New UBS boss denies bank is now too big

Sergio Ermotti arrives at a press conference with outgoing CEO Ralph Hamers (right) and UBS Chairman Colm Kelleher in Zurich on Wednesday © Keystone / Michael Buholzer

Sergio Ermotti, the former and future head of Swiss bank UBS, has tried to allay fears that the institution will be too big after the forced takeover of rival Credit Suisse. The merger will create a new Swiss bank with more than 120,000 employees.

“Even if we combine UBS and Credit Suisse, we won’t be at the top of the international banking groups,” Ermotti said in an interviewExternal link with the Milan-based business newspaper Sole 24 Ore on Saturday.

“We’re in a good position thanks to our activities, and our greater critical mass at the global level will certainly give us a further advantage,” the Ticino native said. The question of “excessive” size did not arise, he said.

+ How to fuse two Swiss banking giants

Ermotti, who was CEO of Switzerland’s largest bank from 2011 to 2020, noted that “the new UBS, which will result from the merger with Credit Suisse, will not have a larger share of the Swiss market than the cantonal banks and the Raiffeisen Group”.

Only in lending to multinationals would the other Swiss banks not come close to the position of the new UBS, he said. “But in this segment we will have competition from foreign banks.”

Ermotti also made it clear that the combined bank would stick to the successful UBS strategy. “I maintain that the model should be that of UBS today,” he said, explaining that core features of this included a central role for the wealth management business and limiting investment banking and associated risks.

Referring to the liquidity and guarantees of almost CHF260 billion ($284 billion) offered by the Swiss government and the Swiss National Bank (SNB), Ermotti recalled the risks associated with the transaction. “If you look at the whole framework of the acquisition, I think you can say that the guarantees of the SNB and the government are adequate,” he said.

Forced deal

On March 19 UBS agreed to buy its cross-town Zurich rival Credit Suisse for CHF3 billion in a deal engineered by the Swiss government, central bank and market regulator to avoid a meltdown in the country’s financial system.

But the forced deal, which was also designed to help secure financial stability globally during a period of turmoil, has critics concerned about the size of a new bank with $1.6 trillion in assets and more than 120,000 staff.

In Switzerland, the public and politicians have also voiced concerns about the level of state support.