This week, the new UBS management team officially began work in Switzerland's third-largest financial center. It's now also clear what will happen to the previous Credit Suisse boss in Ticino.
As finews.com reported exclusively at the end of September 2023, the long-time UBS Ticino boss Luca Pedrotti was appointed the new main manager in the southern Swiss market. He already was before at Switzerland's largest bank.
He's been working for UBS for almost 35 years and is a close confidant of UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti, which isn't entirely surprising in small-town Ticino. They share a passion for soccer.
Professional Soccer Career
While Ermotti is still closely associated with his boyhood club in Lugano, FC Collina d'Oro, Pedrotti can boast a career as a former professional soccer player, which took him from FC Lugano to FC Chiasso to Grasshopper Zurich before he ended his career with FC Locarno.
He's since given up active football and runs marathons instead, as he revealed in an interview with finews.com last year. «At a certain point in my career, I realized that (soccer) was no longer enough for me. I realized my dream and wanted to shape my future off the field.» In 1996, he switched to UBS.
Luca Pedrotti (Image: UBS)
His bosses recognized early on that they were dealing with a talent and, at 37, appointed him one of the youngest Managing Directors, allowing him to prove himself in positions in Germany and abroad, not least in the Middle East and Africa.
Position Made Redundant
«These were unique experiences that I would never want to miss,» he says. He also had to endure setbacks, like when his post was rationalized away due to a reorganization. So he returned home. Although he received offers from other financial institutions, it never occurred to him to leave. «UBS is my bank.»
Marzio Grassi (Image: Credit Suisse)
Pedrotti is the undisputed «Mr. Ticino» in southern Swiss banking. All the more reason to be curious about what would become of Marzio Grassi (pictured above), who spent almost four decades at Credit Suisse and headed Ticino since 2018. It was announced this week that he will take over the Corporate and Real Estate Business at UBS.
Important Chapter in the History of UBS
The organization's other two key leadership roles went to two seasoned UBS bankers. Claudio Scarfone, who has been with UBS for 23 years and previously worked for Swiss Bank Corporation at SBC Warburg, assumes responsibility for Financial Intermediaries in Ticino. Remo Crameri, a nearly 14-year veteran, heads Personal Banking.
Following the announcements, Pedrotti spoke of a new chapter in the history of UBS. Until now, he headed about 400 employees for UBS in Ticino, while Grassi led nearly 290 people for the Swiss unit of Credit Suisse there before the takeover.
Unraveling Duplications
UBS has 15 branches in southern Switzerland, while Credit Suisse has eight. There have been recent branch closures, which are likely to be accelerated as Credit Suisse gets integrated into UBS.
To eliminate duplication, there will probably be significant job cuts. However, UBS Switzerland didn't wish to comment on this matter when asked by finews.com.
