Sergio Ermotti denies UBS-Credit Suisse is now too big

Swiss bank UBS Group AG tapped former boss Sergio Ermotti to manage its takeover of Credit Suisse Group AG: This week, UBS chair Colm Kelleher replaced CEO Ralph Hamers with his predecessor Sergio Ermotti. Ermotti, who was previously CEO of UBS from 2011 to 2020 and is now chairman of the insurance group Swiss Re, will take the helm at the bank from April 5.

Sergio Ermotti, the former and future head of Swiss bank UBS, has tried to allay fears that the combined entity (with $1.7 trillion in assets) will be too big after the forced takeover of rival Credit Suisse.

“Even if we combine UBS and Credit Suisse, we won’t be at the top of the international banking groups,” Ermotti said in an interview with the Milan-based business newspaper Sole 24 Ore. “The question of excessive size from this point of view does not arise.”

Incoming UBS Chief Executive Sergio 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”.

“We have a good position thanks to our activities, and our greater critical mass at a global level will certainly give us another advantage. The question of excessive size does not arise,” added Ermotti.

“I maintain that the model should be that of the current UBS whose core features include a central role for wealth management activity and the containment of investment banking and its related risks,” he added.

“If you look at the full framework for the acquisition, I think you can say that the guarantees from the National Bank and Confederation are reasonable,” Ermotti said.

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.

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

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