“Switzerland’s biggest bank UBS AG has sacked its highly regarded president, Luqman Arnold, after a power struggle with Chairman Marcel Ospel,” writes Marcus Walker in today’s Wall Street Journal.

“The bank said Peter Wuffli, a close ally of Mr. Ospel, will succeed Mr. Arnold. The move reflects ‘a number of differences of opinion,’ the company said.”

“But people familiar with the matter said that the line between Mr. Arnold’s role and Mr. Ospel’s — always vaguely defined — had become more blurred, with neither man willing to give way.”

“UBS’s board of directors, led by Mr. Ospel, decided Sunday to fire Mr. Arnold following a series of disagreements, bankers said. Hinting that Mr. Arnold, a Briton who is popular among investors and analysts, sought a leadership role greater than his colleagues were willing to grant him, Mr. Wuffli said: ‘Large corporations are managed by teams, not by individual stars.’ “

“UBS also announced Tuesday it would reduce the role of its head investment banker, Markus Granziol, by stripping him of the post of chief executive of the securities unit UBS Warburg. Although Mr. Granziol remains chairman of UBS Warburg, people familiar with the bank suspect his tenure may be nearing an end.”

“UBS also said Tuesday it would turn PaineWebber, the U.S. brokerage firm it acquired last year, into an independent business unit. Previously under the command of UBS Warburg, PaineWebber’s elevation to a group division marks an increase in the status of its chief executive, Joseph Grano.”

“Shareholders and analysts were disappointed with UBS’s decision to fire Mr. Arnold. UBS’s stock — one of Europe’s best performing bank stocks this year — fell 4.2% at 82.65 Swiss francs ($50.5 or 56.04 euros) in Zurich trading. Analysts at Lehman Brothers lamented the sidelining of Mr. Granziol as well as the departure of Mr. Arnold. ‘We perceive this management change as a big setback for UBS,’ they said.”

“Mr. Arnold became president of UBS’s group executive board in April, after earning a strong reputation among analysts and investors as UBS’s chief financial officer for making the bank’s accounts more transparent and predictable. But Mr. Arnold’s role as president was more constrained than that of his predecessor, Mr. Ospel, who until April held the dual title of group chief executive officer and president. Since April, UBS hasn’t had a chief executive officer, while Mr. Ospel calls himself ‘an active chairman’, in contrast to the bank’s previous chairman.”