Asia Pacific is set to shine even brighter at UBS following the bank's decision to relocate a top executive to the region and make him its president. 

As part of a senior management reshuffle, it was announced on Thursday that Iqbal Khan will move to Asia later this summer along with his family to become UBS’ president for the region on September 1, succeeding Edmund Koh who will take on a new role as regional chair. This has historic implications for the newly enlarged Swiss bank. 

«This is the first time that a divisional President will be based in Asia-Pacific,» the bank said in a statement on the changes to the Group Executive Board.

Major Implications

Firstly, the relocation of Khan – widely seen as a potential successor to group CEO Sergio Ermotti – places even greater emphasis on Asia as a key contributor to UBS’ global business. Ermotti previously said that he expects the region to account for 20 percent of overall assets under management, up from the current level of around 15 percent. 

Secondly, Khan’s additional role as co-president of the wealth division, alongside Americas president Rob Karofsky, puts Asian riches squarely in the spotlight.

Regional Experience

Khan has spent his whole career outside of Asia in senior wealth management roles overseeing various markets in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). But he will not be coming into the region with a completely blank slate. 

Recently, he has been making trips to Asia to retain top private bankers from Credit Suisse. Externally, he has had experience with Asian clients, including an entrepreneur who reportedly transferred $400 million to the bank one day after a meeting with him. And he has also been a beneficiary of working alongside Credit Suisse’s ex-APAC private banking CEO Francesco De Ferrari who briefly served as his senior advisor. 

Future Shift in Rankings?

Currently, Asia lags behind the other three major markets at UBS – the Americas, Switzerland and EMEA – across various business metrics. It ranked in last place in terms of invested assets as of the first quarter of 2024 ($641 billion out of $4 trillion worldwide) as well as pre-tax profit at end-2023 ($661 million out of nearly $3.6 billion). But this could change in the future. 

According to Knight Frank’s «Wealth Report 2024», Asia is forecasted to be the region with the fastest-growing rate of wealth creation. From 2023 to 2028, the number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals in Asia is expected to increase by over 38 percent to nearly 229,000 compared to the average global growth rate of 28.1 percent.

«The appointments to the Group Executive Board we are announcing today will allow us to continue to progress on our integration journey and realize the expected synergies and efficiencies, while putting even more emphasis on our long-term priorities and growth prospects, particularly in the Americas and Asia-Pacific,» Ermotti said in yesterday’s announcement.