Jan 13 (Reuters) - UBS Group CEO Sergio Ermotti is planning to step down in April 2027, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. Aleksandar Ivanovic, UBS' asset management chief, has emerged as one of
UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti to Depart in 2027 After Credit Suisse Integration
UBS Leadership Transition
By Ariane Luthi and Oliver Hirt
Ermotti's Tenure and Future Plans
ZURICH, Jan 13 (Reuters) - UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti, who oversaw the Swiss bank's emergency takeover of Credit Suisse, is set to step down by the middle of 2027 although the timeline was not finalised, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Potential Successors for CEO Role
The Financial Times reported earlier on Tuesday that Ermotti planned to end his stint as CEO in April 2027 after completing the integration of former banking rival Credit Suisse.
UBS's Challenges with Swiss Regulations
In 2024, Ermotti vowed to lead UBS until the integration was finished at the end of 2026 or early 2027 "at the very least".
UBS declined to comment on the FT report. The bank has said it aims to "substantially" finish the integration by end-2026.
Ermotti, 65, who also headed UBS from 2011 to 2020, was drafted back in 2023 to steer the Credit Suisse takeover, taking advantage of the veteran Swiss banker's experience of rebuilding Switzerland's biggest bank after the global financial crisis.
"It comes as no surprise that ... Ermotti wants to step down in April 2027," said Vontobel banking analyst Andreas Venditti.
UBS shares have surged nearly 30% in the past year as investors piled into European banking stocks in general and as expectations grow that the Swiss government will water down proposed capital rules for the country's biggest lender.
The shares have more than doubled in value since the eve of the UBS purchase of the collapsed Credit Suisse. UBS' stock slipped 0.1% on Tuesday, lagging small gains in the wider European banking sector.
Aleksandar Ivanovic, head of asset management at UBS, has emerged as one of the executives most likely to succeed Ermotti, the FT reported, citing sources.
Vontobel analyst Venditti said this was surprising, but added that Ivanovic's business has recently performed better than any other division at UBS.
Others who insiders have said are in contention for the CEO job include UBS' Americas president Robert Karofsky and Asia Pacific boss Iqbal Khan, Reuters has previously reported.
Bea Martin, who was named chief operating officer in October, has also been floated as a contender.
The FT report comes as UBS is battling Swiss government proposals to strengthen banking rules.
Ermotti said late last year that UBS aimed to keep operating out of Switzerland, but that the government's capital proposals were not acceptable to the bank.
(Reporting by Ariane Luthi, Oliver Hirt and Dave Graham in Zurich and Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru, Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala, Jamie Freed and Alexander Smith)
