When Francesca McDonagh left Bank of Ireland to join Credit Suisse last year, it seemed like her career would continue on an upward trajectory. The executive had joined the Swiss bank to lead its business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, but before she had joined the company she earned a promotion to chief operating officer.
In the end, of course, the troubles at Credit Suisse — long the sick man of European banking — proved too much to overcome. Rival UBS took over the storied lender in a Sunday night shotgun wedding in March as investors and depositors deserted Credit Suisse.
Executive pay
In the immediate aftermath of the deal, it looked like most of Credit Suisse’s top team would be handed their P45 sooner rather than later, while the Swiss government moved to impose caps on executive pay at the rescued bank.
Now though, it seems McDonagh’s star may be still rising.
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The Financial Times reports that she is one of a handful of Credit Suisse executives who have been shortlisted by UBS chief executive Sergio Ermotti to make part of his management team as he embarks on the integration of CS into the business.
Among McDonagh’s tasks as chief operating officer, she was in the process of reassessing the firm’s property footprint and cutting costs where she could.
Spillover benefit
Quite what her role in the expanded UBS is yet to be hashed out but it appears clear her star will continue to rise. Her apparent success at Credit Suisse and UBS may have a spillover benefit for the Irish banks too. Much as people here may like to think otherwise, the Irish banks are small in the great scheme of things. McDonagh has proven a senior banker can join from elsewhere, get the requisite chief executive experience, and move on to greater, more lucrative things.
That may well make the likes of Bank of Ireland and AIB more attractive to a wider pool of candidates than they have been since before the financial crisis.
