Head of UBS Europe unit to leave amid 'turf war' talk

08 Apr, 2019

Switzerland's biggest bank gave no reason for the departure, which it said in a statement was by mutual consent.

It declined to comment on a report in German newspaper Handelsblatt, which said the 54-year-old Rodermann was leaving after a turf war with Christine Novakovic, the Zurich-based head of wealth management for UBS's Europe, Middle East and Africa region.

Rodermann joined what was then UBS Deutschland AG as management board head in 2015 and has been in charge since, restructuring the Frankfurt-based business and expanding its wealth management arm.

In 2016 he helped found UBS Europe SE which, as the main centre for Europe, oversees branches in 11 countries. He will remain head of UBS Europe SE and country head for Germany and Austria until a successor is named, the bank said.

Handelsblatt, citing unidentified "insiders", said Rodermann had chafed over the fact that UBS Europe had regulatory responsibility for the branches it oversaw, but Novakovic ran their operations.

Rodermann's exit leaves Novakovic on the inside track to run UBS Europe in addition to her current post, the paper said.

Copyright Reuters, 2019

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