CEO of the Swiss banking corporation UBS Group AG (NYSE: UBS.NYSE) has backed the blockchain technology, saying it’s "almost a must" for business.
In a conversation with CNBC, Sergio Ermotti has suggested that the blockchain could allow companies to become more efficient and reduce their operations costs. As firms are searching for ways to free up their resources, the distributed ledger looks especially attractive.
"The only way you can stay relevant is not only by being strong in terms of capital, in terms of products, the quality of the people you have, advice you give to clients. You need also to be able to price it correctly." said Ermotti.
In the course of the interview, he also noted that blockchain technology "will be as crucial and disruptive, and changing as regulation was in the last 10 years". And it’s not the first time Ermotti has spoken up, endorsing the benefits of a blockchain, while at the same time not drawing parallels with cryptocurrencies. In October last year, he admitted to feeling more positively about blockchain as opposed to the cryptocurrencies. His comments in many ways repeat the statements of UBS’s investment director Mark Haefele, who last year said that the company does not intend to work with bitcoin.
By Nadya Astam