UBS is hiring former Credit Suisse star private banker Iqbal Khan in a major reshuffle of its top management.
The Swiss wealth giant named Iqbal Khan, who left his job as Credit Suisse's top private banker suddenly last month, as its new co-head of wealth management, it said in a statement.
The 43-year-old replaces Martin Blessing, who had held the job since last January with UBS veteran Tom Naratil. Blessing, who ran Commerzbank until three years ago and joined UBS in 2017, leaves by year-end.
Internal Criticism
The changes are a tacit admission that UBS' top management doesn't have the talent it needs internally to replace CEO Sergio Ermotti. The Swiss banker faces a languishing share price and high-stakes French trial as he heads into his ninth year running the world's largest wealth manager. UBS' private bank, which manages $2.48 trillion, hasn't managed to parlay a merger between its U.S. brokerage and wider wealth activities around the world into more growth.
Insiders had grumbled that Blessing, a German banker, and Naratil, a UBS lifer, didn't have plans beyond cost-cutting, and the unit was beset by high-profile departures. Last week, «Bloomberg» reported that Khan was in advanced talks, and late on Wednesday, Swiss daily «Tages-Anzeiger» (in German) reported that the Swiss banker had signed on at UBS, citing a source.
Top Management Exits
The hire of Khan, a highly-touted wealth manager, is the largest in a host of changes at UBS, which is grappling with the problem of Ermotti's succession. The bank also said Citigroup veteran Suni Harford will replace Ulrich Koerner in running its asset management arm.
Operating chief Sabine Keller-Busse will also take on a far larger role following the exit of Koerner, who will leave by March. The appointments become effective on October 1.
