UBS to Hire Investment Bankers in Performance Bid

The investment bank of UBS didn’t deliver as much as the bank had hoped it would in 2019. The heads of the unit have reacted to the underperformance by setting new hiring targets.

UBS wants to sign experienced staff to boost its investment bank in the U.S., according to a report. The move follows after the publication of the unit’s disappointing performance in 2019.

According to the hiring plan, UBS aims to add 20 managing directors to the ranks of the investment bank over a two-to-three-year period. Switzerland’s largest bank restructured the investment bank, led by Piero Novelli and Rob Karofsky, in the fourth quarter of 2019 to put its focus on a few, global areas. The number of full-time-equivalents fell by about 150 jobs to 5,332 in that period.

The bid to boost its U.S. business follows a year in which the division’s profit almost halved. Revenues dropped 9.6 percent and fell across all units of the division.

UBS Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti labeled the performance as unacceptable and told the unit to deliver more. At the same time, he also dropped the performance target of 15 percent previously set for the division.