The personnel changes keep coming at leading investment banks, as eroding profitability and dwindling profit margins in some of the world’s leading financial hubs have caused lenders to rethink their global strategies. In light of these stimuli, UBS has opted to part ways with three senior executives, who all have served in the group’s fixed income unit, according to a Reuters statement.
Roger Naylor, Chris Murphy, and Matt Hanning are each leaving the bank with different timetables, as verified by the UBS Chief Executive Andrea Orcel. Orcel cited the moves as being related to a perfect storm of challenges, which touches on the precarious state of profitability as labor costs and transaction costs seem to be on the rise.
Mr. Naylor worked as the Co-Head of Equities at UBS, having joined the company in 2012 from Deutsche Bank. While based out of New York, he helped steer the unit’s equities focus, whilst serving on its equities management committee. Despite the announcement today, Mr. Naylor will remain with UBS until September, when he is then scheduled to formally leave the bank.
Chris Murphy worked as the Co-Head of Fixed Income, Rates and Currency at UBS, and is slated to leave the bank after a transition takes place, which will ultimately create a large void in the unit. Fixed income and currencies have been areas of emphasis at other leading banks, each of which have seen departures or consolidations across these units.
Finally, the departures will also extend to UBS’ Asia-Pacific (APAC) ) unit, which will be losing Matt Hanning, its Head of Corporate Client Solutions. Following the departures across each of the respective businesses at UBS, the lender has opted to utilize its remaining talent on hand, i.e. Rob Karofsky as Head of Equities, George Athanasopoulos in its fixed-income unit, and Ros Stephenson and William Vereker to lead corporate client solutions.
