Sergio Ermotti had the chance to breath more life into UBS. But he failed encourage the fantasists and instead bowed to the pressures of the bean counters.
UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti didn’t linger over the presentation of the bank’s second-quarter highlights. «Fifteen minutes aren’t enough», to paint an adequate picture he noted after his powerpoint presentation. He will have more time at the October investor day in London to convince investors of the UBS story.
Ermotti used the 15 minutes to explain to analysts and the media just how he plans to inject dynamism into the bank, and where his priorities lie. The 58-year-old highlighted the capital building, the digitalization of the investment bank, the increase in technical personnel as well as the benefits generated by the fusion of the private banking arm with global wealth management.
Growing Dissatisfaction
Ermotti was also fortunate in that the start of his presentation coincided with the opening of the exchange. The stock was buoyed as dealers switched from Julius Baer into UBS, after its result topped analyst expectations.
In the prior days and weeks the sluggish share movement led to growing dissatisfaction among the investor community. The shares have been on a gradual downward spiral since 2015, without apparent good reason. The bank after all has delivered reliable earnings, paid dividends and even launched a share buy-back program.
Cuts Not the Goal
While Ermotti continued to fret over the market’s lack of appreciation for the bank’s performance, investors demanded a clearer vision of the bank’s goals – particularly regarding costs at the super global wealth management unit.
Not surprisingly this hot potato was the first issue tackled by analysts. Ermotti took the question in his stride, insisting the aim of fusing the units into a colossus, with client assets of some 2.3 billion francs ($2.32 billion), was to «create growth dynamic» and not cost synergies.
- Page 1 of 2
- Next >>
