Sergio Ermotti and his UBS have been on the receiving end of a barrage of criticism for its handling of the legal dispute in France. Apart from this case, where it has appealed the verdict, the bank is also in for a punitive fine in the RMBS case in the U.S. later this year.
Credit Suisse has closed that chapter in 2017 with the payment of $2.6 billion. It is still party of several cases – including the business with loans to Mozambique and the case of the oligarchs who lost their money. And even in France, Credit Suisse may not be off the hook. And yet, the risks seem to weigh more on the UBS share price.
4. How to Sway Your Investors
Ermotti and Thiam are pursuing different paths in their exchange with investors. The UBS boss is not one to easily change course – apart from the recent announcement of cuts he kept his cool. He insists that the company is undervalued and that the company has to better explain the business model to investors.
Thiam by contrast, a numbers' man, is equally unhappy about the valuation of his charge. But other than Ermotti, he is attempting to talk up the shares by detailing all steps undertaken by the bank in recent years.
5. Lopsidedness
With the near completion of Credit Suisse' turnaround, Thiam has succeeded in portraying himself as a hands-on executive. His colleague across Paradeplatz is meanwhile getting under ever more pressure to do something. Sticking to his guns and avoiding major change won't be enough to convince investors and a top employee at a listed company, the stock exchange is going to make him act at some point. As the world's biggest private bank, UBS can't catch up with a rival – a big step forward it has to be instead.
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