UBS boss Sergio Ermotti plans to step down in April 2027

According to the FT, UBS chief Sergio Ermotti plans to step down in April 2027. The bank is preparing his replacement amid a conflict over reserve capital quotas. Keystone / Andreas Becker

Race for coveted role comes as bank fights Swiss government over threat of more stringent capital buffers.

UBS chief executive Sergio Ermotti is planning to step down in April 2027, firing the starting gun on the race for one of the biggest jobs in global banking.

Ermotti, who returned to run UBS in 2023 following its state-orchestrated takeover of Credit Suisse, intends to leave after leading the integration of the two lenders, people familiar with the matter have told the FT.

The 65-year-old is preparing to depart at a crucial time for UBS as it fights Swiss government plans to tighten its capital requirements, a dispute that has fuelled speculation that Switzerland’s biggest lender could move its headquarters abroad.

Ermotti was parachuted into the top job at UBS — a role he previously held for nine years until 2020 — by chair Colm Kelleher just weeks after it agreed to rescue its former rival from the brink of collapse.

The timetable for Ermotti’s departure around the time of its annual general meeting next year will kick off the succession race in earnest for one of the most coveted roles in banking.

Aleksandar Ivanovic, UBS’s asset management chief, has emerged as one of the executives most likely to succeed Ermotti, according to people familiar with the matter.

Ivanovic, a Swiss national who was elevated to the group’s executive board in March 2024, is the latest executive to emerge as a contender, having impressed the bank’s management in running its asset management division, the people familiar with the matter said.

The other leading candidates were UBS’s wealth management co-heads Iqbal Khan and Robert Karofsky, the people added. Bea Martin, who was announced as the bank’s chief operating officer in October, is also seen as a contender.

The timeline for Ermotti’s exit had not yet been finalised by UBS’s board, another person said, meaning his leaving date could still change.

Ermotti committed to spending three to five years as chief executive when he returned in 2023, the FT previously reported. He was tasked with overseeing the complex integration of Credit Suisse and developing a growth strategy for the combined group, as well as nurturing a pool of successors.

The integration, which saw UBS inherit Credit Suisse’s litany of regulatory and legal problems, has mostly gone smoothly and the bank’s share price has doubled during Ermotti’s tenure.

But his second stint in charge has been overshadowed by a public dispute with the Swiss government over its plan to increase UBS’s capital requirements by about $24bn, which analysts and investors have said has weighed on its share price.

UBS said on Monday that the proposals would “jeopardise” its success. Implementing the reforms, which could be finalised before Ermotti is replaced, will be at the top of the new boss’s in-tray.

Kelleher, who is overseeing the succession, is looking to follow the example of his former employer Morgan Stanley, which had several internal candidates to choose from when longtime chief James Gorman stepped down in 2023. Kelleher previously described the Wall Street lender’s succession as a “bloodless coup”, which he hoped to emulate.

Khan, a former Credit Suisse executive, has long been viewed as the most likely successor to Ermotti. He joined UBS after clashing with his former employer and its boss Tidjane Thiam, alleging that the lender had hired private detectives who chased him through Zurich.

Khan, who later reached a settlement with Credit Suisse, moved to Hong Kong in 2024 to become UBS’s head of Asia-Pacific. Then-investment bank chief Karofsky was appointed as head of the Americas at the same time.

Martin was recently promoted to chief operating officer after leading UBS’s non-core and legacy unit, which handles winding down and disposing of unwanted parts of Credit Suisse.

Ermotti indicated in 2024 that he would step down as chief executive at the end of this year or early 2027. People familiar with the matter said he could potentially return as the bank’s chair in future if he wanted the role.

Ermotti was paid CHF14.9 million ($18.7 million) for 2024, making him Europe’s best-paid bank CEO that year.

UBS declined to comment.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2026