UBS Group AG’s Christian Bluhm is to remain in his role as the bank’s chief risk officer six months after he announced his departure, while his appointed successor Damian Vogel will now head risk control activities related to the integration of Credit Suisse Group AG.
(Bloomberg) — UBS Group AG’s Christian Bluhm is to remain in his role as the bank’s chief risk officer six months after he announced his departure, while his appointed successor Damian Vogel will now head risk control activities related to the integration of Credit Suisse Group AG.
Bluhm, who had stepped down to pursue a career in photography and academia, will now remain a member of the group Executive Board for the foreseeable future, UBS said in a statement on Monday. Vogel had been due to take over from the beginning of May. He instead is taking up the newly-created role and will “define the best possible set-up for the firm’s combined group risk control function,” the bank said.
UBS said in early November that Bluhm had decided to step down. That came just two weeks after Bloomberg reported on Oct. 24 on tensions emerging inside the bank over former chief executive Ralph Hamers’s efforts to make the wealth manager more digital and open it to less-wealthy clients. Bluhm had been an important colleague for head of wealth Iqbal Khan, seen as having an opposing vision to Hamers about the future direction of the business.
Read more: Palace Intrigue at UBS Pits the CEO Against His Star Banker
UBS reappointed Sergio Ermotti as chief executive officer 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 Hamers. Ermotti previously ran UBS as CEO from 2011 to 2020.
UBS has also hired strategic consultant firm Oliver Wyman to help on the integration, reconnecting Ermotti with former adviser Huw van Steenis, vice chair of the firm, who left the Swiss bank under Hamers.
Since rejoining UBS, Ermotti has held talks with former chief financial officer and co-head of wealth management Tom Naratil about returning to the bank, Bloomberg has reported.
Read more: UBS Has Held Talks With Former CFO Naratil About Possible Return
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