UBS Switzerland boss defends combined bank and pricing policy
Published: Wednesday, Sep 11th 2024, 11:00
Updated At: Thursday, Sep 12th 2024, 01:59
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UBS Switzerland boss Sabine Keller-Busse has defended herself against critical voices following the takeover of Credit Suisse. While the former CS's investment banking business, which was in some cases heavily loss-making, came under fire, the former arch-rival was traditionally strong in its home market and had a good reputation, particularly with corporate clients.
In contrast to the "noise" in public, there is currently growing support for the combined bank, Keller-Busse said at an annual UBS investor conference on Wednesday. She often receives unsolicited feedback from clients who are grateful that UBS saved Credit Suisse.
And the Credit Suisse crisis has shown how important a sustainable business model is. Keller-Busse referred, among other things, to the pricing of the former competitor. In some cases, risks were not sufficiently taken into account, and in some cases it was not possible to achieve adequate profitability. They are now working with clients on solutions where the client relationship was not economically profitable.
"It is our duty"
Following the takeover of CS, UBS is increasingly being accused of dominating the market in some areas and therefore being able to impose significantly higher fees. The only remaining major Swiss bank is now also under closer scrutiny by the price watchdog - for example in areas such as corporate lending, export financing and the Swiss franc bond business.
It was UBS's duty "to rectify the structural problems that we inherited and to return to UBS's return levels before the takeover", Keller-Busse continued. The organizational structure of UBS had already been adopted at CS Swiss Bank. For example, parts of the business have been moved to the higher-level divisions at Group level (Global Wealth Management, Investment Bank, Asset Management) and are no longer part of the Swiss unit. In its local business, UBS focuses on private clients, corporate clients and institutional segments in Switzerland.
On Wednesday, Keller-Busse once again emphasized the great importance of the Swiss business for the Group. Even though UBS has developed into a globally active financial institution, "our identity is rooted in our Swissness".
UBS intends to remain a major lender in Switzerland: The bank intends to continue to manage a lending volume of around CHF 350 billion in its home market. At the end of June, this was roughly the combined gross volume of the Personal & Corporate Banking (P&C) and Global Wealth Management Switzerland divisions.
Meanwhile, Keller-Busse confirmed the timetable for the client migration. Now that the national companies of UBS and the former CS have been legally merged as of July 1, preparations for the migration are underway. This will take place "in waves" over the course of 2025. CS IT will then be decommissioned in 2026.
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