We are going to rise above our baser instincts and simply note that Jerker Johansson’s move from Morgan Stanley to head up UBS’s investment bank will be his third senior management shift in the course of a year.
Johanssen, 51, who joined Morgan Stanley as a summer associate in equity capital markets, was reshuffled as part of repeated shake-ups, moving from head of equities to head of clients and services last March, in addition to his role as co-head of institutional securities sales and trading. He was shifted again in December to be vice-chairman, Europe.
If he’s looking for security of tenure, he may have come to the wrong place. Plumping for an outsider was perhaps a necessity for UBS, while the choice of an equities man may be helpful in rebuilding confidence after the bank logged $18bn in writedowns last year on US mortgage-related securities. But rebuilding the investment bank’s morale will be a tough first priority for the new boss – a process that will almost certainly not be helped by the fourth quarter results due out on Thursday, St Valentine’s Day. We’re not expecting chocolates and flowers.
One senior UBS banker when asked about his new boss said, “who?”
We’ll try to find a picture.
And here he is.
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