The Swiss bank could be considering ending the co-management of its global wealth unit as it places its potential leader into position for the future.

UBS is currently evaluating whether to promote Iqbal Khan as the sole head of the global wealth management business, according to a «Bloomberg» (behind paywall) news service report published Sunday.

The current co-head of the wealth management business, Tom Naratil, may keep his current role as head of the UBS business in the Americas, the news service said, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Pole Position

The step could also serve to position Khan as current UBS chief executive Ralph Hamers' successor, although no final decision has been made yet, it said.  

Given that Hamers has only run UBS for two years, the management change is unlikely to be imminent, the report added. Khan came to UBS from Credit Suisse in 2019, where he ran that bank's international wealth management business.

Naratil originally started working for PaineWebber in 1983, a US brokerage purchased by UBS in 2000. He was previously the UBS chief financial officer and chief operating officer in Zurich before returning to manage the US wealth business in 2016.