UBS Group is on the hunt for a new chief executive with the banking giant’s current top boss lined up for an exit next year.
Sergio Ermotti, who has led the near-£112bn bank since he was rehired in 2023, is expected to depart in April 2027.
The veteran financier had pledged to lead UBS “at the very least” until its Credit Suisse integration was finalised at the end of 2026 or early 2027.
This followed the UBS board making the surprise decision in bringing back Ermotti, who was chief executive from 2011 to 2020, for a second act to oversee the government-brokered takeover of Credit Suisse.
The Swiss firm’s asset management boss Aleksander Ivanovic is among top names being eyed as a replacement for Ermoitt, according to the Financial Times. The co-heads of wealth management Iqbal Khan and Robert Karofsky as well as Bea Martin, chief operating officer, are also understood to be in the running.
UBS to close chapter on Ermotti’s second act
The takeover marked the first-ever merger of two “global systemically important banks” and saved Credit Suisse from a downward spiral after years of scandal, massive client outflows and a plummeting stock price.
The Swiss Authorities determined that Suisse would likely collapse after a $54bn central bank lifeline failed to stem the flow, leading to the intervention.
Ermotti’s comeback related to his experience in large-scale restructuring, such as driving the strategic integration of HypoVereinsbank (HVB) following Unicredit’s acquisition.
UBS has said it expects to “substantially” finish the integration of Credit Suisse by the end of 2026.
The most critical hurdle facing the bank involves the over 1.3m clients and their data on legacy Credit Suisse systems, which require being moved onto UBS platforms.
As of early 2026, the bank said it has migrated the vast majority of international wealth accounts and is in the final stages of moving domestic Swiss retail customers.