shares amounting to a total of CHF 2 billion, of which CHF 500. That is good news, I believe. By way of conclusion, allow me to thank you. Thank you for your support and your trust. It's with your approach that it's been possible and will continue to be possible for us to follow this course. I'm in constant dialogue with many of our investors, and I know that they support our policy of sustainability.
My thanks go also to our ever-growing number of clients in Switzerland and worldwide who rely on the expertise from the client advisors at the counter to the most senior management members led by Sergio Ermotti, who successfully, not only in this country, but also all over the world. Thank you very much for your attention.
To Sergio Ermotti, our Group CEO.
Thank you. Dear shareholders, I too would like to warmly welcome you to Basel. Ladies and gentlemen, it's an excellent year for UBS in operational terms. As you have heard. Looking at the operating performance, we can see my colleagues at the bank very cordially so. Performance is encapsulated in a painting that I see every day in my office, his collection. It is called [Year After Year and Bring Results], in everything we do, we're constantly getting better and affordable. Pre-tax profits increased by 29% to CHF 5.3 billion. UBS is a very appealing destination. Our asset and wealth management clients have entrusted us with over CHF 100 billion of net new money. [By the end of 2000, CHF 1 billion]. UBS is a safe and solid bank.
We've got a strong common equity Tier 1 capital ratio, we've increased our loss-absorbing capital to nearly CHF 80 billion. As we achieved positive results, the wealth management business boosted its [revenue], attracted nearly 600. This is the highest figure in the last nine years. The investment bank made CHF 1.2 billion in pre-tax profit with a [rated cost savings] of CHF 2.1 billion. Incidentally, saving costs is not an end in itself. It also allows us to invest resources in the future. In addition, we also succeeded last year in change, which remains significantly higher than the book value, and as before, considerable. These are all very positive developments. Investors should be grateful it is sticking to its typecasting. The shares are expensive, but so are tickets for the best Broadway shows.
I believe you me, when the Financial Times writes this about UBS, it is a big compliment. Yes, indeed, we are world-class. This allows us to be confident but not complacent year after year. In 2018, we want to reach of 17% in CHF and 24% in USD. The CHF increase is lower because the U.S. dollar weakened in the last quarter in comparison with the prior year, which has an impact on our profitability. Now we generate 60% of our revenue this year. Incidentally, our return on equity of about 12% compared with our peers. I've said it before, as with many of our U.S. competitors, the market may have too high short-term expectations, and some investors want to see more radical measures. For example, in terms of cost, simply to boost profit. It would be easy to supplement of new staff.
That would be to gamble with the quality of our service to become more efficient every day, not just for a specific period defined by a particular program. It is our aim to reduce costs to significantly below the level of 75% of revenue. We can't achieve and rate greater revenue and growth. We have to prove ourselves through that are familiar with. We want to be the leading wealth manager worldwide, as well as the leading universal bank in Switzerland. Together with our regional balance, give us good diversification, develop it according to market conditions. Our targets that we announce to the public have also been set with this in mind. Our challenge is to find a balance between growing the day-to-day. We want to pay out an ordinary dividend that increases by a middle to-- We intend to return additional capital, primarily through share buybacks.
We received greater clarity about the future regulatory framework. What is it we're doing to prepare for the future? We invest heavily in our digital infrastructure. More than 10% of our revenue, that is more than CHF 3 billion per annum, is invested in technology. This makes us more efficient and allows us to further develop our offering. All this, of course, has a short-term impact on to work at UBS. I am first and foremost thinking about the clients of the next generation, whose parents and even grandparents often were or still. The world is changing faster than it used to for our clients and thus also for our employees. This is why we are investing a great deal in further training for UBS employees. They need to be fit for the new challenges. Here alone, our employees completed more than 750,000 training courses.
The world of work, we want our employees to have to do fewer repetitive tasks in future. Their jobs will become more exciting, more interesting, and more challenging as a result. The last 10 years be driven by digitalization. In 10 years' time, dear shareholders, we will once again be amazed to see by how much everything has changed. I can assure you, in the year 2028, history will not rest. That's why UBS of Switzerland have every interest in [stick] that UBS will continue to be globally successful working from its base in Switzerland in the future. Everyone needs to understand that all of us are competing with other providers and sites in the world. Nothing is guaranteed. Swiss companies, both large and small, are aware of this in many other sectors. I have talked about 2017 and about our achievements.
Let's take a look into the nearer future. Our priorities for 2018 and beyond are clear. We want to pick up growth opportunities primarily in Asia and the Americas and reinforce our leading position in Switzerland. By investing in technology, we want to continue to improve on the client experience, efficiency, and effectiveness are not secondary goals. They are our top priority and our objectives. This is what we're working on year after year. There are no shortcuts on the road to sustainable success. You can be successful only if you remain ambitious and hungry, but also realistic. We have lost none of the motive. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude. I mentioned our employees at the beginning of my presentation. I would also like to thank the board of directors and its chairman, Axel Weber, for their invaluable support.
New ones who entrust UBS with their business. Last but not least, of course, I thank you, our esteemed shareholders. meeting to me and to everyone at UBS. [Foreign language]
Thank you, Sergio. Can I ask Markus Baumann to announce the attendance figures, please?
At check-in, we've established the following figures. We have 1,160 shareholders present here today, as well as the independent proxy that you appointed. On aggregate, they represent 2,211,306,377 shares of votes, which amounts to 75.8%. The following representations based on types of representation. The independent proxy represents 2,204,309,920, represent 6,996,448 votes. 25 million votes have given instructions on the various items to the management report and the standalone consolidated financial statements of UBS Group AG. With the invitation about the motions to be voted on regarding compensation at this AGM. The brochure has given you an additional overview of the three votes on compensation at the AGM today, and you have also had an opportunity. Let me now invite you, dear shareholders, for a debate on item 1.1. We're going to vote on 26 items today. A speaker to keep control of timing. I hope you will understand.
We have clocks installed in the rostrum. It's from Zurich, I would like to ask Brigitte Moser-Haber from Hüntwangen to stand by.
Chairman, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Nicole Weydke. For voting recommendations for its members and also represents them at a manager in the world, the leading asset manager. Its new mission is now all about sustainability and doing good things. In private banking perspectives. We've already heard today that certain sustainability rating agencies have reflected this commitment and indeed praised it. UBS is one of the leaders in its sector now. Of course, Actares is very pleased to hear all of this. However, we also think that there's considerable room for improvement. Particularly where your mission for sustainability runs counter to what you're currently doing. UBS seems to still be having trouble doing without business in areas that involve palm oil plantations. There's still quite a lot of conflict between what you're doing and the objectives that you expound.
Let me give you the example of the coal. More pressure. Many countries are deciding not to use coal-fired energy anymore, and some major insurance companies have already exited their investments in coal, or are planning to do so in the near future. States. In non-OECD member states, support will only be given. In 2017, UBS paid out around CHF 4.5 billion to various companies operating in the field of non-renewable energies. UBS was also one of the nine Western banks which it's provided to coal-fired power stations after the Paris Agreement. Well, it has to be comprehensive, that is why we are expecting you to show. Financing, continue with indirect funding. In the name of our members, we have around 1,300, as well as companies, NGOs, and local authorities. We have several demands for you.
We are responsible shareholders, we do not want to see UBS using our money in any way to fund industries whose activities promote climate change or endanger the health and well-being of entire communities. We also don't want to see our money going into sectors we responsible investors still have a real problem with, that is your compensation don't seem to have anything to do with the overall performance of UBS or even with related items. Here are the most important questions from Actares ShareAction now for you. First of all, when will UBS be adapting its strategy to be in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement, when will you communicate transparently about that?
Secondly, when will UBS commit itself to ceasing new funding of coal-fired power plants and coal mines, and when will you cease to invest in the expansion of existing mines and power plants? Thirdly, when will UBS announce a plan to exit its current involvement in coal? Thank you very much.
We appreciate UBS's performance in the field of sustainability. We have reinforced efforts in this regard, and this is being recognized by external institutions. However, we are not only being supported by those rankings. The ShareAction organization submitted report last year about the 15 biggest. Ranked two among the banks, and we were also part of the climate A list of the CDP. In response to your questions. First of all, the Paris Agreement. What is key to implementing our strategy is the recommendations by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures of the Financial Stability Board published in 2017. We are active on this group ourselves, I talked to Mark Carney about the subject matter on several occasions.
It's always an item on the agenda. Directly related to the Paris Agreement, we will continue to be a leading. Are to ensure a smooth transition to a low CO2 or low carbon economy. This is why, together with 230 other organizations in the world, UBS has gone further. We have disclosed our steps under the five-year roadmap by the TCFD. You can see, I think it's worth mentioning that we cooperate with 15 other banks and the United Nations Environment Programme for finance initiatives. In this field, we are in particular drawing up a first report. Responding to your questions about coal. Our climate strategy in mining and in the field of energy has top priority with us. I believe that UBS has a good set of policies and standards in this regard.
To review our strategy, we have a globally operating committee leading in this field and how we can maintain our leading position. At board level, we have the Corporate Culture and Responsibility Committee, headed by myself, permanently working on the matters, and we have eight meetings a year and deal with themselves. UBS is implementing what we announce in our reporting. Sergio Ermotti also referred to sustainability. You can rest assured that sustainability is important to UBS. A lot of our wealthy clients want to along these lines, and I would also like to thank you for the support that you have. Ask Mrs. Brigitte Moser-Haber from Hüntwangen to come forward to deliver her statement and Mr. Dieter Burger from Bülach to stand by.
Shareholders, ladies and gentlemen, let's have a little look. Sold off CHF 11 billion worth of investment. It used to be the biggest shareholder. We've seen quite an issue with the provision conglomerate, HNA. We're pretty surprised actually. Invested there to the tune of CHF 24 million. According to Bloomberg, there was an incredible level of debt there. Other banks had refused to give any credit to those companies. HNA has been investigated as well here in Switzerland. UBS was involved in that investigation. The Chinese are now trying to generate liquidity by going public in certain areas. Investors here own ships. Secondly, what about your profits available to shareholders. For every CHF 100, you have only CHF 3.71 capital. You wouldn't get a loan from a bank on that basis.
Profits have fallen vis-à-vis 2016, you've blamed special effects for that. Special effects affect all companies, sometimes it has incredibly well there among European banks. As is President Voegele with his CHF 6 million. To your profits. You're only in third or fourth place. You don't need to worry, though, about your bonuses. You've got plenty of money in the bonus pot. Cutting measures with lovely names like the Rainbow Plan, they often affect older workers. We've seen a lot of people being retired off early. Somebody retiring now at 58 is going to get 20% less pension each month. Now, I stood here a year ago, I criticized your policy, particularly where Mr. Weber and Mr. Ermotti are also over the age of 50.
You fall into that same age group, I would suggest that in order to cut costs, you cut your With performance. He says, "I'm not motivated by money." Compensation-related votes today. Thank you very much for your support there.
I'll be coming back to the compensation matters later on. Regarding your question about Singapore the adjustment to bring UBS investments in line with the investment policy of the Singapore fund, investment policy to the Singapore investment fund, of which we knew early on which we had to accept at the end of the day, as Singapore is in control of how they invest. Instead of making individual investments in certain fields, they now use diversified investments in indices. Adjustment to this is nothing to do with whether they believe or do not believe in the future of UBS. It's generally just stake in us has been adjusted. You can be sure that since you refer to HNA, with every business partner that we deal, we'll go through several rounds of due diligence.
Rest assured, when we have business partners, we do due diligence, and we repeat due diligence when there are headlines about a business partner, and we do that regularly. For us, you expressed in your presentation. Let's move on. Let Urs Leo Troxler from Schlieren to stand by.
HNA Group.
General Chinese companies. I was only referring to the HNA is a dubious business relationship and whatever you say about it. I do take note that you didn't make a general statement, but I do not share your assessment. Executive board, dear co-shareholders, ladies and gentlemen, and 20,000 staff of UBS in Switzerland. Shareholders like you. A lot of things have changed ever since last year as digital has become the new standard. UBS is offering to you as clients a high standard of digital channels and electronic solutions. Use banking services in traditional manners. With this commitment to digitalization, UBS is taking its employees and its client. This is something that employees are expected to do.
The Swiss banks, and UBS in particular, first and foremost, stand out by competent and loyal employees who are in control of the banking business, who are your contacts in the bank, who provide advice to you, and to whom you give your trust to process your banking transactions. I have talked to those employees, and I know from these conversations that the challenge is and ready to face up to them. It will be important to take all those employees on board when it comes to this journey to give them the stock in trade they need to be ready for the future. Will have to be committed to gender equality. UBS is going to do just this and takes all its employees on board. It will be able to champion the digital future. UBS, they also need to have a safe future.
Often for the young also outside the major centers, such as the Ticino, where we'll primarily deal with such matters as artificial intelligence, analytics and big data. Ladies and gentlemen. Interests employees have and propose improvements. I can proudly say that UBS has listened to me and us and has taken up proposals for the benefit of employees, such as making a clear commitment to Switzerland, also when it comes to its headquarters, to providing safe jobs, and to expanding its offer of its UBS where it wants to be with regard to employee causes. Very much in your interest, dear shareholders. Don't forget, ladies and gentlemen, banking is people. It is people. Thank you, Mr. Birger. I am pleased to see that you have taken the floor again, speaking on behalf of your employees, and the Executive Board highly appreciates your commitment.
You have addressed that other than previous speakers said, we also keep a good dialogue also about retaining jobs for more senior, more older employees. UBS is proud of its employees. We're now in a phase where employees are back to being proud of their bank, of UBS. I think there is a joint interest, and we need to drive this several times a year for many years now. You are doing a very good job, and it helps us driving this bank further ahead. I would like to thank you and to all employees again on behalf of the Management and Board of Directors of this bank. I live in Schlieren, a multicultural, booming city or a suburb of Zurich. The growth of housing, which has come out of control, has had its effect on recent elections.
UBS rents a building that has been quickly set up, a building opposite a well-known tree, and it's not really customer friendly when it comes to its structure. When it's raining, the cash machine at Bahnhofstrasse does not have people, not only at the end of the month, for the savings potential. Those who simply walk past the I don't know what's happening with the You didn't manage to find the money to prevent that. Is UBS abusing artificial intelligence to cut down jobs? To make me switch over to e-banking to see my data abused, or worse yet, to be part of all the logistics failures at UBS. I'm getting pension benefit here. I had to wait for this for 19 days.
I hope that you share our anger with regard to your retrenchment policy and this compared to your [Inaudible]. To not hear the anger expressed that I am expressing, and as such, we don't share your opinion on the. You should voice any more threats about UBS relocating to-. Thank you, Mr. Troxler. Rest assured that both Sergio Ermotti and myself, and we've done it several times over at home and internationally. Rest assured that the Executive Board is well aware of the benefits of having a bank operating out of Switzerland. As far as your suggestion regarding the site of Bahnhofstrasse 45, there is no shelter there for the ATM. I will pass that on as a suggestion. Thank you very much. Can I now call Mr. Beat Kaiser from Koppigen? I wish to present a petition for information and a potential dividend.
Because of pending litigation issues and the unclear situation, left all this behind us, we're going to find ourselves in a really, really strong position, and we'll be able to. Ermotti made a speech and admitted in that speech to shareholders that there was still a need to clarify the situation with provisions and contingent liabilities. Specifically question the board about the actual cost of legacy issues. Given any specific answer to her question, as she was merely referred to the 2016 annual report and told that it wasn't possible to provide any additional information over and above what was in the report. However, when it comes holding up a graph here, and on this graph, you can see an orange line turning years.
According to a study carried out by Credit Suisse Research, CHF 0.2 billion shown in their accounts were only the tip of the iceberg in times of the fines that UBS would have to pay. The study estimates that the actual figure could be twice as high as that budgeted. The external auditors of UBS, that's Ernst & Young, has swallowed up something like CHF 800 million over the last 11 years in audits, including special audits for FINMA. According to Finanz und Wirtschaft, you've heard of the pre-tax profits earned by UBS over that period. Last year, UBS paid $445 million for. What about your lawsuit, which was recently rejected, the lawsuit whose proposed settlement UBS rejected?
The investigator for advanced tax really, UBS is top of the list of companies being investigated there. The former finance minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Walter-Borjans, has stated that we're looking at large amounts of capital gains tax which should have been paid to the state and was not. He said, "This is similar to organized". These unsolved problems must be quite troublesome to the new board of directors at UBS Switzerland AG. In the minutes of UBS AG's AGM on the 2nd of May 2013, directors proposed to reject his motion. However, the reason given, there is still considerable grounds for suspicion which need to be investigated that Mr. Wolfgang Mayrhuber may have abused his dual role as chairman of Deutsche Lufthansa AG and a member of the board of UBS AG at the expense of third parties.
This would seriously affect the financial strength, the image, and in particular, the ethics rules we've not yet known. No discharge should be granted to Wolfgang Mayrhuber. An incredible 69% abstained on the vote. I already filed a request for information on the 8th of April, 2017 in accordance with Article 697 of the Swiss Code of Obligations and called upon auditors Ernst & Young to provide additional information. Following questions for you. Question one, how far have you got with your investigation. My third and final question is as follows. What level of payment of capital to shareholders could you imagine as an attractive level of payout after the next three years, of course, when we've left all this behind us? Thereby finally deliver the necessary transparency that your creditors deserve.
Thank you. For several years, you have appeared at concerns that were not related to being a shareholder and against discharge of a former member of the board of directors, and we were always willing to talk to you. Following the 2017, our Group General Counsel, Mr. Markus Diethelm, on the podium here, met with you in person on June 13, 2017, and he agreed with you it is that you raised earlier on. Your approaches. We believe to have done everything we can do to address, and we've informed you on November 7, 2017, of the outcome. Every quarter in our meetings, we devote part of our meetings and the risk officer is on the podium. He'll be pleased to say something about the legal risks and this for information and your wish for a special audit once Mr. Diethelm.
As specific as we said in the earlier years in our quarterly reports, we provide regular information on the settlements achieved. Sergio Ermotti mentioned in his presentation that some provisions in the past. Of course, I cannot make any statements about future cases. Thank you. Create additional transparency. About my own track record, let me say that ever since I took up office, I have met investors often and regularly and got very positive feedback from employees, investors, and other stakeholders as far as the clearing up of legacy issues is concerned. You can rest assured that this no longer accounts for 80% of my time, but the lower share of my time.
At the beginning, of course, these cases caused a great deal of effort, but I believe we've made good headway in managing this portfolio, and you can see that our legal risks include a fair number of fewer issues today. Regarding an appealing payout to shareholders, let me say that we've given clear guidance to shareholders for a number of years. Also publishing our annual report, we have referred to this. We are not making any statements going beyond the horizon of three years, but Mr. Ermotti referred to the two components. We uphold the idea of paying a high single-digit share, and we've got a three-year share buyback program to the tune of CHF 2 billion that we have announced. If you're talking about sustainability, as many of your previous speakers said, of course, you have to be sustainable in raising your objectives as well.
Sustainable growth is more important to us than short-term growth, which is not sustainable in the long run. We believe that our growth policy as an asset manager, we can grow by twofold the GDP, and we are an appealing bank with an excellent growth prospect. The shareholders in it are ensured by our dividend policy in a highly transparent manner. It's not that we wouldn't have given any guidance, we've guided for a reasonable period of three years' time, and we've got, I believe, a fairly reasonable dividend policy that we've approved. Shareholders that I've met have not provided negative but positive feedback to me with regard to predictability and sustainability of UBS in this regard. My question to you is, we've discussed these matters in a bilateral manner several times over.
With regard to your motion for a special audit, my question is whether the information that we provided to you in the past and today would satisfy you whether you would uphold the request for information and the motion for a special audit.
Yes. Good. I want to insist on my motion for a special audit. Thank you. Mr. Beat Kaiser demands that a special audit be carried out and the request for information have been responded to at the AGM today orally. Mr. Beat Kaiser, thus has executed his right to obtain information at the AGM. I asked Mr. Kaiser whether he was satisfied by our answers and would retain, however, his motion for a special audit, which he said yes to. I herewith note for the minute that we need precise questions or issues about which you want to have a special audit carried out.
The floor is yours to word the questions specifically that are meant to be part of the special audit. Ladies and gentlemen, with my request for information at the AGM today, you have had opportunity to understand for yourselves how UBS is coping with its legacy issues. It remains to be stated that Mr. Wolfgang Mayrhuber on the 24th of September 2017 announced his early retirement from the supervisory board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. The CEO of Deutsche Bank and former CFO of UBS, Mr. John Cryan, was forced to step down from his office on the 8th of April 2018. Could you please talk about the specific issues you want to have special audit on? Neither Lufthansa nor Deutsche Bank is anything directly to do with UBS. Could you be specific in wording your questions for the special audit?
At the AGM today, I am tabling a motion for a special audit on the following rationale. The board of directors, the executive board and Ernst & Young, the auditors have omitted in the past 10 years, several times over, to create the necessary transparency regarding the process of cleaning up legacy issues of UBS and creating the transparency to their investors. This is why I propose that provisions and contingent liabilities of UBS should be subject to a special audit by an independent auditor. Furthermore, I table the motion that the forensics units of KPMG at Badenerstrasse 172 in Zurich ought to be appointed as the special auditor. The special audit is to be carried out within the budgeted auditing fees for the 2018 financial year, thus in a cost neutral manner. These are the reasons that I have. Well, we're taking them down in the minutes.
The board of directors rejects this motion for a special audit. I would like to ask Mr. Markus Baumann, as we have to vote on this, to briefly explain to you the televoting system and the mode of voting.
Dear shareholders, I will be pleased to explain to you briefly our televoting system. Many of you will be familiar with it. The televoter has a colored touch screen. The screen is automatically dimmed after three minutes, and after two more minutes, it will extinguish entirely. As soon as a new vote is on, the screen will be automatically switched on. You can activate it by touching the screen anytime or by pressing the button on the side. There is a symbol for language for you to change the language and with the my vote icon, you can check how you voted on the various items. The info icon will display your personal shareholders information, and you will see how many votes you represent. A few seconds before a vote, the screen of your televoting system will display the item to be voted on.
During the countdown, you will have three colored buttons to choose from. Green is for yes, red for no, and the amber button is for abstaining. As soon as you have made your choice, this will be acknowledged by vibration. The televoting system will vibrate, and the button you have chosen will be checkmark and the other buttons will be dimmed down. If you have pressed the wrong button, you can correct your vote within the countdown by simply pressing a different button. As soon as the countdown is over, you will not be able to correct your vote anymore. Once the countdown is over, the screen will show the button you have chosen.
Thank you, Markus. Let me repeat for all of you, Mr. Beat Kaiser gave reasons for his motion for a special audit. We have taken note of the reasons and taken them down in the minutes. The board of directors is rejecting this motion. We're going to have a vote on his motion for a special audit. Markus Baumann. Those who wish to go along with Mr. Beat Kaiser's proposal, carrying out a special audit, press the green button on your televoting system. Those who wish to reject Mr. Beat Kaiser's motion for a special audit, as proposed by the board of directors, press the red button. If you wish to abstain from voting, touch the amber button. The countdown is on now. The countdown is up. It will take a few seconds for the results to be shown on screen.
As you can see from the screen, 19.89% of the votes are in favor and 68.1% against Mr. Beat Kaiser's motion to carry out a special audit. 12% of the votes have abstained. Mr. Beat Kaiser's motion, according to Article 17, Paragraph 1 of the Articles of Association of the UBS Group AG, has not received the required majority. The motion has been turned down. Let's go back to the list of speakers. Thank you very much, Mr. Kaiser. We'll move on with Mrs. Carola Hart from Geneva, who is the last person to have signed on to speak on this very item, and I will afterwards close the debate on item one. Mrs. Hart, please.
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm the last person who's asked to take the floor on this point. I'll keep it nice and short for you. I think I've done quite a lot to promote the success of UBS. Nevertheless, I don't get any kind of salary, not to mention a bonus. That's it, really. I don't think I even took 25 seconds to say that. Thank you. I really enjoy my work, nevertheless.
Well, thank you very much, Mrs. Hart. As every year, you have put on a particularly beautiful dress. I know you came for Art Basel, which is also taking place here, of course, at the exhibition center in Basel, though not just yet. Nevertheless, we really appreciate the fact that you come every year. Yes, UBS is one of the main sponsors of Art Basel. Yes, I was really hoping you would say that, so thanks for saying it. Have a nice day, says Mrs. Hart, and enjoy your lunch at the end of the meeting. Of course. Yes, thank you. We will, thank you so much. As usual, we are delighted to have you adding such color to the speakers list.
We're sorry to see that you're not quite so mobile as you have been in previous years, we wish you all the very best for your health. It's always an honor to have you here. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, that brings us to the end of the speakers list, like my colleague, Ursula Rohner, I would also like to mention Mr. Struchen, who is no longer with us. He always took the floor here at our AGM and always called upon UBS to deliver transparency and live up to its objectives year on year. We are very sorry to hear of his passing. In his memory, we ensured that there were plenty of croissants outside and coffee, I hope that he would have been happy to see us proceeding despite his unfortunate absence.
Let's return to the agenda. I'd like to close the floor then on agenda item 1.1. I note that Ernst & Young AG, our auditors, have recommended approval of the management report, the consolidated standalone accounts for UBS Group AG for 2017. The reports contain no reservations and are printed in the financial information provided to you, could also be inspected at our headquarters. I would ask Mr. Baumann, he's already explained how to use the voting device. I'd ask you to bring us to the vote then on this point, please, sir. This is the second vote for today. It is agenda item 1.1, under which the board proposes that you approve the management report, as well as the consolidated and standalone financial statements of UBS Group AG for 2017. Markus, please.
To avoid repetition, I will not explain how to use the televoter and what the different icons mean. Just as a final reminder, it's green for yes, red for no, and amber if you wish to abstain. We can proceed to the vote. You will have 10 seconds as usual from now. It is closed, and you will see the results on the screen behind me in just a moment. As you can see, 98.83% of the votes are in favor of the motion of the board. Only 0.17% are against. Thank you. The AGM has therefore approved the motion of the board. We can move on to agenda item 1.2, which is an advisory vote on the compensation report for 2017 of UBS Group AG. Shareholders, our compensation policy reconciles the interest of our investors, our customers, and our employees.
It's based on our long-term strategy, and it enables us to deliver performance-focused and competitive compensation so as to attract the best talent and retain it. We do all this while trying to maintain a balance between returns for our shareholders and the fulfillment of our sustainable capital requirement. The development of our compensation model, and its continued use over the last five years, is supporting the cultural change within our bank towards a stronger focus on sustainable performance, personal responsibility, and a measured approach to risk. In 2017, we have not just focused on the results achieved, but also on how they were achieved, because we feel that's just as important. The behavior of all of our employees is taken into account when setting compensation. Since we introduced this compensation model in 2012, it's been very little changed.
In 2017, we made a few minor adaptations, which you can find details of in the Say on Pay brochure. Allow me to just say a few points about the main items within our remuneration policy. A large proportion of performance-related compensation is deferred over several years and carries a risk of forfeiture. Deferral periods are three to five years, sometimes even longer, which makes them some of the longest within our market when we measure ourselves against other major international banks. We do not provide incentive for people to take disproportionate risks. Our compensation plans don't have any lever effect, for example, which might multiply performance-related pay. The level of such compensation can only go up if the UBS share price goes up, which of course is in the interest of our shareholders.
The value of the compensation received can also go down, not just if the share price falls, but also if certain performance-related conditions are not met. One of those conditions, for example, is that we maintain a minimum return on equity. A part of our performance-related compensation also helps to provide loss-absorbing capital at the bank. If our capital quota falls below a certain threshold level, then these awards are lost and therefore help to bolster the loss-absorbing capital buffer and protect the capital position of the bank. To sum up, the entire board of directors and I are convinced that we have, as we have for some time now, a simple, transparent, and effective
Compensation model, which takes account of the interest of all stakeholders. We are convinced that this compensation model will help us to achieve our overarching target, which is sustainable and long-term success. Ladies and gentlemen, the Compensation Report 2017, UBS Group AG, and therefore our compensation model as a whole is being put to you in a consultative advisory vote today. Although this is only an advisory vote and the result of the vote is not binding, nevertheless, by placing your vote, you are demonstrating your will or your agreement or indeed perhaps your disagreement with our overall compensation policy as shown in the report. We take the results of this vote very seriously because it shows whether you agree with our compensation practices in connection with our compensation structure for 2017, our governance and our guidelines.
I would like to open the floor for discussion on the Compensation Report, although as far as I can see, no shareholders have asked to take the floor on this particular agenda item, which would mean that we could skip the speaker's list and proceed directly to the advisory vote. The board proposes that you endorse the 2017 Compensation Report of UBS Group AG in an advisory vote. The ballot is open, and you have 10 seconds from now. The ballot is closed, and we will await the results, which will be shown on the screen in a moment. As you can see from the results on the screen, 81.4% of the votes are in favor of the motion of the board, 13.16% are against the motion of the board. The AGM has therefore endorsed the 2017 Compensation Report of UBS Group AG. Thank you.
We can move on to agenda item two now, which relates to the appropriation of retained earnings and distribution of an ordinary dividend out of capital contribution reserve. On a standalone basis, the net profits of UBS Group AG for 2017 was CHF 47 million. The board of directors proposes to fully appropriate this sum to the voluntary earnings reserve. We also propose the payment of an ordinary dividend of CHF 0.65 per share. This will be paid out of capital contribution reserves. Since the dividend is paid from the capital contribution reserve, it is exempt from withholding tax, and if the shares are held by private individuals resident in Switzerland, it's also exempt from income tax. Other people, including legal entities, persons residing overseas, and persons holding the shares as part of their business assets, should please verify their own tax liability for their own individual situation.
I'd like to open the floor for discussion on agenda item two. Martin Lutz from Bülach is the first speaker on the list, and Marc Dür from Schönbühl should please be waiting to speak next.
Martin Lutz. I'm Martin Lutz, and I'm an export manager from Bülach. I don't know whether this question has already been asked, because this is the first time I've come to the AGM here in Basel. Some years ago, you used to alternate between Zurich and Basel. I haven't been to Basel for a while. I probably won't make myself very popular by asking this question here in Basel. I think it would appear that about two-thirds of the shareholders come from the Zurich area and only a third from Basel. Anyway, having said that about the location, let me say something about the dividend. I remember very well that various chairmen of the board have said at various times that UBS has a shareholder-friendly dividend policy or that's what you intend to have. I don't really see that.
You've lost quite a lot of money, wasted quite a lot, I think. As to the share price between 2016 and 2017, we saw the share price at around 80. Shares were bought up. Then, of course, the picture was very disappointing after that. I would recommend to you today, shareholders, that you exercise a protest vote here against the payment of this dividend. I know that well over 90% of you will still vote in favor. I don't think the dividend is in danger. Nevertheless, as a UBS shareholder, I really feel that so far we've always been the losers in this picture, and I don't really think that that should be the case with a company like this. Thank you for listening.
Thank you, Mr. Lutz. Mr. Dür, please approach the speaker's rostrum.
Dear shareholders, Mr. Ermotti, members of the board of directors, Dr. Weber. I am astonished about the detailed knowledge you have on the questions and proposals made that are not always very easy to respond and your eloquent manner in giving your presentation. Great job. For an entirely different matter now, the dividend. I would like to thank you for the appealing dividend. We will be paid out a week from now. Contrary to the previous speaker, I appreciate this payout. I was particularly pleased with your announcement of a buyback of shares to the tune of CHF 2 billion. If I've done my maths properly, this is around 120 million shares at the current share price.
Given the number of shares in circulation of around 3 billion, this is a drop in the ocean, and I would assume that this is only a beginning and will be continued. Of course, there's no need to ask that questions as you have provided an answer already regarding your intentions about the dividend and share buybacks. I'm looking forward to getting further announcements of share buybacks and would like to thank you for your efforts in this regard. Thank you, Mr. Dür. I'll be pleased to respond to the two speakers. I mentioned it earlier on. Mr. Ermotti mentioned it in his presentation. We want to use our robust capital position. We actually needed to retain it following deregulation in the banking sector. We want to build up on that solid position and to further increase return for shareholders.
In future, we want to pay out a decent dividend in the range of a middle to higher single-digit range of growth. Of course, we need to keep an eye on our objective of sustainability, and the Group Executive Board is certainly aware of the need to be sustainable in managing the business. We also plan to return capital by buying back shares or repatriate capital. This year we launched a program to the tune of CHF 550 million. Now you converted this to the volume. It amounts to about CHF 115 of dividend, as a dividend equivalent of the share buyback program. I believe we are doing well as a bank. Let me come back to the first speaker, the first statement made by Mr. Lutz. Mr. Lutz, every year at the AGM, we have a number of shareholders who bought into UBS at different prices.
I can tell you, in the period of time when Sergio Ermotti and myself have worked, I can recall the first day I worked, the UBS share was traded just under CHF 10. So there has been ups and downs in the history of UBS, especially the financial crisis had an impact on the share price and left considerable vestiges with UBS. All I can do is to promise to you, together with the Group Executive Board, that we are going to continue to work on a decent dividend policy, that we want to increase the dividends in future. Thank you also for support provided to us. Of course, it is always nice to hear that at annual general meetings. Thank you very much. No one else has signed up to speak on this item, so I would like to proceed to the vote on item two.
The vote will be conducted by Mr. Baumann. The Board of Directors proposes to use the CHF 47 million profit and fully allocate it to freely available reserves and to pay out a dividend of CHF 0.65 per UBS Group share at a par value of CHF 0.10 from, to be paid out of capital contribution reserve. The vote is on, countdown is on now. Voting time has elapsed, and the results will appear on the screen behind me in a minute.
As you can see from the results on screen, the share of yes votes is 98.89% versus 0.16% of no votes. The annual general meeting thus has carried the Board's motion on item two. Moving on to item three, discharge of the members of the Board of Directors and the Group Executive Board for the 2017 financial year. The Board of Directors proposes that the discharge to the members of the Board of Directors and the Group Executive Board for the 2017 financial year be granted. The list of persons serving on the Board and the Group Executive Board in the 2017 financial year, and about whose discharge we are going to vote on, is being shown on the screen behind me. No one has requested the floor on this item. So we need not even open the debate, but we can proceed straight to the vote on item three.
Let me remind you that the members of the Board of Directors and the Executive Board of UBS Group AG are not entitled to vote with their own or represented votes on this item. This also applies to any representative of the persons involved. The Board of Directors proposes that discharge of the members of the Board of Directors and the Group Executive Board for the 2017 financial year be granted. The vote is on now and countdown is on. Time is up. The results are being established. Here we are with the results. The share of yes votes is 89.7% versus 5.9% of no votes. The Annual General Meeting thus has carried the board's motion on item three. Moving on to item four, approval of the aggregate amount of variable compensation for the members of the Group Executive Board for the 2017 financial year.
The Board of Directors proposes that the aggregate amount of variable compensation of CHF 74,150,000 for the members of the Group Executive Board for the 2017 financial year be approved. Pursuant to Article 43, paragraph 1C of the Articles of Association of UBS Group AG, the AGM approves the aggregate amount of variable compensation of members of the Executive Board for the 2017 financial year. The vote on the aggregate amount of variable compensation for the past year allows the shareholders to take a well-founded decision on compensation based on measurable performance. When defining variable compensation, performance of the Executive Board members is assessed on both qualitative and quantitative terms. Quantitative variables refer to the corporate results and, depending on the function of the member, to the results of the region, the division of the function of the person.
The qualitative variables refer to our cornerstones, principles, and behaviors that define our cultural program for the improvement of culture internally. In addition, total compensation is compared on the basis of every role and with a group of peers. A description of performance appraisal and our assessments of the performance of Group CEO can be found in our 2017 compensation report. The aggregate amount of performance awards to the Executive Board amounts to about 1.2% of the adjusted pre-tax income of the corporation, which is clearly below the defined cap of 2.5%. The increase of the aggregate amount by 3.1% over the previous year reflects the excellent financial result of UBS, despite challenging market conditions in the 2017 financial year. Our strong capital positions and the net cost savings remain preserved.
Let me point out at this point to refer to the 2017 compensation report of the UBS Group and the invitation to the AGM and the shareholders' brochure on Say on Pay and compensation votes at the 2018 AGM. The two reports clearly illustrate the aggregate amount of variable compensation of the member of the Executive Boards for the 2017 financial year. The Board of Directors thus proposes to you to approve the aggregate amount of variable compensation 2017 for the Executive Board in the amount of CHF 74,150,000 to be approved. No one has signed up to speak on this item, so let's proceed to the vote. The Board of Directors proposes that the aggregate amount of variable compensation of CHF 74,150,000 for the members of the Group Executive Board for the 2017 financial year be approved.
The vote is on now and the countdown is running. Time is up. The results will be displayed on the screen behind me in just a moment's time. Here they are. 82.57% of the votes have been in favor, 12.2% against the board's motion. Thank you very much. The annual general meeting thus has carried the board's motion on item 5. Item 4. Moving on to item 5, approval of the maximum aggregate amount of fixed compensation for the members of the Group Executive Board for the 2019 financial year. Other than the retrospective vote on 2017, the fixed amount is prospective for the 2019 financial year. The board proposes that the maximum aggregate amount of fixed compensation of CHF 31,500,000 for the members of the Group Executive Board for the 2019 financial year be approved.
According to Article 43, paragraph 1 of the articles of the UBS Group AG, the annual general meeting is to approve the maximum aggregate amount of fixed compensation for the members of the Executive Board for the 2019 financial year. Again, let me refer to the comprehensive brochure that has been enclosed with the invitation to the AGM today. The maximum aggregate amount of fixed compensation for the members of the Executive Board for the 2019 financial year is explained in detail in the brochure. The Board of Directors believes that the prospective vote on fixed compensation for members of the Executive Board provides the necessary certainty to the company to work successfully.
The proposed maximum aggregate amount of fixed compensation for the Executive Board in the amount of CHF 31.5 million, particularly includes base salaries, with the Group CEO receiving CHF 2.5 million, and every other member of the Executive Board CHF 1.5 million each. These base salaries have remained unchanged since 2011. Furthermore, the maximum aggregate amount of fixed compensation includes role-based allowances, estimated standard contributions to pension schemes and fringe benefits, as well as a reserve. The unchanged maximum aggregate amount of fixed compensation compared to the previous year is sufficient in the view of the Board of Directors, to cope with uncertainties related to geopolitical and regulatory changes or potential market developments. Let's open the debate on item 5. One person has signed up to speak. Let me call Mr. Bosco Bühler from Flawil to come forward to deliver his statement. Good afternoon.
I have a pleasant announcement to make. I've been active in more than 90 countries working for the Swiss government and aid projects, and I can contribute to honoring Luzius Camenisch, the former Secretary General of UBS. As you will see, it's sometimes difficult to be in contact with me, but he's been a great champion in doing so. The new Secretary General, Markus Baumann, I would like to ask to hand over that bunch of flower to Luzius Camenisch, but to be on the safe side, I'll give this bunch of flowers to a security person. He checked it, whether there was a bomb in it already. Let me talk about the gratifying concept of sustainability first. It's not a hobby horse of mine, but since 1975, I've been involved in the Swiss and the European sustainability movements and also in the global movement for sustainability.
Let's do a little commercial. I will be pleased to offer a course to you because I would assume that the concept of sustainability is something you haven't fully grasped yet. Let's talk about the subject matter now. Good afternoon, dear shareholders. Good afternoon, gentlemen. There aren't really many ladies, and especially not on stage. Mr. Ermotti, I have to complain to you. My dear partner keeps criticizing me about my suit. She says, "Why can't you buy the same quality suits and ties like Mr. Ermotti? He's the most well-dressed man in Switzerland." Of course you can read up on that in a German book by Gottfried Keller, that persons are made by what they wear. What is more important, content or packaging? I think it's content and the heads and the computer you have in your head is more important.
I don't really understand everything that happened in the past year. If you look at the glossy reports, there's not really relevant information in it. No lessons have been learned from the financial crisis. $ billions have been paid in fines by UBS. Who committed the mistakes? Have the fines been paid by those who made the mistakes? Have they been paid by the board of directors or the executive board, or have the bill been footed by the shareholders? People always say, well, it's the former people to be blamed, but that's really a lame excuse. You have been in control of this business for years, but you kept skimming off the profits. Of course, you didn't do everything wrong. I think the idea of sustainability is a good idea. I made my commercial before.
To save some time today, I would like to ask the Secretary General here, we've got 75% of shares that are voting in the hall today, or did I misunderstand? That would be tremendously high.
75 of the shares are represented, but not all of them are physically represented in the hall. Yes, of course, they're represented by the independent proxy.
The following motions apply from the beginning of 2019 to be decided upon at the next year's AGM. The Board of Directors and the Executive Board have time until September 30, 2018. By then, we shareholders want to see a written proposal in line with the following motions at boni.ch. You can read up on everything, including my statement at the Raiffeisen Bank annual general meeting. First motion, bonus payments from 2019 to be halved. Cut by 50%. That's half of it, about CHF 3 billion. This half to be transferred to the dividend payout. Second motion, halving compensation on all bodies, but in particular the Executive Board of the Board of Directors, including their members. The modestly reduced amounts will be transferred to the UBS Society Sustainability Fund to remedy some of the destruction caused by human beings for which UBS is also to blame.
Third motion, to increase the dividend from 2019 with the money flown in from motion one and two. Of course, the share price will explode and UBS's image will be tremendously enhanced. We shareholders want to receive higher remuneration as well, rather than simply receive pittances. Should these motions not be in line with the spirit of a new attitude that is required, we will organize a worldwide shareholder uproar for the 2019 AGM. I'm familiar with mechanisms and processes that are required to bring about this uproar. The industry of financial services provider and UBS directly have soiled the image of my home country, Switzerland. Why do we have so many people around the world who are unwilling to learn but occupying important functions? All of the persons up on stage have enough money.
We will see to it that they will go down in history in the world. There is no lady sitting up on stage. I wrote down there's only a few of them. Ladies and gentlemen, I can tell you, we finally have to destroy that financial Carthage. Let's look forward to the 2019 annual general meeting. We will be taking a decision on setting up the most eccentric bank, the real first bank in the world, the new United Bank of Switzerland Group AG. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Bosco Bühler. I take it as praise if you're saying we didn't do everything wrong.
I do believe that in the past five to seven years, I believe we've done quite a few things right. Of course, when you join a company, you cannot determine the beginning of a journey, but you can try and have an influence on the journey. We haven't reached our objectives, but we're on track and we're doing well as far as I'm concerned. Our compensation philosophy is focused on defending and aligning interests of investors, clients, and employees, and they take into account financial results and many other factors. Believe you me, that we are taking our responsibility on the board, and we are well aware of the significance of decisions we take. We're an independent body. Someone earlier asked about this.
Of course, we meet with members of the executive board when it comes to driving this business, but everyone's free to say anything when we meet. We're a business that holds up governance, and rest assured that on the board of directors, we are independent enough. Apart from the chairman of the board, we have independent members of the board of directors only on the board. Your proposals to inform on the matter by September 30th is not in line with our standard information processes, and I don't really think there is a major benefit about it. Reporting about the year as early as September 30th, because there'll be three months following it. Believe you me, that we are going to report about the financial and business results along the standard way. Next year, we will also inform about the dividend and compensation.
In terms of timing, we can't really do it any earlier than we are doing it already. Among the Swiss banks and Swiss companies, we're in the leading pack. Many are reporting only later at their AGM. You can be certain that we are informing as early as possible. We have brought forward the timing in recent years, and we're going to keep doing so. I'm looking forward to your attendance at the 2019 annual general meeting. Many of the points that you referred to in terms of them being radical are not in line with what we're planning to do. As far as the direction and intention is concerned, the board of directors shares your ideas regarding better involvement of the shareholders and better results of the banks over time. Our objectives need to be realistic.
Capital buildup and deregulation have been important, and this phase is only coming to an end now. Of course, there is some uncertainty. We know about the future regulatory setting, but I can promise to you that we are doing everything to drive this back. Let's proceed to the vote as there is no one else who signed up. The debate is now closed. By the way, just to mention this, I can only go along with you congratulating Luzius Camenisch. He did an excellent job as the general secretary. I worked with him for years, and I told him so several times when he stepped down. Just as much, I believe that Mr. Baumann is doing an excellent job in his capacity, and he's looking forward to receiving a bunch of flowers from you as well. Let's proceed to the vote on item five.
The board of directors proposes that the maximum aggregate amount of fixed compensation of CHF 31,500,000 for the members of the group executive board for the financial year 2019 be approved.
The vote is on now. Countdown is running. Time is up.
The results will be shown on screen in almost next to no time.
As you can see, 84.81% of you have carried the board's motion, 10.04% votes have been against. The AGM has carried the board's motion on item 5.
We proceed to agenda item 6, elections. Begin with item 6.1, re-elections of members of the board of directors. Since the term of office is one year, all members of the board need to be re-elected. The board proposes that Michel Demaré, David Sidwell, Urs Hochstrasser, Ann F. Godbehere
Julie Richardson, Isabelle Romy, Robert Scully, Beatrice Weder di Mauro, Dieter Wemmer and myself be reelected for a further term of office. I would like to begin by thanking my colleagues most warmly for standing for reelection here. Given the workload and the high level of responsibility involved, this isn't a given. The board as a whole has to rise to ever greater challenges and has to have the necessary specialist knowledge. We need expertise, and indeed, we have expertise in banking, risk management, reporting, human resources, compensation policy, legal affairs, and the leadership of large companies. We have plenty of that expertise among the members of our board, which means that we are able to staff our five board committees with highly qualified individuals. These committees do excellent work and greatly increase the efficiency of the work of the board as a whole.
Before we come to the reelection, though, there is one colleague to whom we have to say goodbye today. Mr. William Parrett is not standing for reelection here today. At the beginning of 2018, he was appointed chairman of the board of UBS Americas Holding LLC, and will now be concentrating on this very important role, which is strategically important for the bank. William Parrett joined the board of directors of UBS AG 10 years ago, and the board of directors of UBS Group AG three and a half years ago. He was chairman of the Audit Committee for nine years, and member of the Corporate Culture and Responsibility Committee for six years. He was also a member of the Compensation Committee for three years.
William Parrett joined the board during very turbulent times, and it's his work in leading the audit committee which has particularly helped to steer UBS into calmer waters. The board of directors and the executive team, as well as our internal and external auditors, always found Bill to be a highly competent individual and an excellent person to work with, and benefited very much from his in-depth knowledge. On behalf of the board, I would like to thank William Parrett for the very valuable work that he did on the board of UBS Group AG and UBS AG, and I'm really looking forward to working with him in his new role as chairman of the board of UBS Americas Holding LLC.
Bill, thank you for all you did. It was a great job. We'll have time tonight to celebrate your achievements when we're back in Zurich.
We will now briefly introduce the members of the board who are standing for reelection. We will vote on their reelection in one single voting operation. If you wish to look at their detailed CVs and their involvement in listed and non-listed companies, you can do that by consulting the annual report. In the German version, it starts on page 294. Let's begin with agenda item 6.1.1. I would ask the Vice Chairman, Michel Demaré, to conduct my reelection, which he will do in French.
[Foreign language] Axel.
Thank you, Axel. Mr. Weber's term of office comes to an end today at today's AGM. He is standing for reelection to this office and to the office of Chairman of the Board. He was appointed Chairman of the Board of UBS AG six years ago, and Chairman of the Board of UBS Group AG three and a half years ago. If reelected, he will also chair the Governance and Nominating Committee and the Corporate Culture and Responsibility Committee. The board is delighted that Mr. Weber is prepared to continue to carry out these functions and therefore recommends that you reelect him today. Thank you.
Thank you. We can proceed to item 6.1.2, the reelection of Michel Demaré. Mr. Demaré was appointed to the board of UBS AG nine years ago and to the board of UBS Group AG three and a half years ago.
If reelected, he will once again be appointed vice chairman and will remain a member of the audit and governance and nomination committee. His reelection to the compensation committee is here on the agenda as a separate item at item 6.3.2. Comes agenda item 6.1.3, the election of David Sidwell, who joined the board of UBS AG 10 years ago and the board of UBS Group AG three and a half years ago. If reelected, he will once again be appointed senior independent director and once again will chair the Risk Committee and remain a member of the governance and nominating committee. Agenda item 6.1.4 concerns the reelection of Reto Francioni, who joined the board of UBS AG five years ago and the board of UBS Group AG three and a half years ago.
Mr. Reto Francioni will remain a member of the corporate culture and responsibility committee and the risk committee if reelected today. Agenda item 6.1.5 concerns the reelection of Ann Godbehere. Ann Godbehere joined the board of UBS AG nine years ago and the board of UBS Group AG three and a half years ago. If reelected today, she will remain a member of the audit committee. Her reelection to the compensation committee is a separate item on today's agenda under 6.3.1. Moving on to 6.1.6, reelection of Julie Richardson. Julie Richardson joined the board of UBS Group AG and UBS AG one year ago. If reelected, she will remain a member of the risk committee. Under agenda item 6.3.3, we'll also vote separately on her election to the compensation committee. To agenda item 6.1.7, the reelection of Isabelle Romy.
Isabelle Romy joined the board of UBS AG six years ago and the board of UBS Group AG three and a half years ago. If reelected, she will remain a member of the audit and governance and nominating committee. Item 6.1.8, reelection of Robert Scully. Robert Scully was appointed to the boards of UBS Group AG and UBS AG two years ago. If reelected today, he will remain a member of the risk committee. To agenda item 6.1.9, reelection of Beatrice Weder di Mauro. Beatrice Weder di Mauro joined the board of UBS AG six years ago and the board of UBS Group AG three and a half years ago. If reelected today, she will remain a member of the audit and corporate culture and responsibility committee. Finally, onto the reelection of Dieter Wemmer, who was appointed to the boards of UBS Group AG and UBS AG two years ago.
If reelected today, he will remain a member of the risk committee. His election to the compensation committee is a separate item on today's agenda. That is item 6.3.4. The board is delighted that the people we've just talked about have declared themselves willing to continue in their role as independent members of the board. Before we proceed to the vote, I think we should proceed to item 6.2, election of new members of the board of directors. As you know, ladies and gentlemen, our board that works well needs to have the right people with the right qualifications. In order to give you an opportunity to get to know the two new candidates a bit better, allow me to introduce them briefly. We will vote on them in a single vote.
Let's start with item 6.2.1, which relates to the election of Mr. Jeremy Anderson, who was born in 1958 and is a British citizen. He received his bachelor's degree in economics from University College London in 1980, and in the same year, he began his career at Triad Computing Systems. In 1985, he moved to KPMG Consulting UK, where he was a partner in the financial services business in the consulting section of KPMG in the U.K., and was its CEO between 2000 and 2002. In 2002, KPMG Consulting UK was acquired by Atos Origin, and Jeremy Anderson became a member of Group Management Board and head of U.K. operations at Atos Origin. In 2004, he moved to KPMG International, where from 2004 to 2008, he led its financial services business in the U.K.
From 2006 to 2011, he was head of financial services for KPMG Europe. From 2008 to 2011, he was also head of clients and markets for KPMG Europe. From 2010 until November 2017, he was chairman of the global financial services at KPMG International. Jeremy Anderson is also a trustee of the British Productivity Leadership Group. The board of directors is delighted that Jeremy Anderson is willing to join the board of directors. We are delighted to have such an experienced and proven financial expert as a new member of the board, and to propose him to you as a new member of the board today. He has plenty of expertise in IT as well, which is ideal. If he is elected, we intend to make him chairman of the audit committee and a member of the corporate culture and responsibility committee.
Moving now to agenda item 6.2.2, the election of Fred Hu, who unfortunately isn't able to be here today. I would like to introduce him briefly to you. He was born in 1963 and is a Chinese citizen. He holds a master's in engineering from Tsinghua University and a master's and a PhD in economics from Harvard University, which he was awarded in 1993. From 1991 to 1996, he worked as an economist for the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. From 1996, he was co-director of the National Center for Economic Research and a professor at the Tsinghua University in Beijing. In 1997, he joined Goldman Sachs, initially as chief economist. From 2004 to 2008, he was a Goldman Sachs partner and co-director of investment banking for China. From 2008 to 2010, he was partner and chairman for Greater China.
Since 2010, he's been chairman of the Primavera Capital Group, a global investment company based in Beijing and Hong Kong, which he founded himself. Fred Hu is a non-executive chairman of the board of Yum China Holdings, a member of the board of directors of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, and the Hang Seng Bank Limited. He's also involved in a number of charitable organizations, including The Nature Conservancy's Asia-Pacific Council. The board is delighted that Fred Hu is willing to take on responsibility on our board of directors. We see him as an experienced and proven economics expert, and an expert in the financial industry, and we're delighted to be able to present him to you. His connections to the Asian region and his involvement there, as well as his expertise in private equity, make us believe that he is an ideal candidate.
We will proceed now to the item 6.3, which concerns the election of the members of the compensation committee. The board proposes that Ann Godbehere and Michel Demaré be reelected for a term of office of a further year as members of that committee, and Julie Richardson and Dieter Wemmer be elected to the compensation committee for one year. I would like to thank the colleagues for making themselves available for these positions. Following the discussion, we will vote on all these agenda items in one single round of voting. I don't see that anybody has registered to take the floor under agenda item 6 as a whole, and I would therefore propose that we move directly to the vote.
The board proposes that all of the other candidates, whose names you can see on the screen, be elected as members of the board, and that I be reelected as chairman of the board for a term of office of one year running up to the end of the 2019 annual general meeting. I'd ask Markus Baumann, please, to explain the procedure for this particular vote. We will use the tele voter to carry out one round of voting for all of these elections. You will see all the names of the members standing for re-election on your screen. There are 10 to be reelected, and that takes up four pages on your tele voter. You can use the arrow on the bottom right of your screen to move to the next page. Use the left-hand arrow to go to the previous page.
These arrows will continue to flash until you have filled in all of the votes on that particular page on your tele voter. Since we have 10 individual votes for you to cast, you're going to have 30 seconds total voting time. Voting time is beginning now. The ballot is now closed, and we will await the results that will be shown on the screen in just a moment. As you can see from the screen, a large majority of you have indeed followed the recommendations of the board. The AGM has therefore reelected Michel Demaré, David Sidwell, Reto Francioni, Ann Godbehere, Julie Richardson, Isabelle Romy, Robert Scully, Beatrice Weder di Mauro, and Dieter Wemmer as members of the board of directors, and myself as chairman of the board. I congratulate all the members on their re-election and look forward to receiving your support on the board in the coming year.
All of the reelected members assured me in advance of this meeting that they would indeed accept their re-election. Let's move on to the vote on agenda item 6.2.1 and 6.2.2, whereby the board proposes that Jeremy Anderson and Fred Hu be elected to the board of directors for a period of office running for one year until the end of the 2019 general assembly. We'll also carry out this vote in one round. You will see the two names on your screen. They fit on one page on your tele voter. As soon as the voting time begins, you have 12 seconds to cast your vote, and the ballot is open now.
The balloting period has ended.
The ballot is closed, and we will await the results.
As you can see from the screen, 98.7% of the votes are in favor of the election of Jeremy Anderson, and 96.6% of the votes cast are in favor of the election of Fred Hu. The General Assembly has therefore elected Jeremy Anderson and Fred Hu, and I congratulate the two gentlemen on their election and look forward to receiving their support on the Board.
Jeremy, Fred, I'd like to congratulate you on your election. I'm looking forward on our future collaboration, and I cordially welcome you to the Board of UBS.
These newly elected members also assured me in advance of the meeting that they would accept their election if duly elected. We can then move on to item 6.3.1, 6.3.4. The board proposes that Ann Godbehere and Michel Demaré be re-elected to the Compensation Committee for one year, and that Julie G. Richardson and Dieter Wemmer be elected as new members to the Compensation Committee, also for a period of one year. Markus Baumann, could you please explain the vote?
Yes, indeed. We will carry out this vote in a single round again. Once the voting time begins, you will see the four names shown in the televote. They are going to take up two pages, so you can use the arrows at the bottom of the screen to move between the two pages. You will have a period of 15 seconds to cast your vote. The ballot is open now. The ballot is closed, and the results will be displayed on the screen in just a moment. As you can see from the screen, we have an overwhelming majority of votes in favor of the board's proposal. The General Assembly has thereby appointed Ann Godbehere and Michel Demaré, and Julie G. Richardson and Dieter Wemmer have been newly elected to the Compensation Committee. I congratulate the four members. I am delighted to receive your support in the coming year.
You certainly deserve that round of applause because that Compensation Committee is extremely busy, particularly around the end of the year. All of those members confirmed to me in advance of the meeting that they would accept their election. So thank you very much.
Moving on to item seven, approval of the maximum aggregate amount of compensation for the members of the Board of Directors from the annual general meeting 2018 to the annual general meeting of 2019. The Board of Directors proposes that the maximum aggregate amount of compensation of CHF 14,500,000 for the members of the Board of Directors for the period from the AGM 2018 to the AGM 2019 be approved. Pursuant to Article 43, Paragraph 1A of the Articles of Association of the UBS Group, the annual general meeting shall approve the maximum aggregate amount of compensation for the members of the Board of Directors from the annual general meeting 2018 to the next one. For this, I also refer you to the information brochure that you have found in the invitation to the AGM today.
The maximum aggregate amount of compensation for the members of the Board of Directors for the period from this year's to next year's Annual General Meeting is explained in detail in this brochure. The proposed maximum aggregate amount of fixed compensation for the Board of Directors of CHF 14.5 million for the period from this year's to next year's AGM includes compensation for the Chairman and the fees of the elected independent members of the Board of Directors, it corresponds to the same principles of compensation as in earlier years. The increase by CHF 500,000 over the previous year reflects an increase from 11 to 12 members on the Board. The fees of the independent members are the same as in the previous year. As a matter of fact, they have remained unchanged ever since UBS AG was founded in 1998. Almost remained unchanged.
Even my total compensation has remained constant for many years. No one has signed up to speak on this item, number seven, let's proceed to the vote. The Board of Directors proposes that the maximum aggregate amount of compensation of CHF 14.5 million for the members of the Board of Directors for the period of the AGM 2018 to the Annual General Meeting of 2019 be approved. The vote is herewith on. Countdown is on now.
The voting time has expired.
Time is up, you will see the results displayed on the screen behind me in a moment. As you can see from the results, 86.1% of you have voted for the Board's motion, 8.69% have voted against. The AGM has thus carried the Board's motion. Moving on to items 8.1 to 8.3, re-elections. The Board proposes, according to item 8.1, re-election of the independent proxy, ADB Altorfer Duss & Beilstein AG, Zurich, for a term of office of one year, expiring at the end of the Annual General Meeting in 2019. The Board proposes, pursuant to item 8.2, re-election of Ernst & Young of Basel as auditors for the consolidated and standalone financial statements of UBS Group AG for the one-year term of office until completion of the Annual General Meeting in 2019. This one-year term of office is prescribed by law.
Ernst & Young exercises the auditing mandate for UBS AG's standalone consolidated financial statements and has done so since 1998. The mandate has been renewed on an annual basis. Ernst & Young is a professional and efficient partner, meeting the high requirements of a globally operating financial corporation. This long-standing partnership presents the crucial benefit of Ernst & Young being familiar with the structures, products, and services of our company and performing its control function effectively as a result. In addition, Ernst & Young has confirmed to the audit committee of the board of directors that they fulfill the requirement of independence required for the mandate, and that independence is not impaired by the auditing mandate for the UBS corporation. Such additional mandates require approval by the audit committee.
Ernst & Young furthermore has confirmed to have not performed any services to UBS Group or its subsidiaries between 1st of January and 31st of December 2017 that would not be allowed by the SEC. The board of directors finally proposes, according to item 8.3, re-election of the special auditors, BDO of Zurich, for a term of office of three years. Article 39, paragraph three of our articles provides for the AGM to elect the special auditors for a period of three years to submit audits for capital increases. BDO of Zurich was elected on November the 26th, 2014 at the AGM of UBS Group AG and at the level of UBS AG in 2006. BDO is a professional and highly efficient partner that meets the requirements of a globally operating financial company as UBS. No one has signed up to speak on these items on the agenda.
What we're going to do is to proceed right to the votes, re-elections. All of them will be carried out collectively. The independent proxy will not vote on his own re-election, although he does not have obligations to do so. He will only execute instructions from shareholders. Let's repeat, the board of directors proposes on the basis of item 8.2 re-election of ADB as an independent proxy for a one-year term of office expiring at the end of the AGM 2019, and furthermore, proposes re-election of Ernst & Young for a one-year term of office as auditors for the consolidated financial statements and the standalone financial statements of UBS Group AG. Finally, the board of directors proposes re-election of Zurich for a three-year term of office as special auditors. That is under item 8.3. Markus Baumann, please take over to conduct the votes.
As soon as voting time is on, the candidates and three names to be proposed to be re-elected will be shown on your screen on one single page. You will have 12 seconds time to cast your votes. Voting is now on. The countdown is on now.
Time is up.
Time is up. The results are being established and will be displayed on the screen behind me in just a moment's time. As you can see from the results, you have carried the board's motions at vast majorities. The board of directors thus has reelected ADB Altorfer Duss & Beilstein AG as independent proxy and Ernst & Young of Basel as auditors for a one-year term of office, each, and BDO of Zurich as special auditors for a three-year term of office. Congratulations to Ernst & Young, the representatives of Ernst & Young, and BDO on their re-election. Dear shareholders, I would like to thank you for your trust that you have expressed in UBS Group and that you continue to have and also for your approval of the board's motions.
You have thus expressed that you intend to continue to support us. I would also like to thank you for the interest that you have expressed by attending the annual general meeting today. Regarding the question we have failed to answer earlier on, why the annual general meeting is taking place in Basel. UBS AG, ever since the merger, has had two headquarters. Whereas business activities have been very much focused in Zurich, we've got the second headquarters where we are conducting our AGM. The results of the outcomes of the votes today and the speeches will be published on our website, and in the weeks to come, you will also find an abridged version of the minutes of this AGM. The next AGM of UBS Group AG will take place on the 2nd of May 2019.
It's again a Thursday. The venue will be announced to you with the invitation. I'm now pleased to invite you to refreshments in the foyer. The wines served today are from the region of Lake Biel. I hope that you're going to have lively conversations over drinks and a safe trip home later on. Can I ask you to submit or return your televoting system when you leave the hall? This concludes the annual general meeting 2018. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your trust.