UBS picks former Morgan Stanley president Kelleher as chairman By Reuters

ZURICH (Reuters) -Swiss bank UBS on Saturday named former Morgan Stanley (NYSE:) President Colm Kelleher as its surprise pick to succeed Axel Weber as its chairman next year.

“With Colm Kelleher’s nomination, UBS is pleased to propose a Board member and future Chairman who has a deep understanding of the global banking landscape,” outgoing Chairman Axel Weber said in a statement.

“His more than 30 years of leadership experience in banking and excellent relationships around the world make Colm an ideal fit for UBS,” Weber said.

The board of Switzerland’s biggest bank had been aiming to pick a new chairman by the end of the year. UBS shareholders must now approve the appointment of Kelleher at their annual meeting on April 6 next year.

Kelleher retired from his post at Morgan Stanley in 2019 after three decades at the U.S. investment bank but stayed on as a special adviser.

As Morgan Stanley’s finance chief during the financial crisis, Kelleher saved the bank by drastically shrinking its balance sheet and converting it into a traditional bank holding company so it could access funding from the U.S. Federal Reserve and negotiated a $9 billion investment from Japanese bank Mitsubishi UFJ (NYSE:) Financial Group.

UBS also said it would nominate Lukas Gaehwiler for election to the UBS board as vice chairman.