UBS rejigs wealth leadership in Middle East after Credit Suisse merger closes

Dubai: UBS Group revamped the leadership of its Middle East wealth unit, including naming Credit Suisse’s Bruno Daher as Christl Novakovic’s deputy for the region, as it melds the once-rival teams.

The round of management changes, announced in memos sent to staff, take effect July 17.

“I’m confident that each of these teams has the right leaders to move our business forward and ensure that we continue to serve our clients with excellence,” Iqbal Khan, who runs UBS’s wealth unit, said in one of the memos.

UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti said last month that the lender will clarify the responsibilities of 1,200 to 1,500 employees by mid-July, with the rest following over the next two months.

Employees in Credit Suisse’s wealth unit are being told to dust off their resumes ahead of a slew of appointments to lower-ranking roles in global wealth management, according to a memo seen by Bloomberg News. Those wanting to be considered for roles were told to update their career aspirations and openness to mobility by July 13.

Meanwhile, several high profile Credit Suisse bankers have decided to leave. David Wah, a senior investment banker and 30-year veteran of Credit Suisse, resigned last month and the bank’s top banker in Qatar, Aladdin Hangari is also leaving.

Thousands of Credit Suisse staff are expected to lose their jobs in the wake of the lender’s rescue, particularly in the investment bank. Wealth bankers have been one notable exception, with UBS trying to retain many of them along with the client relationships they oversee, particularly in Asia.

Appointments made across UBS’s leadership ranks already display UBS’s dominance. The executive board contains only one Credit Suisse holdover, Ulrich Koerner, who remains CEO of the acquired bank. In the key wealth management unit, just five of the more than two dozen leadership appointments made last month came from Credit Suisse.