UBS CFO who oversaw Fed MBS trading is leaving

UBS named Tom Naratil as the new CFO, effective June 1, 2011. John Cryan, the current CFO, will step down at the end of May for personal reasons and “to pursue other interests outside of UBS,” the financial firm said in a statement. Naratil, who will be based in Zurich, will continue in his current position as CFO and chief risk officer of the Wealth Management Americas division. He holds an MBA in economics from New York University and a bachelor’s degree in history from Yale University. He was also the head the Auction Rate Securities Solutions Group during the financial crisis in 2008. UBS lost more on mortgage investments during that time than any other Swiss-based bank. In 2009, the bank completely restructured in order to push back toward productivity. Between Jan. 7, 2009, and July 8, 2010, the Federal Reserve bought and sold $105 billion in Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities from UBS. The trades are the fourth highest among foreign banks, following Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse and Barclays, respectively. Many high-level executives departed UBS during those times of trouble, for one reason or another, though Cryan’s departure is unrelated to any of the bank’s internal activities. “I want to highlight that John has made an outstanding contribution to UBS. In the midst of the financial crisis in 2008 he accepted the role of group CFO and his knowledge and expertise were instrumental in the task of rebuilding UBS’s financial strength, winning him great respect both inside and outside of the firm. I would like to express my gratitude for his dedication to the bank,” said Oswald J. Grübel, the CEO since February 2009. The Swiss bank also appointed Sergio Ermotti as chairman and CEO of Europe, Middle East and Africa and member of the group executive board, effective April 1, 2011. Ermotti is joining UBS from UniCredit where he was group deputy chief executive officer with responsibility for the strategic business areas, corporate and investment banking and private banking. He joined UniCredit in December 2005 as head of the Markets & the Investment Banking Division. Write to Jacob Gaffney. The author holds no relevant investments.