UBS Appoints Iqbal Khan as Sole Wealth Leader

Swiss bank says current wealth management co-head Tom Naratil will retire, with Naureen Hassan succeeding him in the Americas.

Switzerland’s largest lender announced overnight in a statement that Iqbal Khan will become the sole president of the flagship global wealth management business following the retirement of the current co-head Tom Naratil, who departs after a 39-year career at UBS and its predecessor banks.

According to the bank, Khan is the «ideal» person to lead the business given his background as a financial and regulatory auditor, his risk management expertise, and commercial as well as client focus.

There have been rumors about changing power structures within UBS following the appointment of Colm Kelleher as chairman in April, with talk in Zurich financial circles indicating the possibility of Khan stepping up to replace current group CEO Ralph Hamers at some point.

The step will be effective on 3 October 2022. Besides the co-leadership of the global wealth management business, Naratil is president and CEO of UBS Americas and he will be succeeded by Naureen Hassan in those posts, while also becoming a member of the group executive board.

Hassan joins the bank from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where she was first vice president and chief operating officer, serving as an alternate voting member on the Federal Open Market Committee.

Before joining the Fed, Hassan was the chief digital officer for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management and had held various roles at Charles Schwab. She originally began working at McKinsey, a major industry consultancy.

Hamers indicated in the media release that the global wealth management business and the Americas region were both strategically important and offered «significant» growth opportunities.

I am confident that Naureen and Iqbal will build upon Tom’s success and continue to deliver for our clients and achieve our strategic ambitions, Hamers said.