Francesca McDonagh, the former Bank of Ireland CEO who was poached by Credit Suisse just a year ago, is leaving to take a role outside UBS, one of the most senior departures from Credit Suisse since UBS competed its takeover in June.
McDonagh joined Credit Suisse in September 2022 as chief operating officer and was responsible for a wide range of areas at a time the bank was fighting fires on a number of fronts. Her span included corporate communications, cost transformation, support services, governance, marketing, procurement, strategy and sustainability. After UBS stepped in with a government-backed rescue in March, McDonagh led integration work for Credit Suisse until the takeover closed three months later.
McDonagh is leaving "to pursue a new opportunity outside of the bank", according to a memo to staff, seen by IFR. The Financial Times reported she is joining a company as chief executive in a role that begins in January. She has been seen as a possible candidate to become CEO at UK bank NatWest.
McDonagh led Bank of Ireland for five years and before that spent 20 years at HSBC, including as group general manager and head of retail banking and wealth management for the UK and Europe. Her departure was partly blamed on a cap on bankers' pay in Ireland, and led to calls for it to be scrapped to avoid a drain of senior bankers.
McDonagh was not named in a top role at UBS when CEO Sergio Ermotti announced his senior team in May. Almost all the top roles went to UBS staff.
Ulrich Koerner, CEO of Credit Suisse, said several changes to reporting lines will take effect from September 15 due to McDonagh's departure.