UBS weighs retaining India Credit Suisse unit
Feyisayo Ajayi
2 min read
UBS Group AG is purportedly considering keeping the private banking operation in India after last month’s emergency bailout of its smaller rival Credit Suisse Group AG. This potential move would elevate the largest lender in Switzerland’s standing among the growing class of millionaires from India. Iqbal Khan, the global director of wealth management at UBS, and Puneet Matta, the head of local wealth management at Credit Suisse, recently met in Singapore, according to unnamed sources with firsthand knowledge of the issue. Although decisions have not yet been taken, Khan is accused of having advised his Credit Suisse coworkers during the discussion that the wealth business in India is likely to be preserved.
NewsOTG gathered that if Credit Suisse’s private banking division in India is retained, Khan would be returning to a company he previously led at Credit Suisse before joining UBS in 2019. In 2014, UBS and other significant companies made the decision to leave the Indian private wealth sector. The action is being taken as Credit Suisse gets ready to combine its wealth management division with its investment bank in an effort to streamline its operations. A decision will be made over which executives, wealth managers, and investment bankers will be retained after this merger, which will result in a large portion of Credit Suisse’s investment bank being shut down.
According to a bank representative, Credit Suisse employs about 7,000 individuals in India altogether, and little over 40 of them work in wealth management. According to the bank’s website, India is the second-largest market outside of Switzerland for Credit Suisse. To reach India’s affluent diaspora, UBS has already engaged a number of Credit Suisse private bankers in Singapore, including Gautam Anand, a managing director. If UBS chooses to keep Credit Suisse’s private banking division in India, the company would experience a huge uptick in the fiercely competitive Indian market and might be able to increase the number of high-net-worth clients it serves.
