Beloved Credit Suisse MD finally leaves UBS in Singapore with his job done
There are few industries that reward a job well done with a big pay package and termination. Banking is one of them.
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David Leung joined Credit Suisse in 2007 as an MD and ended up the bank’s head of emerging markets (EM) trading before Credit Suisse was acquired by UBS.
After the acquisition, Leung was put in charge of UBS’ non-core and legacy (NCL) unit in Singapore to unwind Credit Suisse’s legacy portfolios in the city. According to a source at the bank, the EM trading book has been de-risked faster than anticipated, hence Leung's premature departure. It's understood that he will be taking some time out of the industry.
UBS’ NCL has been unwinding at breakneck pace. Of the $77.5bn in assets that needed disposing of in the third quarter of 2023, just $44.8bn remain. Part of that was related to the sale of $8bn in assets to Apollo earlier this year, but the bank is still ahead of schedule even without that particular deal.
The bank had targeted a halving of assets by the end of 2026 but looks likely to achieve that particular milestone by the end of 2024. Leung has had his little part to play in that drama already, it seems.
Insiders say Leung was as “a popular personality” at the bank and lament his departure. He's understood to be one of the last Credit Suisse macro traders to leave the UBS Singapore office.
UBS declined to comment.
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