UBS to start major IT consolidation

Investment bank hires former Credit Suisse boss to lead group-wide restructuring plan

UBS hopes to generate savings with IT consolidation

Investment bank UBS has hired former Credit Suisse executive Ulrich Körner as its chief operating officer to lead a group-wide restructuring plan, which will include the consolidation of the firm’s IT systems.

Körner, previously a chief financial officer and chief operating officer at Credit Suisse, will join the board at UBS and bundle up the bank’s service and infrastructure setup at group level to drive operational efficiencies and cost savings and improve decision making.

Körner’s appointment means UBS’s “corresponding management and organisational structure will be immediately revised and implemented in an ongoing manner,” the bank said in a statement.

According to UBS, the new chief has “considerable experience in restructuring and integrating corporate structures and processes as well as an acknowledged track record as a turnaround manager”.

Units to be restructured in the same fashion are human resources, procurement, real estate and facilities management.

The news cast a cloud of uncertainty over staffing levels, as the areas set to be affected by the consolidation drive at UBS employ approximately 15,000 staff worldwide.