Lunchtime Links: Despite cutting another 464 people in the past quarter, UBS says it's mostly finished hiring

Bad news if you've decided you wouldn't mind working for UBS now that it's profitable again. Despite losing/trimming a further 464 people in the final quarter, CFO John Cryan said today that, "most major roles are now occupied," after the bank made, "some important hires in the course of January."

As has already been widely reported, UBS also increased cash bonuses by a third, leaving average total comp in the investment bank at CHF355k (213k) per head for 2009. UBS said it has CHF3.2bn of compensation deferred across the bank from all previous years, but declined to reveal precisely how much of that relates to 2009.

Oswald ('Ozzy') Gruebel said UBS's top performers have been paid to stay and that unlike Goldman, "When you don't have too much money...you have to tailor it [so that it goes] to the right people."

Separately, Gruebel said the Swiss regulator didn't oblige UBS to reduce the size of its bonus pot and BusinessWeek reported that UBS didn't make 'provisions' for the UK bonus tax (from which we assume that London bankers may be made to bear it themselves).

Interestingly, it also emerged that when a private client advisor leaves UBS, 30-40% of his/her clients follow.

There will be no wild celebrations at UBS. (Euromoney)

Sants' exit casts doubt over the future of the FSA. (Reuters)

Only five years to go before UK government sells its stake in RBS. (DealBook)

RBS employee fired for awarding himself an unauthorized bonus. (Dealbreaker)

Deutsche Bank seconded 41 staff to the Treasury last year. (The Times)

Myners says bonuses are bleeding pension funds. (The Times)

Feinberg still thinks Blankfein's pay is excessive. (Wall St Cheat Sheet)

The co-heads of Royal Bank of Canada's capital markets business each earned larger 2009 bonuses than the chief executive of Goldman Sachs. (The Globe and Mail)

Allen & Overy will be hiring 40 lawyers in Australia. (The Times)

People at BofA Merrill are now required to, 'openly debate risk-related issues.' (Wall Street Journal)

Jefferies has 'parted company' with the head of its asset management investment banking division, and a researcher. (Financial News)

Michael Zaoui might set up his own firm. (BusinessWeek)

Papaconstantinou insisted that middle- and low-income earners would pay less tax. (Marginal Revolution)

PIIGS got you down, try these? (Big Picture)