UBS Group is planning to promote Iqbal Khan to head the global wealth business solely and eventually groom him to take over from the current CEO Ralph Hamers.
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The private banking business is currently co-head by Khan and Tom Naratil. According to people having knowledge of these deliberations, Naratil may continue in his regional role as head of UBS business in the US. The people said that no final decision had been taken yet, and plans were subject to change. Also, it is unclear whether Naratil will remain on the Banks executive Board, which comprises 12 members, after the changes.
UBS declined to comment on the developments.
The Swiss lender under Hamer has crossed the $3 trillion mark in AUM and is counting on greater use of digital technology to increase business with the world’s elites and reduce the cost of operations. UBS has acquired Wealthfront, a Robo wealth adviser in the US, and has launched mobile apps in Asia and Europe to engage the clients with UBS for investment opportunities similar to those browsing Netflix for movies.
Khan, 46, would position himself to take over from the CEO in the future if he gets to be elevated to lead the bank’s biggest division solely. This decisive internal move is still far off as the Dutch Executive has been the CEO for only two years now. Iqbal Khan left Credit Suisse Group AG, where he was the head of the international wealth division, and joined the UBS group in 2019.
In 2021, Khan was given the regional head role in UBS for Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. He has focussed on expanding UBS loan books with high-net-worth clients, hiring his earlier colleague like Remi Tenneson from Credit Suisse to build areas in private investments and structured products.
UBS increased its loan book by more than $25 billion annually to its wealthy client and surpassed the target set by Khan when he joined the bank and later turbo-charged net interest income for the bank. The Zurich-based bank earned significant fees from financing their wealthy clients in their investment and trading activities.
Recently, Naratil, Khan, and head ofInvestment banking Rob Karofsky restructured the division that dealt with high-net-worth clients and clubbed it with a larger business in investment banking after removing its long-standing head, Joe Stadler.
Naratil, 60, joined PaineWebber in 1983 to start his career. UBS later acquired Paine Webber in 2000. For several years, Naratil worked as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer in Zurich before he returned to New York in 2016 to handle the wealth business.
