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UBS clamps down on costs, says strategy unchanged UBS Is Said to Consider 8,000 Layoffs By DOW JONES Published: March 17, 2008 ZURICH ( Dow Jones) ? The Swiss bank UBS is considering cutting as many as 8,000 jobs to save costs, and will not rule out a possible split of its wealth management and investment banking business, a Swiss newspaper reported Sunday. The chief executive, Marcel Rohner, reaffirmed at a recent meeting of 300 senior UBS bankers that the company wants to keep its wealth management and investment banking operations under one roof, but he also said alternative plans always have to be considered, the Swiss weekly SonntagsZeitung reported. The newspaper did not name its sources. UBS was not immediately available for comment. Among banks worldwide,
UBS is one of the worst hit by the financial markets crisis that started with the demise of the market for risky home loans in the United States. The bank has written down more than $18 billion on such assets last year, and analysts expect more to come. The write-down caused a loss at UBS?s investment bank, which more than offset strong income from the business of managing the assets of rich clients, resulting in the bank?s first-ever full-year net loss. Mr. Rohner also told bankers attending the meeting, held in Berlin, that UBS was holding around 30 billion Swiss francs ($29.2 billion) worth of municipal bonds. These are highly rated assets, but the market for them has almost dried up in recent weeks. ZURICH, March 16 (Reuters) - Subprime-struck Swiss bank UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) urged management to keep a close tab on costs at a meeting in Berlin last week, a spokesman said on Sunday, but denied speculation of a radical strategy change. Chief Executive Marcel Rohner had urged management to optimise internal processes, cut out redundancies, closely monitor external costs and delay projects where possible, a spokesman for the bank said. "We want to clearly raise efficiency and improve the cost/income ratio. We want to consistently carry out our cost management," the spokesman said. But he denied a report in a Sunday newspaper that said UBS -- which has already written down $18.4 billion in subprime assets -- had disclosed new risky
positions on its balance sheet, this time from U.S. municipal bonds. Bank shares plummeted on Friday after the Federal Reserve and JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) came to the rescue of Bear Stearns (BSC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) with emergency funding after a sudden cash crunch, in a sign the global credit crisis is far from over. The UBS spokesman also denied that the bank, Europe's worst victim from the credit crisis by far, had launched a plan at the meeting to
divest its investment bank and concentrate on its core wealth management business. "UBS's strategy is unchanged," he said. The spokesman also denied that there were plans for a further capital injection after UBS secured 13 billion Swiss francs ($10.44 billion) in new capital at an emergency shareholder meeting last month. With credit markets showing no sign of recovering, analysts and investors have widely speculated that UBS may discover more holes in its balance sheet, forcing it to return to shareholders and ask for a second lifeline. Separately, UBS on Friday denied market speculation that it was seeking a buyer for its U.S. wealth management unit. (Reporting by Douwe Miedema; Editing by Jason Neely)
Timothy Morge <timothymorge@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Remember...ABN sold their brokerage business to...umm...this bank. I guess they [ABN] don't look so stupid, now that this mess is finally unfolding. --- Don Ewers < dewers@xxxxxxxxnet> wrote: > My vote is it starts with a U and ends with an S? > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Mark Simms > To: realtraders@yahoogroups.com > Sent: Sunday, March 16, 2008 7:40 PM > Subject: RE: Re[2]: [RT] TWO
BUCKS a share!!! > JPMorgan Acts to Buy Ailing Bear Stearns at Huge > Discount > > > > Deutsche Bank ? > ABN Amro ? > BNP Paribas ? > > > > > ------------ ----------------------------------------------
> From: realtraders@yahoogroups.com
> [mailto:realtraders@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
> Timothy Morge
> Sent: Sunday, March 16, 2008 7:56 PM
> To: realtraders@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: Re[2]: [RT] TWO BUCKS a share!!!
> JPMorgan Acts to Buy Ailing Bear Stearns at Huge
> Discount
>
>
> One of the largest banks in the world is trying
> desperately to unload its brokerage arm because
> it
is
> in liquidity talks...They are a 'neutral'
> country by
> reputation...
>
>
> .
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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>
>
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG.
> Version: 7.5.519 / Virus Database: 269.21.7/1329 -
> Release Date: 3/14/2008 12:33 PM
>
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