UBS may employ 30% fewer staff in 10 years, CEO Ermotti says

[ZURICH] UBS Group could employ around 30 per cent fewer staff in a decade as technological advances change banking, chief executive officer Sergio Ermotti said in an interview with Bloomberg Markets.

"We see a lot of contraction in the number of people in our industry," he said.

UBS, the world's largest wealth manager, could shrink by that measure, including contractors, "but the jobs are going to be much more interesting jobs, where the human content is crucial to the delivery of the service," he said.

Mr Ermotti was asked about his ambitions at UBS after six years in charge. While he didn't rule out taking over from Chairman Axel Weber one day, he's not expecting a change in their roles anytime soon.

He also commented on Nordea Bank's recent decision to relocate to Helsinki from Stockholm after the bank criticised the regulatory burden in its home market.

"People should never take things for granted," said Mr Ermotti, who believes Swiss regulators have gone too far in some of their efforts to prevent another financial crisis.

BLOOMBERG