Ermotti Warns of Risky Bet as Europe Eyes US Debt Selloff

WATCH: “Diversifying away from America is impossible,” Ermotti says. Source: Bloomberg

Provide news feedback or report an error

Confidential tip?

Send a tip to our reporters

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

By Myriam Balezou, Jonathan Ferro, Frances Schwartzkopff, and Greg Ritchie

January 20, 2026 at 4:58 PM UTC

Updated on

January 21, 2026 at 5:36 AM UTC

Europeans tempted to weaponize their holdings of US government debt amid the standoff with President Trump over Greenland are making a “dangerous bet” that risks backfiring.

That was the view of UBS Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti, who runs one of the world’s largest wealth and asset managers, after a day when transatlantic tensions ramped up and markets sold off on the prospect of a deeper US-Europe trade war and a fracturing of NATO.