UBS has appointed Iqbal Khan as the only head of its flagship wealth administration division in a administration reshuffle that strengthens his possibilities of taking up as chief government of the Swiss financial institution sooner or later.
Tom Naratil, who was beforehand co-head of the division alongside Khan and led the financial institution’s Americas unit, will depart UBS after 39 years. Naratil was one of many architects of the lender’s resolution to speculate closely in wealth administration whereas placing much less emphasis on funding banking.
In addition, Naureen Hassan will be a part of as president of UBS Americas from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the place she was first vice-president and chief working officer. Jason Chandler will proceed as head of US wealth administration however will report back to Khan.
UBS chief government Ralph Hamers congratulated Khan on “his expanded role” and mentioned he was “delighted” to welcome Hassan to the financial institution. Hamers additionally thanked Naratil for his “significant contributions” over the previous 4 many years.
The administration adjustments cement Khan’s popularity as one of the vital profitable Swiss bankers of his technology. The 46-year-old has risen to the highest of the business over the previous decade, though at one level his speedy ascent seemed to be below risk following a bruising row along with his erstwhile boss, former Credit Suisse chief government Tidjane Thiam.
Khan joined UBS in 2019, having left arch rival Credit Suisse below a cloud of acrimony after it emerged that the financial institution had authorised a surveillance programme on him and his household following the feud with Thiam.
The scurrilous particulars of the conflict between two of probably the most senior figures in Swiss banking — together with a row over their neighbouring luxurious properties on the “gold coast” of Lake Zurich — transfixed the nation’s usually staid monetary group.
Eventually — a number of months after Khan’s resignation from Credit Suisse — the scandal toppled Thiam.
In his new function, Khan is positioned as a number one contender to sooner or later take over from Hamers, who grew to become chief government of UBS just below two years in the past.
In an inner memo, seen by the Financial Times, Khan and Naratil instructed workers “leadership transitions can naturally prompt questions about the future” however mentioned the financial institution’s senior administration remained “completely committed” to the worldwide wealth administration technique.
“Our business has never been in better shape, and with our ambitious growth strategy well underway, the time is right to transition to our next chapter,” Naratil and Khan wrote within the memo.
Khan was credited with driving the speedy growth of Credit Suisse’s wealth administration division, a feat he has repeated at UBS, the most important lender to the world’s “super-rich”. Khan will now lead a division that oversees greater than $3tn in belongings.
While UBS has thrived lately, Credit Suisse has been roiled by successive authorized disputes and administration missteps, together with the departure of its chair António Horta-Osório following a number of breaches of Switzerland’s Covid-19 quarantine guidelines.
Source: www.ft.com