UBS Group AG’s chief executive officer sought to allay concerns about the banking giant’s size after the takeover of Credit Suisse, saying it posed no danger to Switzerland.
UBS posted the biggest ever quarterly profit for a bank on the back of the acquisition, which closed in June. Sergio Ermotti is now working to implement major targets for the integration of its former competitor, including 3,000 domestic job cuts and more than $10 billion in cost savings.
“Just because we’re getting bigger doesn’t mean that we’re more dangerous for Switzerland,” Ermotti said in an interview with the Tagesanzeiger newspaper. “On the contrary, I believe that the financial center has become safer. And the rescue weekend in March confirmed that we, as a Swiss bank, were part of the solution.”
Read more: UBS Is Worth $27 Billion More Than Before Credit Suisse Takeover
Big banks have long ceased to dominate the mortgage market in Switzerland with the cantonal banks being much larger, the CEO said. Even after the merger, the UBS branch network is only in third place, he said.
“In Switzerland, a country with 250 banks, to talk about a lack of competition is a joke,” Ermotti said.
