UBS Group AG increased pay for junior bankers in the U.S. for a second time in less than a year, bringing the Swiss lender in line with Wall Street rivals trying to stem defections amid a race for talent.

UBS increased base salaries for first-year analysts to $110,000, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private information. The bank already lifted pay for junior bankers in the U.S. to $100,000 effective from August, Bloomberg News reported last year.

As the pandemic delivered windfalls -- and long hours of toil -- across Wall Street, major U.S. banks began lifting junior-banker pay in a bid to retain younger staff weighed down by work. Citigroup Inc. boosted first-year analyst salaries to $110,000 earlier this year after investment-banking revenue soared in 2021. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised junior bankers’ pay to the same level in January, the second increase in seven months.

A representative for UBS declined to comment. The pay increase was first reported earlier Friday by Financial News.

In May of last year, Bloomberg reported that UBS will pay a $40,000 one-time bonus to its global banking analysts when they are promoted. 

This article was provided by Bloomberg News.