Orcel's ambitions focus on leadership beyond UBS role

Δημοσιεύθηκε: 10 Μαΐου 2015 - 16:51

Andrea Orcel has his sights set on becoming chief executive of a bank some day, dismissing suggestions that the grand plan of the head of UBS's investment banking operations is to restore the investment bank to its former size or spin it off as a standalone company.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Orcel, who turns 52 on Thursday, said "of course" he wants to run a bank some day. "If I could be CEO of any bank in the world UBS would be a good place to start," he added. "I think this group is exceptional."

However, the Italian stressed that the thought is purely hypothetical since he loves his current role running the investment bank, which has been dramatically reduced in size following UBS's 2012 decision to focus on wealth management and impose restrictions on the banking unit's resources.

"I feel like I'm running my own bank," Mr Orcel said. He was tempted to join UBS in July 2012 by Sergio Ermotti, the chief executive. "The way I'm running it is trying to establish a partnership and objectives and ambition that are very much consistent with the group and add value to the group."

Last week the investment bank reported a 66 per cent rise in first quarter earnings year-on-year, and a 46 per cent return on equity. Activist shareholder Knight Vinke has repeatedly called for the investment bank to be separated from the wider UBS group, claiming it is subsidised by the group's other activities. Mr Orcel disagrees and says the group adds value to both the investment bank and the wealth management businesses.

Within the group, the investment bank's risk weighted assets are capped at SFr70bn ($75bn), well below their peak of more than SFr200bn in 2007. Many observers have pondered how long it will be before Mr Orcel asks for the restrictions to be eased, particularly given the recent boom in some areas of investment banking.

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"If you asked to me choose one thing you would like to have more from group, I wouldn't ask for more resources, I would ask for more IT spend," he said. "The whole division would take IT which shows you that the culture has changed and that the model has changed. If I had asked that question two years ago, the whole division would have taken more resources."

In the past few months, Deutsche Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays have announced big changes at their investment banks. "All the people who are adapting now may adapt better because they have more data and more information and then I may find a whole bunch of competitors who are competing more aggressively with me later," Mr Orcel said. "So we continue to evolve."

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