Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Marcel Rohner, CEO of Switzerland’s largest bank, UBS, has handed in his resignation, effective immediately. The bank has hired Oswald Gruebel, former head of Credit Suisse to replace him. Gruebel faces an uphill battle: bank shares have falled to historic lows this week while the bank fights a major court case in the US to protect client names as well as legal cases in Switzerland, where wealthy private clients have gone to court to protect the privacy of their data.
The 63-year-old, who left Credit Suisse in 2007 after a 38-year career with the bank, has often been cited as a leader who turned around the bank during a period of difficulty.
Gruebel, in a prepared statement said, “I am convinced that the Swiss financial centre requires the presence of more than one big global bank. The opportunity to lead UBS with its unique client franchise in wealth management, investment banking and asset management in these extraordinary times presents a fascinating, yet formidable challenge to me. Together with our 77,000 dedicated employees, I will do all I can to bring UBS back on a profitable, successful track.”
The story in Swiss media: Le Temps, Tribune de Geneve, TSR (all in French)
The story in international business media: Bloomberg, Financial Times
News story, GenevaLunch, 26 February 2009.
Filed under: Business
Tags: Business, Gruebel, Marcel Rohner, UBS
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
2 Responses to “UBS’s CEO resigns, bank hires ex-Credit Suisse boss”
March 9th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
[...] had several top-level changes in recent weeks, including the arrival of former Credit Suisse CEO Oswald Gruebel as the new [...]
April 15th, 2009 at 8:39 am
[...] Oswald Gruebel, who became the bank’s CEO in February 2009, says the bank will focus on getting out of high-risk business and unpromising businesses and concentrate on what the bank says is its core business – international wealth management and the Swiss banking business, providing global expertise in investment banking and asset management. UBS will continue to reduce risks. “We know where we have to set to work. It will be a long road back to success without any quick fixes. Rather, we will move forward step by step in a rigorous and disciplined manner.” [...]