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Last Credit Suisse chief executive, Ulrich Körner, to leave UBS
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Credit Suisse’s latest chief executive, Ulrich Körner, is expected to leave UBS in the coming weeks as the Swiss bank prepares to complete a crucial step in integrating its former rival.
UBS executives are working to complete the merger of the bank’s legal entities with those of Credit Suisse by the end of May, according to people with knowledge of the plans, just over a year after the Swiss state engineered the forced marriage between its two largest creditors. .
Körnerwho was named chief executive of Credit Suisse during its final days in 2022 and remained in the role after UBS rescued the bank, had hoped to leave the business early but was persuaded to stay until after the legal merger, according to people in the know. . in the discussions.
The combination of the two banks’ holding companies will mean that Credit Suisse’s board of directors will become obsolete, including the role of the chief executive.
Körner’s departure and the dissolution of the Credit Suisse holding company mark the final chapter in the 168-year history bank historywhich played a crucial role in financing the industrialization of Switzerland and its railways.
According to the integration plan outlined by UBS chief executive Sergio Ermotti in February, the Swiss entities are expected to be merged in the second half of the year, while Credit Suisse clients will continue to migrate to UBS next year.
The final part of the integration, the merger of IT systems, will take place until 2026.
Once the legal merger is complete, UBS plans to intensify its job cuts program as the bank aims to have a total workforce of 85,000 people by the end of the integration process, according to people with knowledge of the plans.
Based on the combined group’s headcount of 120,000 last year, the total number of job cuts would be 35,000. UBS executives said not all of these would result from layoffs, as some would also experience natural attrition.
When asked about last year’s job losses, Ermotti said, “We are committed to minimizing the impact on employees by treating them fairly, providing them with financial support, outplacement services and retraining opportunities.”
UBS declined to comment on Körner’s position or his plans to cut jobs. Körner also declined to comment.
Körner, who began his career at Price Waterhouse and McKinsey, joined Credit Suisse in 1998, rising to become head of Switzerland.
In 2009 he moved to UBS, where two years later he was on the cusp of being appointed temporary chief executive after Oswald Grübel was forced to resign following a $2.3 billion dishonest trading scandal.
But Ermotti accepted the role and Körner returned to Credit Suisse in 2021 as head of its asset management business, following its damaging debacle with Greensill. Just over a year later he was the surprise choice to replace Thomas Gottstein as chief executive as the bank stumbled towards its eventual collapse nine months later.
Körner is one of the last Credit Suisse executives still at UBS, having seen chief financial officer Dixit Joshi, head of wealth management Francesco de Ferrari and chief operating officer Francesca McDonagh leave last year.
UBS is expected to publish its first-quarter results on Tuesday.