Ermotti taps UBS veteran Naratil to lead integration of Credit Suisse

UBS Group Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti selected one of the lender’s former executives, Tom Naratil, to be a key member of the new management team, according to a report published Sunday by the Swiss newspaper NZZ.

Naratil will become the group’s chief financial officer and lead the integration division that will oversee the Credit Suisse merger, the newspaper said, citing people it didn’t identify. 

Bloomberg had earlier reported on the American’s possible return after leaving the bank late last year. In almost four decades at the firm, Naratil held a number of senior positions including CFO and co-head of wealth management.

UBS expects the takeover to close in May but chairman Colm Kelleher previously said the integration may take as long as four years due to the challenges inherent in the deal’s complexity.

The paper said Ermotti is relying on other UBS veterans including wealth boss president Iqbal Khan, UBS Switzerland president Sabine Keller-Busse, and UBS chief compliance officer Markus Ronner. A UBS spokesman declined to comment. 

UBS reappointed Ermotti as CEO earlier this month to oversee the historic acquisition of Credit Suisse after its rival collapsed. The Swiss lender said Ermotti was better suited to oversee the integration than his predecessor Ralph Hamers. Ermotti previously ran UBS as CEO from 2011 to 2020.

Ermotti is also considering André Helfenstein, the current CEO of Credit Suisse, to help spin off the bank’s Swiss business, according to the newspaper. It isn’t yet clear who will serve as Ermotti’s chief financial and legal officers, according to the report.