Yahoo Finance Top bankers axed at Credit Suisse as UBS completes its rescue
UBS has axed a raft of senior Credit Suisse executives after the bank completed the takeover of its stricken rival.
The Swiss lender said that a slew of Credit Suisse’s most senior bosses will leave the combined company, while others will take on lesser roles, as UBS asserts its dominance following the historic tie-up.
The high-profile departures include: Dixit Joshi, Credit Suisse’s finance chief; Markus Diethelm, its general counsel; David Miller, co-head of its investment bank; and Ken Pang, co-head of markets.
A source close to Credit Suisse said Mr Joshi chose to leave the company.
On Monday, UBS announced 160 leadership positions in the joint lender, with only a fifth of the roles going to Credit Suisse employees.
Ulrich Körner, who remains chief executive of Credit Suisse while the integration of the two banks continues, said: “The acquisition of Credit Suisse by UBS has now legally closed, marking a historic moment for both banks.”
The £2.6bn tie-up was orchestrated by Swiss authorities in March to avoid Credit Suisse failing and precipitating a wider crisis in the global banking industry.
Sergio Ermotti, who led UBS for nine years until 2020, was parachuted in to replace Ralph Hamers as chief executive of the bigger bank less than two weeks after regulators engineered the emergency takeover.
Immediate challenges for Mr Ermotti will include cutting back Credit Suisse’s investment bank and reassuring wealthy clients that UBS remains the best place to deposit their cash.
On Monday, the UBS boss said that about 10pc of Credit Suisse employees have left the bank in the past few months.
Last month, UBS chairman Colm Kelleher warned of “cultural contamination” in taking on staff from Credit Suisse. He said: “We are going to have an incredibly high bar for who we bring into UBS.”
Mr Kelleher and Mr Ermotti wrote to staff on Monday, saying: “While the transaction has closed, the most crucial phase is just beginning. We cannot cling to old rivalries, or be distracted by the integration and external pressures.”
Bosses at UBS have also reportedly drawn up a list of nearly two dozen “red lines” that prohibit Credit Suisse staff from a range of activities from the first day the two banks are combined, including a ban on new clients from high-risk countries such as Libya or Russia and on complex financial products.
The bank previously warned that it will face a $17bn (£13.7bn) hit from its shotgun marriage with Credit Suisse, although this is likely to be offset by booking a one-off $34.8bn gain from so-called “negative goodwill,” which occurs when a company snaps up assets at a much lower cost than their true value.
