The departure of Peter Kurer as chairman of UBS was a racing certainty following its $780m settlement with the US authorities over alleged tax evasion by its clients.

For one thing, Kurer happened to be group general counsel at UBS after 2001, relevant to the period under investigation. There was no attempt by the US authorities to link him to the allegations, but there was a degree of pressure on UBS to get him to step aside. Contingency plans to replace him were put into place towards the end of last year.