UBS boss Sergio Ermotti took to his brand-new Twitter account to slam a German magazine report that he is about to replace the head of the Swiss bank's wealth arm.


Sergio Ermotti flexed his digital muscles on Thursday with a sound bashing of «Manager Magazin». The German monthly reported that the UBS boss is so unhappy with ex-Commerzbank CEO Martin Blessing's co-leadership of the Swiss bank's wealth arm that he has enlisted renowned headhunter Egon Zehnder to find a potential replacement.

The magazine also reported that Ermotti had spoken to both Christian Meissner, Bank of American's head of investment banking until last fall, as well as Diego Di Giorgi, a key Meissner deputy at the U.S. bank, in connection with replenishing UBS' top ranks.

Ermotti's Twitter feed, which he launched on Tuesday, pre-empted UBS' official comment, which is that «This story is simply wrong and without merit. We were not given the opportunity to respond to this story before it was put in print.»

Discord at the Top?

Ermotti's quick-fire social media response is emblematic of how aggressively both he and UBS have sought to hit back at various media reports – including on finews.com – that the Swiss bank is on the defensive in succession planning. Several outlets have also reported on discord between CEO Ermotti and UBS Axel Weber, who have worked together for the last seven years.

Blessing, who has been given two jobs in three years at UBS, is the newest focus of succession reporting. The German magazine reported that the 58-year-old hasn't found his feet since taking the wealth job last January, was tactically «naive» and frequently outmaneuvered by his co-head, Tom Naratil, and had generally given the impression internally of being the wrong man to court the world's super-rich. 

Until 2022?

If Ermotti had joked earlier this week that he found the debate over succession entertaining, Thursday's online swat shows he isn't laughing anymore. The bank had until now looked to successfully stanch the tide of speculation over the issue. The issue of replacing Ermotti, in the job since 2012, has become more pressing since the exits of heavyweights Juerg Zeltner, who ran UBS private bank until last year, and Andrea Orcel, the influential ex-head of UBS' investment bank.

Separately, Swiss magazine «Bilanz» (in German, behind paywall) on Thursday reported that Ermotti and Weber, who have been at pains to show a united front privately in recent weeks, had agreed to give each other at least one year's notice should either the CEO plan to leave – or the board plan to replace him. The two had previously signaled that they would prefer to keep working together until 2022.