UBS AG announced Wednesday that its chairman will not stand for reelection. The Swiss banking giant has instead nominated a former Swiss finance minister for the position.

Peter Kurer, chairman of the board of directors at UBS, has decided not to stand for re-election at its annual general meeting on April 15, it said. The board has nominated Kaspar Villiger as a candidate to be his replacement. From 1989 to 2003 Villiger was a member of the Swiss Federal Council, including eight years as finance minister. He retired from politics in 2003 and later joined the boards of Swiss Re, Nestlé and the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. He is also a member of the Global Leadership Foundation, an organization which promotes good governance around the world. If elected, Villiger will resign all corporate positions he presently holds.

“Kaspar Villiger has had a distinguished career in public service, where his leadership capabilities and integrity have earned him high respect. In addition, he brings substantial experience as a businessman and as a member of boards of multinational corporations,” said Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler, chairman of the governance and nominating committee of the board. “The board believes that his presence and contribution will send a clear signal and will prove valuable at a time when the bank is working to renew its commitment to all stakeholders to seek to maintain high standards of credibility, reliability, and sustainable performance. We are grateful to Kaspar Villiger for having accepted this challenging position.”

Villiger said, “I believe these to be exceptional times for UBS and Switzerland, and I recognize the difficulties that still lie ahead. This is precisely why I have accepted to chair the board of UBS, out of a sense of service to this country and its people. We need to respond to the current challenges by relying on our core values of integrity, hard work and reliability. I believe that I can contribute to the re-establishment of these values.”

IE