UBS’s Ermotti Says His Term as CEO Could Stretch to 2027

(Bloomberg) — UBS Group AG Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti said that he intends to stay at the helm of the Swiss bank until the task of absorbing Credit Suisse is complete, meaning his second stint leading the global wealth manager could stretch to almost four years.

“I made a commitment to the board to stay at the very least until the integration is finished, so that means end of 2026, early 2027,” Ermotti said at a Reuters event in Zurich on Monday. 

Ermotti returned to UBS in the immediate aftermath of its emergency takeover of Credit Suisse in March last year, having already led the bank from 2011 until 2020. While UBS has said that the task of integrating Credit Suisse is proceeding at pace, the bank has recently signaled that Ermotti’s exact departure date remains flexible and tied to finishing the job. 

Read More: UBS Hints CEO Ermotti Could Stay After Credit Suisse Integration

UBS Chairman Colm Kelleher said late last year that he, along with the bank’s board, was looking to develop a shortlist of potential successors for 64-year-old Ermotti. Having a bench of internal candidates would be a “validation of a culture,” he said at the time. 

Read more: Kelleher Says UBS Could Use Morgan Stanley’s CEO Race Playbook

While the issue of succession is not currently a top priority, Ermotti said on Monday, he would favor an internal candidate. After his previous term however, UBS picked an external candidate, Dutch national Ralph Hamers, to run the bank until the historic merger brought a change of requirements.  

Ermotti said Monday that a delay in transferring Credit Suisse’s clients to its own IT systems would be the biggest risk in the integration process this year. That would mean pushing back the realization of some of the $13 billion in cost savings that the bank has planned, he said. 

 

 

(Updates with further background)

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