© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Swiss bank UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti addresses a news conference in Zurich, Switzerland February 20, 2020. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
by John Revill
(Reuters) – UBS Group AG has rehired Sergio Ermotti as chief executive to lead the massive takeover of neighbor Credit Suisse, a surprise move that seeks to draw on his experience rebuilding the bank after the global financial crisis.
His immediate challenges will include laying off thousands of employees, shrinking Credit Suisse’s investment bank and reassuring the world’s rich that UBS remains the best place to store their cash.
Current chief executive Ralph Hamers was absent from the announcement on March 19 of UBS’s acquisition of Credit Suisse, a deal backed by more than 200 billion francs ($217 billion) in state cash and guarantees designed by the government, the central bank and regulators.
The next day, Hamers looked teary-eyed as he described the end of Credit Suisse as a “sad day” nobody wanted.
Ermotti, the current chairman of Swiss Re (OTC:), will take over as of April 5. He was chief executive of UBS from 2011 to 2020.
Hamers, who succeeded Ermotti in November 2020, “has agreed to resign in order to serve the interests of the new combination, the Swiss financial sector and the country,” UBS said in a statement.
“The board made the decision in light of the new challenges and priorities facing UBS following the acquisition announcement,” UBS added.
UBS dumped Hamers, who had no experience in major mergers and acquisitions, and was faced with the task of combining two banks with $1.6 trillion in assets, more than 120,000 employees and a complex balance sheet.
Ermotti said he was looking forward to integrating UBS and Credit Suisse.
“The task at hand is urgent and challenging,” Ermotti said in a statement.
“To do this sustainably and successfully, and in the interest of all stakeholders involved, we need to carefully and systematically evaluate all options.”
Hamers, a nearly 30-year veteran at Dutch lender ING, had been a surprise choice when he was appointed to head UBS as he had little experience in investment banking or wealth management.
At ING, Hamers was seen as a tech-savvy boss who shunned the image of a stuffy banker for a young, hip and approachable CEO, and was credited there with overseeing a digital transformation.
ING’s digital success is what drew then-UBS chairman Axel Weber to poach it, at a time when some analysts said UBS’s progress was stalled.
($1 = 0.9209 Swiss francs)
