SKN | UBS Deepens Northern Trust Partnership as It Exits Credit Suisse Fund Administration

Key Takeaways:

• UBS has agreed to transfer the former Credit Suisse fund administration businesses in Switzerland and Luxembourg to Northern Trust, subject to regulatory approvals.
• The transaction covers both traditional and alternative fund administration activities and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2027.
• The migration will take place in phases over two years, allowing UBS to reduce operational complexity while maintaining continuity for affected clients.
• The deal supports UBS’s broader post-Credit Suisse simplification strategy, enabling the bank to concentrate resources on wealth management, asset management and investment banking.

UBS is advancing its post-Credit Suisse restructuring by transferring the former Credit Suisse fund administration businesses in Switzerland and Luxembourg to Northern Trust. The transaction extends an established relationship between the two institutions and gives UBS a clearer path to exit a non-core activity while reducing the infrastructure and operational resources required to maintain it.

UBS Expands an Existing Northern Trust Partnership

The agreement covers Credit Suisse’s traditional and alternatives fund administration businesses in Switzerland and Luxembourg. Subject to regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2027, with the migration of funds taking place in phases over approximately two years.

The arrangement builds directly on a relationship established in 2017, when UBS Asset Management sold its Swiss and Luxembourg traditional fund administration operations to Northern Trust and entered into a long-term servicing agreement. Extending that existing structure to additional funds and former Credit Suisse operations provides UBS with an established operational framework for the transition.

UBS Uses the Deal to Reduce Post-Credit Suisse Complexity

The transfer comes as UBS approaches the final stages of integrating Credit Suisse, with the broader integration process expected to be substantially completed by the end of 2026. Moving the fund administration activities to Northern Trust allows UBS to reduce infrastructure, resources and operational complexity associated with a business that is not central to its long-term strategic priorities.

For UBS, the transaction is therefore part of a wider effort to simplify the combined organization. The bank can redirect greater attention and resources toward its core businesses, including wealth management, asset management and investment banking.

Client Continuity Remains Central to the Transition

Because UBS and Northern Trust already maintain a servicing relationship, the expanded arrangement could help limit disruption as the additional funds migrate. The phased transition gives the institutions time to transfer operations while maintaining continuity for clients across the Swiss and Luxembourg fund platforms.

UBS is also simplifying its Luxembourg Management Company services, with a greater focus on supporting its in-house funds. Together, these changes indicate a broader effort to rationalize the bank’s European operating infrastructure following the Credit Suisse integration.

Why the Agreement Matters for UBS

The strategic value for UBS lies primarily in operational simplification. Rather than maintaining a broader fund administration infrastructure inherited through Credit Suisse, the bank is transferring those activities to a specialist while preserving an established service relationship.

For sophisticated clients, the transaction demonstrates how UBS is progressively separating non-core infrastructure from its principal wealth and investment businesses. As the Credit Suisse integration moves toward completion, disciplined reduction of duplicated or peripheral operations should allow UBS to operate with a more focused structure while maintaining continuity across critical client services.

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