UPS said Wednesday Sergio B. Bringing back ErmottiA former chief executive is preparing to take over Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse from its troubled rival.
Planned to start on April 5, Mr. Ermotti, 62, made an unexpected return. The deal was hastily arranged as Credit Suisse, beset by decades of scandals, management revolts and failed reform efforts, finally succumbed to investor doubts about its ability to survive the global turmoil in the banking sector.
From 2011 to 2020, Mr. Ermotti led UBS’s revival during previous restructurings, the 2008 financial crisis, a bad bet on mortgages and a 2011 trading scandal that cost the firm $2.3 billion. His strategy refocused on its historic strength in managing the wealth of the global elite, and away from riskier, more volatile investment banking and trading businesses.
Now, he is charged with merging the two longtime rivals, Switzerland’s biggest banks, in a process expected to include key tasks such as closing Credit Suisse’s investment banking operations and overseeing extensive layoffs at the banks’ top divisions.
UPS shares rose about 2 percent.
“In light of the new challenges and priorities facing UBS after the acquisition announcement,” Mr. The bank said the decision to bring back Ermotti was taken by its board.
Colm Kelleher, chairman of UBS, said in a statement: “With his unique experience, I am confident that Sergio will deliver the successful integration that the banks’ clients, employees and investors and Switzerland so desperately need.”
At a news conference on Wednesday, the day after the Credit Suisse deal was announced, Mr. Mr. started talking to Ermotti. Kelleher said. After leaving UPS, Mr. Ermotti became chairman of Swiss Re. He Plans to resign from that role after the reinsurance committee’s annual shareholder meeting in mid-April.
To underline the scale of the challenge UBS now faces, Mr. Kelleher said the Credit Suisse deal was bigger than what banks did during that last turbulent period. Criterion. UBS and Credit Suisse are two of 30 banks designated by regulators as “Globally systemically important,” which subjects them to strict rules and oversight.
Ralph Hammers, UBS’s current chief executive, will stay on for an unspecified period as an adviser to help with the transition.
“I certainly regret leaving UPS, but circumstances have changed in ways none of us expected,” said Mr. Hammers said in a statement. “I am stepping down in the interests of the new combined company and its shareholders, including Switzerland and its financial sector.”
