Oswald Grübel is not the retiring sort, although well into his 60s. The new UBS chief executive will have
a strong sense of déjà-vu as he settles at his desk. Only five years ago he was called back from retirement after a career spanning almost 40 years at Credit Suisse to restore that bank's fortunes after two years of losses. He left on a high note in 2007, having restructured the bank and restored it to profitability. Now he joins UBS at
a low point in its history. One of the financial institutions worst hit by the credit crisis, the Swiss bank lost SFr20bn last year and is embroiled in a damaging battle with the US over allegations that its private banking business helped US clients to defraud the Internal Revenue Service.
Can Mr Grübel, as the third chief executive of UBS in two years, pull off a second bank overhaul? Though his appointment looks like a stop-gap measure to some, he is at least a known quantity with a proven record, albeit from the credit boom. He understands Swiss banking inside out and, given his experience of running an integrated wealth management and investment banking business at Credit Suisse, should have little difficulty in adapting to UBS's similar model.
Furthermore, his predecessor, Marcel Rohner, has laid much of the groundwork by transferring almost SFr40bn of UBS's most toxic assets into a Swiss National Bank bail-out fund and restructuring its investment banking arm. Mr Grübel's greatest challenge, however, will be to rebuild client confidence in the bank and stem the tide of outflows from its wealth management, business banking and asset management units, which reached almost SFr86bn in the final quarter of last year. UBS shares lost more than 80 per cent of their value during Mr Rohner's tenure. Mr Grübel's arrival triggered a 16 per cent recovery. Flattering maybe, but expectations should not run too high.
