UBS is reportedly weighing a sale of its wealth management arm in Spain as part of the group’s review under new CEO Ralph Hamers.
Options for the Spanish unit may include a divestiture or exit, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the issue.
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The business, which manages around CHF10bn ($11bn) in assets, may interest domestic Spanish lenders though UBS has not started talks with any potential buyer, according to the report.
No official confirmation came from UBS on the matter.
At present, Hamers is reviewing all of the Zurich-based bank’s businesses and has questioned the need of a domestic footprint in markets where a local partnership could be more effective in serving affluent customers.
Last December, UBS agreed to offload its domestic wealth management business in Austria to Liechtenstein-based private bank LGT. Around 60 employees of the UBS unit will join LGT as part of the deal.
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By GlobalDataThe CEO has signalled the possibility of similar deals in other markets as well, considering that such markets are not big enough to maintain a large domestic presence.
On the other hand, Hamers eyes onshore expansion in Asia with digital banking licences. An update on the bank’s strategic initiatives could be revealed in Q2.
Hamers, who previously headed ING, joined UBS at the end of last year, replacing Sergio Ermotti. Hamers currently faces Dutch probe for his role in anti-money laundering lapses at ING.
The Court of Appeal in The Hague ordered the prosecution of Hamers even though it upheld the settlement agreement signed by ING on the matter.
The bank ended last year with a strong performance. It reported a 137% year-on-year growth in Q4 2020 profit, driven by wealth and asset management businesses. Meanwhile, recently, a report said that the Swiss bank is expanding its reach in the Middle East by setting up a new hub in Qatar.
