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5. Unleash the Investment Bank

Ermotti's gripe with investors over what he views as too low valuation for UBS' stock is rooted in the investment bank. Andrea Orcel has worked tirelessly to ramp down on risk and transform the unit into an advice-giver in the mold of SG Warburg, an esteemed British merchant bank bought by UBS in 1995. However, the unit is still largely responsible for a whopping 890 billion Swiss francs in balance sheet.

If Ermotti is serious about jumpstarting his shares, a carve-out of UBS' investment bank seems to be inevitable. To be sure, Ermotti has repeatedly said this is out of the question, and fought hedge fund Eric Knight of hedge fund Knight Vinke until last year, who had demanded similar changes. 

6. Disruption - in Executive Pay

Many investors believed that the aftermath of the financial crisis would usher in a new era of modesty in top banker pay – a fallacy. Salaries are back at pre-crisis levels, which rankles investors who still remember how much money they lost in 2008-09 and understandably, are unwilling to finance pay excesses. 

Credit Suisse's last-minute backdown on top executive pay packages illustrates the influence that institutional investors now command on the issue. If weighty institutional investors like Norway's sovereign wealth fund Norges are unhappy with the general pay situation, then banks like UBS have little hope of convincing a wider stripe of shareholders on pay. How to break the gridlock? Ermotti – Europe's best-paid banker – could voluntarily relinquish 1 million francs, say, of his total 13.7 million franc salary. The move would send a disruptive signal to the industry that UBS has understood that times have changed.

7. Digitization – For Real

Clever marketing has helped UBS to win accolades as an innovative bank with countless digital client «touchpoints». UBS' digital advisory for Swiss clients and – UBS Advice – and online wealth manager Smartwealth, which has already started in the U.K., are more reminiscent of staid e-banking tools than a revolutionary step into the future of banking. 

A next step is UBS' unification of its IT platform, a billion-franc project with considerable potential. The bank has a shot at being the bank of the future if it succeeds with the platform approach and doesn't simply use it as a product and service outlet. The only requirement? Openness. The platform model requires that internal as well as external users can generate value from it.

European PSD2 rules pose an intial litmus test. UBS hasn't said whether it plans to makes its APIs openly accessible.

8. Lack of M&A Enthusiasm

A copious acquirer in the 1990s – SG Warburg, GAM, O’Connor, Brinson, Paine Webber – UBS doesn’t really do deals anymore. Part of the reason is that private banking deals such as Sauerborn Trust, a family office in Germany, in 2004 have ultimately foundered – wealthy boutique clients typically don’t take well to being integrated into a private banking supertanker. 

UBS would probably love to acquire in the U.S., still the world’s largest market for the wealthy. The Swiss bank is no longer running with the big wirehouses thanks to a strategic slimdown. But a U.S. deal would nevertheless make sense for UBS: one which would give it more scale and credibility with the country’s wealthiest.

UBS would certainly prefer to cater to the old-money denizens of Boston and the tech enterpreneurs of Silicon Valley than it would the affluent of Paduca, KY or Terre Haut, IN. How? The obvious avenue of buying a U.S. trust effectively shut more than ten years ago when U.S. Trust was snapped up; others like Northern Trust or private regional trusts like Bessemer Trust in Boston have shown little indication they will sell. U.S. head Tom Naratil, not a native to private banking, hopefully has his M&A team watching and waiting.

9. Rebranding Asset Managements

UBS' asset management arm is much too small to compete with industry giants. While the Ulrich Koerner-led unit is the Swiss market leader, its 700 billion francs in assets make it a minnow internationally.

What is the problem? The unit doesn't have a clear profile or accents. While rivals like Société Générale have set up units  managed at arm's length – in the French bank's case, exchange-traded fund house Lyxor – UBS has muddled through. The Swiss bank seems wedded to asset management despite its underperformance. UBS should consider splitting and rebranding the unit into a multi-asset boutique.