Strategy

UBS Launches European Subsidiary

Emily Harrison 2 December 2016

UBS Launches European Subsidiary

The new subsidiary of the Swiss banking group has been named and will be headquartered in Frankfurt, confirming media reports earlier this year.

UBS is combining its wealth management businesses in Europe into one legal entity, UBS Europe SE. The new European subsidiary is headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany and will operate in European markets through a network of branches.

In its new form, UBS Europe will simplify its governance structure and increase operational efficiency across its European operations, UBS said in a statement yesterday.

The choice of a societas Europaea, a type of public limited-liability company regulated under EU law, as the corporate structure for the entity provides UBS with strategic flexibility, it said. 

UBS Europe will be led by a management board with Thomas Rodermann as its spokesperson. Its supervisory board will be chaired by Roland Koch, who has been chairman of UBS Deutschland since 2011.  

In July this year, local Swiss media reported that the headquarters of the European banking arm of UBS would switch to Frankfurt. This publication understands that such a shift is not specifically linked to the UK's vote to leave the European Union. UBS senior managers have said, meanwhile, that the bank – the world’s largest wealth manager – will not change its London operations any time soon following the Brexit vote.

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