Swiss banking giant UBS today appointed of Mr Sergio P Ermotti as group CEO, less than two months after Mr Oswald Gruebel resigned in the wake of an unauthorised trading incident.

The appointment of Mr Ermotti, who has been the interim CEO since September 24, is with immediate effect and comes at a time when the Swiss entity is seeing top executives’ exodus, including the exit of its India operations chief Ms Manisha Girotra.

Mr Ermotti has been appointed as “permanent CEO” by the company’s board after a comprehensive evaluation process, UBS said in a statement.

In a top level reshuffle, Mr Axel Weber would become the chairman from 2012 since current chairman Mr Kaspar Villiger has decided not to stand for re-election to the company’s board at the annual general meeting to be held in May next year.

Mr Ermotti said that the bank’s strategy would be centred on its leading wealth management businesses.

“A focused, less complex and less capital-intensive investment bank and our asset management business are also key elements for growing our wealth management franchise. Our industry-leading capital position gives us a significant competitive advantage, particularly during these challenging times,” he noted.

Mr Villiger said the nomination of Mr Weber as Chairman of the Board and the appointment of Mr Ermotti as Group CEO would bring essential stability and clarity to UBS.

Former UBS chief Mr Oswald Gruebel stepped down, following a rogue trading incident that is estimated to have caused a loss of over $2 billion for the banking major.

The entity is grappling with tough business conditions, especially on account of sluggish markets and mounting pressure from international community on Swiss banking secrecy practices.

Last week, UBS India chief Ms Manisha Girotra put in her papers and has been replaced by Mr Aashish Kamat.

According to an internal note dated November 9, Ms Girotra has decided to “retire from UBS at the end of the year to consider other options”.

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