UBS has hired a recruiter to find a permanent CEO in the wake of the recent turmoil, a report said.

UBS has recruited a headhunter to find a permanent chief executive although the Zurich-listed banking group has not contacted any external candidates, Reuters reported.

The bank did not comment on rumours that Egon Zehnder International, a recruiter, had been appointed to examine potential candidates. UBS did not respond to requests for comments from WealthBriefing at the time of going to press.

Investment bankers have cited former JPMorgan executive Bill Winters and Deutsche Bank executive Hugo Baenziger as possible candidates for the job. Dow Jones said UBS had contacted Winters about the role.

In the past, one person whose name had been mentioned for the top UBS job was Josef Ackermann, who is stepping down next year as CEO of Deutsche. However, suggestions that he wanted to take on the job were always dismissed.

As an interim measure, UBS has named Sergio Ermotti chief executive following the resignation of Oswald Grübel. Grübel left after UBS suffered a $2.3 billion loss caused by unauthorised trading at its investment bank. The bank, along with Swiss and UK national regulators, is investigating the matter.

Chairman Kaspar Villiger has said that Ermotti was a candidate to take up the CEO role permanently. Ermotti joined UBS in April from UniCredit, the Italian bank.

To view this publication’s recent editorial about the nature of the UBS executive changes and the opinions of some analysts on the affair, click here.