When Marcel Ospel celebrates his 58th birthday in less than two weeks' time, he will surely hope that the coming year will be better than the last.

The chairman of UBS is not Mr Popular in Switzerland. Apart from being tarnished with the Swiss bank's sub-prime related writedowns, the largest in Europe, his hefty pay package has also raised eyebrows.

Blick, the Swiss daily tabloid newspaper, ran a front page story in 2006 on Mr Ospel's remuneration, reportedly SwFr26 million (£12 million), making him the highest-paid executive in Switzerland.

A chain-smoker who is known for his taste for high living, Mr Ospel has removed most of UBS's top management since the sub-prime debacle erupted.

Peter Wuffli, the bank's chief executive, stood down in July and was replaced by Marcel Rohner, who until then had been running its wealth management business. Later UBS replaced its chief financial and risk officers.

Mr Ospel became chairman in 2001, having been promoted from the role of chief executive. He had joined the Swiss group as head of trading at what was then SBC, from Merrill Lynch.

Yet while he has his critics, Mr Ospel also has supporters, who point out that the Swiss citizen did earn his keep after helping to oversee a $11.3 billion cash injection from GIC, the sovereign wealth fund of the Singapore Government, and a Middle Eastern investor, whom UBS declined to identify, in December. Indeed, Mr Ospel has enjoyed close contacts with Singapore through his long banking experience and an adviser to the country's Monetary Authority.

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