UBS Taps Former Commerzbank Chief Martin Blessing

ZURICH—UBS Group AG on Wednesday said it has appointed former Commerzbank AG Chief Executive Martin Blessing as head of its Swiss operations.

UBS said Mr. Blessing would succeed Lukas Gaehwiler on the Zurich-based bank's executive board in September, and serve as president of UBS Switzerland.

Mr. Blessing recently left Commerzbank amid a difficult period for Germany's second-largest lender, which earlier this month reported a sharp fall in first-quarter profit and warned that its outlook for the remainder of the year was uncertain.

Mr. Blessing "significantly shaped" Commerzbank during his tenure there, UBS said, adding that he led the bank "back to stability" following the financial crisis.

Mr. Gaehwiler, whose remit includes all of UBS's retail, private, and corporate banking in Switzerland, will assume the new role as chairman of the region Switzerland, UBS said. After more than six years running UBS's domestic operations, Mr. Gaehwiler requested the change, the bank said.

UBS's Personal & Corporate Banking unit, which includes the bank's private and corporate clients in Switzerland, earlier this month reported a 7% fall in pretax operating profit for the first quarter, compared with the same period last year, as operating income fell 2%. However, the unit's personal-banking business enjoyed its strongest growth rate in the period since early 2012, UBS said.

Write to John Letzing at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 11, 2016 09:55 ET (13:55 GMT)

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