UBS Group AG Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti said that about 10% of Credit Suisse employees have left the bank in the past few months.
Ermotti, speaking in an interview with Swiss public broadcaster SRF on Monday, also said that UBS will now manage its rival according to its own culture, philosophy and risk management approach. UBS now has access to all the information necessary for the integration of its former rival, he said.
The fusion of the two financial giants begins in earnest now after the formal closing of the takeover on Monday, almost three months after the Swiss government brokered the US$3 billion ($4.03 billion) deal as Credit Suisse headed for collapse. UBS executives including Chairman Colm Kelleher have made clear that remaining Credit Suisse bankers would be put through a “culture filter” to weed out undesirable practices from the defunct bank.
Ermotti has declined to comment on figures for potential job cuts, saying on Friday “that’s the toughest part of the task,” though it’s needed to reduce costs.
“I’m sure that with early retirement, the fluctuation we will see and also a generous social plan, we will be able to bring this situation under control, but it will still be painful,” he said at a conference in the Swiss town of Interlaken.
