UBS CEO says working remotely is good for bank’s clients as well as staff work-life balance

UBS CEO says working remotely is good for bank’s clients as well as staff work-life balance

UBS Group CEO Ralph Hamers has said that hybrid working is good for clients, as well as staff. The Dutch-born banker was in Zurich about the Swiss bank's recent strong second quarter growth and its immediate strategy. He also outlined the bank's plan for hybrid working. Two-thirds of the bank's 73,000 staff will work hybrid roles in some way in the future, confirmed Hamers, adding this would benefit both staff and clients. "Our clients like it, [they] have also experienced that they don't always want to come to the office in order to meet our people. They don't mind online advice," he said. "It's a new way of working. It is here to stay. And I think it is also better in the end for work-life balance." When pressed whether these hybrid roles will extend to the traders in its investment bank, Hamers admitted that traders make up part of "the 25% to one-third of the roles for which it is really difficult to work from home." Hamers also hinted that the bank was planning to "review" office footprint, but did not provide specifics. He said the bank was experimenting, but ultimately teams would need time to find out what