UBS CEO: “Momentum is pretty positive”

ZURICH (Reuters) – UBS’s chief executive said on Tuesday that the momentum is pretty positive at the Swiss bank, which manages $5.5 trillion in assets since merging with former rival Credit Suisse earlier this year.

“This is a great platform that gives us economy of scale and allows us to move forward,” Sergio Ermotti said at the Bank of America’s Annual Financials CEO Conference.

UBS’s takeover of Credit Suisse, the biggest bank merger since the global financial crisis, was hastily arranged in March by Swiss authorities to avert Credit Suisse’s collapse.

Ermotti said last week he plans to stay at the bank’s helm through 2026 to see through the integration, a process he likened to a marathon.

Reuters on Tuesday reported UBS had identified at least four countries including South Korea and India as “slow” in granting regulatory approvals which it needs to complete its takeover of Credit Suisse, according to an internal document.