Pamela Barbaglia, Oliver Hirt

LONDON, (Reuters) – UBS identified Jean Pierre Mustier, former UniCredit chief executive, as a potential successor to Chairman Axel Weber. His mandate expires in 2022 according to three people familiar with the matter.

According to Mustier’s source, the Frenchman aged 60 has no immediate plans of leaving the Pegasus Europa special purpose acquisition vehicle (SPAC) he created and invested in when he left UniCredit one year ago.

Sources say that the board of Switzerland’s largest bank has decided to select a chairman before the end of this year. They have included Mustier on a list of potential candidates.

UBS representatives and Weber representatives declined to comment.

According to sources, Mustier might face investor criticism if Mustier bows down before Amsterdam’s listed Pegasus completes a merger.

One source said that timing is the biggest problem.

Mustier was a luxury tycoon Bernard Arnault, and he teamed up to create Pegasus with former Bank of America (NYSE) banker Diego De Giorgi. He started his career in the Corporate and Investment Banking division of Societe Generale.

He was previously a candidate for high-ranking jobs in some of Europe’s largest banks including HSBC. Credit Suisse (SIX:).

UBS’ board has been working closely with recruiters to compile a list of potential candidates for Weber’s successor. In April, shareholders will be asked to vote on the preferred candidate.

A source close to the situation said that Weber would not be seeking to prolong his UBS tenure after his April mandate runs out.

UBS wants to appoint a former ING CEO Ralph Hamers to work with them. He has pledged to make UBS’ digital services better after a long career focusing mainly on retail banking.

Sources said Mustier’s hard work and discipline combined with his investment banking experience would allow him to take an active role and make key decisions.

One source said that Hamers and Mustier have “different but complementary backgrounds.” “Mustier brings extensive experience in wholesale, while Hamers has all of the digital knowledge.”

CITIZEN NON-SWISS

UBS’s difficulty in finding Swiss-qualified leaders for its senior roles has led to it being open to offering the position of chairmanship to non-Swiss citizens, sources claimed.

According to two sources, Philipp Hildebrand (a Swiss banker who was previously head of the Swiss central banks and joined BlackRock, NYSE:), in 2012) has been ruled off the shortlist.

Jens Weidmann is a German conservative policymaker. He will be leaving his position as Bundesbank President Dec. 31. However, there is a one year cooling period after he leaves. This makes him an unlikely candidate to lead the transition to 2022.

Weidmann’s spokespersons, Hildebrand, were not available immediately for comment.

Weber’s success will be followed by Weber, who will assume the reins at a bank with an excellent balance sheet.

UBS reported its largest quarterly profit in October over the last 11 years. This was due to trading by world’s super rich, which fueled a 23% increase in fees.