NEW YORK: UBS, the world’s biggest wealth manager, on Tuesday named Iqbal Khan the sole head of the Swiss bank’s global wealth management division in an executive board reshuffle.
Khan, who joined Switzerland’s biggest bank in 2019 to co-head its flagship division, will take over when co-president Tom Naratil steps down in October after decades with the bank.
Naureen Hassan, the second-ranking officer at the New York Federal Reserve, replaces Naratil in his second role as president of UBS Americas, the bank said in a statement.
Under Chief Executive Ralph Hamers, UBS has sought to leverage technology and integrate fintech acquisitions to boost revenues, expand its client base and cut costs.
“Our Global Wealth Management business and our Americas region are strategically important, and both offer significant growth opportunities for us,” Hamers said in a statement.
Khan previously led smaller rival Credit Suisse’s international wealth management division. Khan was thrust into the spotlight after leaving Credit Suisse when he confronted a private detective who was following him and his wife.
That incident prompted a criminal complaint, multiple sackings and enforcement proceedings against Credit Suisse, where further spying cases emerged, prompting the CEO to quit.
Khan has kept a relatively low public profile since the spying incident, but sources familiar with UBS say he is popular with employees and clients and could be a CEO candidate.
When Khan joined UBS, it was seen as a bid to help the bank cope with sluggish activity among wealthy clients, ultra-low interest rates and increased competition from US rivals.
Under Khan and Naratil, UBS overhauled its wealth management business by cutting layers of middle management to give local teams more autonomy, expanding lending to ultra-wealthy clients and bulking up its digital offerings to attract more clients.
In 2021, UBS spent $1.4 billion to buy US-focused digital investing platform Wealthfront, which has more than $27 billion under management. It also rolled out a hybrid digital wealth management platform.
The wealth management division’s pre-tax profits were up 40 percent in 2021 compared with 2019. Since Khan joined, the division has brought in more than $50 billion in net new loans and more than $150 billion in fresh fee-generating client inflows.
UBS overall has delivered strong results in recent years, booking its best annual profit since the global financial crisis in 2021 and its best first-quarter net profit in 15 years at the start of 2022.
But inflation, rising interest rates, commodity shocks and the Ukraine war have hit financial markets and prompted many investors to become more risk averse and retreat from borrowing.
UBS is set to report second-quarter results on July 26.
Hassan, who will join the bank’s executive ranks in October, served as first vice president and chief operating officer at the New York Fed. She has also worked at Morgan Stanley.
Naratil, who has been with UBS since it acquired US brokerage Paine Webber in 2000, joined the executive board as chief financial officer in 2011 and then became chief operating officer. He headed wealth management in the Americas from 2016.
UBS promotes Iqbal Khan to steer wealth management
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UBS promotes Iqbal Khan to steer wealth management
- Khan, who joined UBS in 2019 to co-head its flagship division, will take over when co-president Tom Naratil steps down in October
Silver crosses $77 mark while gold, platinum stretch record highs
- Spot silver touched an all-time high of $77.40 earlier today, marking a 167% year-to-date surge driven by supply deficits
- Spot platinum rose 9.8% to $2,437.72 per ounce, while palladium surged 14 percent to $1,927.81, its highest level in over 3 years
Silver breached the $77 mark for the first time on Friday, while gold and platinum hit record highs, buoyed by expectations of US Federal Reserve rate cuts and geopolitical tensions that fueled safe-haven demand.
Spot silver jumped 7.5% to $77.30 per ounce, as of 1:53 p.m. ET (1853 GMT), after touching an all-time high of $77.40 earlier today, marking a 167% year-to-date surge driven by supply deficits, its designation as a US critical mineral, and strong investment inflows.
Spot gold was up 1.2% at $4,531.41 per ounce, after hitting a record $4,549.71 earlier. US gold futures for February delivery settled 1.1% higher at $4,552.70.
“Expectations for further Fed easing in 2026, a weak dollar and heightened geopolitical tensions are driving volatility in thin markets. While there is some risk of profit-taking before the year-end, the trend remains strong,” said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals.
Markets are anticipating two rate cuts in 2026, with the first likely around mid-year amid speculation that US President Donald Trump could name a dovish Fed chair, reinforcing expectations for a more accommodative monetary stance.
The US dollar index was on track for a weekly decline, enhancing the appeal of dollar-priced gold for overseas buyers.
On the geopolitical front, the US carried out airstrikes against Daesh militants in northwest Nigeria, Trump said on Thursday.
“$80 in silver is within reach by year-end. For gold, the next objective is $4,686.61, with $5,000 likely in the first half of next year,” Grant added.
Gold remains poised for its strongest annual gain since 1979, underpinned by Fed policy easing, central bank purchases, ETF inflows, and ongoing de-dollarization trends.
On the physical demand side, gold discounts in India widened to their highest in more than six months this week as a relentless price rally curbed retail buying, while discounts in China narrowed sharply from last week’s five-year highs.
Elsewhere, spot platinum rose 9.8% to $2,437.72 per ounce, having earlier hit a record high of $2,454.12 while palladium surged 14% to $1,927.81, its highest level in more than three years.
All precious metals logged weekly gains, with platinum recording its strongest weekly rise on record.
