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Wikipedia

UBS

January 26, 2023

This article is about the investment bank and financial services company. For other uses, see UBS (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with the courier company UPS, or United Parcel Service.

UBS Group AG[nb 1] is a multinational investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. Co-headquartered in the cities of Zürich and Basel, it maintains a presence in all major financial centres as the largest Swiss banking institution and the largest private bank in the world. UBS client services are known for their strict bank–client confidentiality and culture of banking secrecy.[nb 2] Because of the bank's large positions in the Americas, EMEA, and Asia Pacific markets, the Financial Stability Board considers it a global systemically important bank.

UBS Group AG
UBS headquarters in Zürich, Switzerland
FormerlyUnion Bank of Switzerland (1862–1998)
TypePublic (Aktiengesellschaft)
ISINCH0244767585
IndustryBanking, Financial services
Predecessor
Founded29 June 1998; 24 years ago (1998-06-29) (through the merger of Union Bank of Switzerland and Swiss Bank Corporation)
HeadquartersBahnhofstrasse 45
Zürich, Switzerland 8001
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Products
Revenue US$35.54 billion (2021)[2]
US$9.48 billion (2021)[2]
US$7.46 billion (2021)[2]
Total assets US$1.12 trillion (2021)[2]
Total equity US$60.66 billion (2021)[2]
Number of employees
71,385 (end 2021)[3]
Capital ratio 35.2% (2020)
RatingStandard & Poor's: A+
Moody's: Aa2
Fitch Ratings: AA-
Websiteubs.com
Footnotes / references
UBS Institutional Reporting as of: end of 2021[2]

Apart from private banking, UBS provides wealth management, asset management, and investment banking services for private, corporate, and institutional clients with international service. UBS manages the largest amount of private wealth in the world, counting approximately half of the world's billionaires among its clients. Despite its trimming of sell-side operations, UBS maintains a global investment bank and is considered a primary market maker. The bank also maintains numerous underground bank vaults, bunkers, and storage facilities for gold bars around the Swiss Alps and internationally. Partly due to its banking secrecy, it has been at the centre of numerous tax avoidance investigations undertaken by U.S., French, German, Israeli, and Belgian authorities. UBS operations in Switzerland and the United States were respectively ranked first and second on the 2018 Financial Secrecy Index.

As of May 2022, UBS is the 3rd largest bank in Europe with a market capitalization of $63 billion.[14] It is one of the nine global "Bulge Bracket" banks. It has over CHF3.2 trillion in assets under management (AUM), approximately CHF 2.8 trillion of which are invested assets.[15] In June 2017, its return on invested capital was 11.1%, followed by Goldman Sachs' 9.35%, and JPMorgan Chase's 9.456%.[16] In late 2016, UBS established a blockchain technology research lab in London to advance its cyber security and encryption of client activities. Based on regional deal flow and political influence, UBS is considered one of the "biggest, most powerful financial institutions in the world".[17][18] The company's capital strength, security protocols, and reputation for discretion have yielded a substantial market share in banking and a high level of brand loyalty. Alternatively, it receives routine criticism for facilitating tax noncompliance and off-shore financing. UBS is a primary dealer and Forex counterparty of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

History

UBS was founded in 1862 as the Bank in Winterthur.[19] This development came with the formation of the series of modern Swiss Grossbanken (big banks) in the latter part of the 19th century.[20] The name of the bank was derived from the town of Winterthur, which served as Switzerland's industrial hub in the 19th century.[21] By 1854, six private bankers in Basel founded the Swiss Bank Corporation (SBC) to cater to the increasing credit needs of Swiss railroad and manufacturing companies.[22] It formed a private banking syndicate that expanded, aided by Switzerland's international neutrality.[citation needed] In 1912, the Bank of Winterthur merged with Toggenburger Bank to form the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS)[19] and grew rapidly after the Banking Law of 1934 codified Swiss banking secrecy. Following decades of market competition between Union Bank of Switzerland and the Swiss Bank Corporation (SBC), the two merged in 1998 to create a single company known solely as "UBS".[nb 3] UBS does not stand for Union Bank of Switzerland. In fact, that was one of the more than 370 financial firms that have, since 1862, become part of today's UBS. During the 2008 financial crisis, UBS managed heavy losses with an asset relief recovery program.[citation needed] In 2011, the company was hit by the 2011 rogue trader scandal resulting in a US$2 billion trading loss.[24] In 2012, the bank reoriented itself around wealth management advisory services and limited its sell side operations.

Corporate structure

Capital ownership of UBS by country of origin as of 2014.[25]

  Switzerland (19.5%)
  United States (10.6%)
  United Kingdom (16.8%)
  Asia-Pacific-Singapore (9.7%)
  Others (42.7%)
  Germany (0.7%)

UBS is a joint-stock company (Aktiengesellschaft) pursuant to Swiss laws. Its shares are listed at the SIX Swiss Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). As of December 2020, UBS is present in all major financial centres worldwide, having offices in 50 countries, with about 30% of its approx. 73,000 employees working in the Americas, 30% in Switzerland, 19% in Europe (excluding Switzerland), the Middle East and Africa and 21% in the Asia Pacific region.[26] The bank has its major presence in the United States. Its American headquarters for investment banking are located in New York City, for private wealth management advisory in Weehawken, New Jersey. They have sales & trading and private wealth management offices in Stamford, Connecticut.[citation needed]

The company's global business groups are global wealth management, investment bank, asset management and personal & corporate banking.[26] UBS is the leading provider of retail banking and commercial banking services in Switzerland, as established already in 2009.[27] Overall invested assets are $3.101 billion, shareholders' equity is $52.928 billion and market capitalization is $45.907 billion by the end of 2018.[26] In November 2014, the shares in UBS Group AG were listed and started trading as a new holding company at the NYSE and SIX Swiss Exchange. Upon application and with effect as of 14 January 2015, the shares of UBS AG, the subsidiary of the UBS Group AG, were delisted from the NYSE.[28] As of September 2019, the largest institutional shareholders are:[29]

 
The UBS Investment Bank's Offices at 299 Park Avenue in New York City
Owner name %
Chase Nominees Ltd., London 11.76
DTC (Cede & Co.), New York 7.57
Nortrust Nominees Ltd., London 4.53

As of 30 June 2018, the geographical distribution of the shareholders presents itself as follows:[30]

Shareholders % Shares %
Americas 5,675 2.5 434,200,367 11.3
Asia Pacific 5,530 2.4 101,914,133 2.6
Europe, Middle East and Africa 13,065 5.7 823,401,277 21.4
Switzerland 206,060 89.5 823,785,072 21.4
Total registered shares 2,183,300,849 56.6
Total unregistered shares 1,671,288,703 43.34
Total 230,330 100.0 3,854,589,522 100.0

UBS's corporate structure includes four divisions in total as of June 2018:[31][32]

  • Global Wealth Management
  • Personal & Corporate Bank
  • Asset Management
  • Investment Bank

Starting on 9 June 2003, all UBS business groups, including UBS Paine Webber and UBS Warburg, were rebranded under the UBS moniker following company's start of operations as a unified global entity.[33]

Global Wealth Management

UBS's global wealth management advisory division offers high-net-worth individuals around the world a range of advisory and investment products and services.[34] As of the end of 2016, UBS Wealth Management's invested assets totalled CHF 977billion.[35] The whole companies assets under management (AUM) amounted to US$1,737.5 billion in 2015, representing a 1% decrease in AUM compared to the equivalent data of 2014.[36] As of 2018, UBS manages the largest amount of private wealth in the world, counting approximately half of the world's billionaires among its clients.[nb 4] More than 60% of total invested assets in UBS Wealth Management belong to individuals with a net worth of CHF 10 million or more. Of the remaining 40% of total invested assets, 30% of the total belong to individuals with net worth between CHF 1 million and CHF 10 million and the last 10% of total assets belong to individuals with a net worth of less than CHF 1 million.[34] UBS offers brokerage services and products as well as asset management and other investment advisory and portfolio management products and services.[39][40] Additionally, UBS provides a broad range of securities and savings products that are supported by the firm's underwriting and research activities as well as clients' orders management and execution and also clearing services for transactions originated by individual investors. The business is further divided geographically with separate businesses focused on the U.S. and other international markets.[27][41] Two thirds of the total invested assets come from Europe and Switzerland, with the final third coming mainly from the Asia-Pacific region.

 
UBS U.S. wealth management headquarters at Lincoln Harbor in Weehawken, New Jersey

With its headquarters in Switzerland, UBS Wealth Management is present in more than 40 countries with approximately 190 offices (100 of which are in Switzerland).[34] As of the end of 2018, around 23,600 people worldwide were employed by Global Wealth Management.[26][35] In Switzerland, UBS Swiss Bank provides a complete set of retail banking services that includes chequing, savings, credit cards, and mortgage products for individuals.[42] They offer cash management and commercial banking services for small businesses and corporate clients as well.[42]

UBS global wealth management advisory operations in the Americas consists of U.S. and Canadian wealth management businesses, as well as international business booked in the U.S.[43] UBS Wealth Management in the U.S. is an outgrowth of the former Paine Webber brokerage business. The business was initially renamed UBS Paine Webber in March 2001 after it was acquired by UBS. The division offers wealth management advice for ultra-high net worth and high net worth clients.[44] UBS was named "Best Bank for Wealth Management in North America" at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2017.[45]

UBS's main competitors in this division are Bank of America, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Charles Schwab.[46]

Personal & Corporate Banking

UBS's Personal & Corporate Banking division delivers financial products and services to retail,[47] corporate and institutional clients[48] in Switzerland.[34] It also provides stable and substantial profits for the Group and revenue opportunities for businesses within the bank.[34] UBS maintains a leading position in the retail and corporate loan market in Switzerland; in fact, it serves one in three pension funds, more than 85% of the 1,000 largest Swiss corporations and 85% of banks that resides within the nation.[34] In 2015, 2017 and 2018, the international financial magazine Euromoney named UBS "Best Domestic Cash Manager Switzerland".[49] As of 31 December 2018, its lending portfolio reached US$131 billion.[50][26]

The products that this UBS division offers range from cash accounts, payments, savings and retirement plans to investment fund products, residential mortgages and advisory services.[34] This business division constitutes a central building block of UBS's universal bank delivery model in Switzerland and it supports other divisions, such as Investment Bank, by referring clients to them and by assisting them to build their wealth to a level at which they can be transferred to UBS Wealth Management.[34] The retail and corporate distribution network comprises not only 279 branches in Switzerland, but 1,250 teller machines and self-service terminals, as well as digital banking services, serving 2.5 million personal banking clients.[34][26]

UBS's main competitor in this division is Credit Suisse.

UBS Asset Management

 
The entrance of UBS Tower at One North Wacker Drive, a 50-story skyscraper in downtown Chicago

UBS Asset Management offers equity, fixed income, currency, hedge fund, global real estate, infrastructure and private equity investment capabilities that can also be combined in multi-asset strategies.[51] The 1998 UBS-SBC merger and subsequent restructuring resulted in the combination of three major asset management operations: UBS Asset Management, Phillips & Drew (owned by Union Bank of Switzerland), and Brinson Partners (owned by SBC). The investment teams were merged in 2000 and in 2002 the brands were consolidated to become UBS Global Asset Management.[52]

At the end of December 2018, UBS Asset Management was responsible for US$781 billion of invested assets and the assets under administration were US$413 billion. [50][26] With around 2,300 employees in 23 countries, UBS Asset Management is the largest mutual fund manager in Switzerland, a leading fund house in Europe, and one of the largest hedge funds and real estate investment managers in the world.[53][54] It has main offices in Chicago, Hong Kong,[55] London,[56] New York, Singapore,[57] Sydney,[58] Tokyo, and Zürich.[59][26] With the aim to generate systematic products and services for clients, in 2017, UBS integrated Equities, Fixed Income and Solutions capabilities and hedge funds business within a new area named Investments. UBS also formed a new area of business named Real Estate and Private Markets by combining their Global Real Estate and Infrastructure and Private Equity businesses.[34]

In February 2017, UBS Group AG and the Northern Trust Corporation, an American international financial services company, announced an agreement for the acquisition of UBS Asset Management's fund administration servicing units in Luxembourg and Switzerland. This acquisition will facilitate the expansion of the Northern Trust Corporation into these two countries, turning the American company into the major fund administrator in the local markets and into one of the ten global leaders in the sector. At the end of the transaction, completed in October 2017,[60] the American company will administrate a total of CHF 420 billion in assets. UBS Asset Management will continue anyway to offer Management Company, White Labelling and Representative Services to its clients. Ulrich Körner, president of the UBS Asset Management, affirms that the continuous transformation of their platform is due to a major efficiency, effectiveness and geographical dislocation of the services offered by the bank.[61]

UBS's main competitors in this division are BlackRock, Vanguard Group, State Street Global Advisers (SSGA), Fidelity Investments and Allianz Asset Management (AAM).[62]

UBS Investment Bank

 
UBS Investment Bank's former offices in Stamford, Connecticut. At roughly the size of two American football fields, it was the largest column-less trading floor in the world.[63]

UBS Investment Bank provides services covering securities, other financial products, and research in equities, rates, credit, foreign exchange, precious metals and derivatives.[64] As of the end of December 2018, the personnel employed at UBS Investment Bank totalled 5,205, present in 33 countries (with principal offices in Chicago, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, New York, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo and Zurich).[50][26] This business division also advises and provides access to capital markets for corporate and institutional clients, governments, financial intermediaries, alternative asset managers, and private investors.[42] UBS Investment Bank was formerly known as UBS Warburg and as Warburg Dillon Read, before the merger of the Union Bank of Switzerland and the Swiss Bank Corporation (SBC). Within the UBS Investment Bank division, the Investment Banking Department (IBD) provides a range of advisory and underwriting services including mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, equity offerings, investment grade and high yield debt offerings, leveraged finance and leveraged loan structuring, and the private placement of equity, debt, and derivatives.

The Sales & Trading division comprises equities (brokering, dealing, market making and engaging in proprietary trading in equities, equity-related products, equity derivatives, and structured products) and FX, Rates and Credit (FRC) (brokering, dealing, market making and engaging in proprietary trading in interest rate products, credit products, mortgage-backed securities, leveraged loans, investment grade and high-yield debt, currencies, structured products, and derivative products). Following an expansion in 2002, the trading floor covers 9,600-square-metre (103,000 sq ft) with 12-metre (40 ft) arched ceilings. Over US$1 trillion in assets are traded here every trading day. In June 2011, it was announced that UBS was considering moving its North American headquarters back to New York City, and that the bank was looking for office spaces in Midtown and in the rebuilt World Trade Center.[65][66]

UBS's main competitors in this division are fellow members of the Bulge Bracket,[67] particularly Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Merrill Lynch.[68][69] The American division also offers its own credit card not sponsored by another bank unlike many of its competitors.[70]

Competition

 
UBS and Credit Suisse branches next to each other in Zurich

On a global scale, UBS competes with the largest global investment banks,[71][72] particularly within the Bulge Bracket,[71][69] and is regularly compared against its fellow Swiss banking giant, Credit Suisse.[73][74] According to a 2018 study published by Coalition Research Institute, UBS was among the top 10 of the world's investment banks.[75]

History

The official founding date of the bank is April 1862, the year when its nucleus Bank in Winterthur was founded.[76] Although the merged company's new name was originally supposed to be the "United Bank of Switzerland," the officials opted to call it simply UBS because of a name clash with the separate Swiss company United Bank Switzerland – a part of the United Bank Limited's Swiss subsidiary. Therefore, UBS is no longer an acronym but is the company's brand. Its logo of three keys, carried over from SBC, stands for the company's values of confidence, security, and discretion.[42]

Swiss Bank Corporation

Main article: Swiss Bank Corporation
 
Swiss Bank Corporation logo (c. 1973), featuring the three keys meant to symbolize confidence, security, and discretion

UBS, through Swiss Bank Corporation, traces its history to 1854 when six private banking firms in Basel, Switzerland pooled their resources to form the Bankverein, a consortium that acted as an underwriting syndicate for its member banks.[77] In 1871, the Bankverein coordinated with the German Frankfurter Bankverein to form the Basler Bankverein, a joint-stock company replacing the original Bankverein consortium.[77] After the new bank started with an initial commitment of CHF 30 million and CHF 6 million of share capital, it soon experienced growing pains when heavy losses in Germany caused it to suspend its dividend until 1879.[77] Following the years 1885 and 1886, when the bank merged with the Zürcher Bankverein and acquired the Basler Depositenbank and the Schweizerische Unionbank, it changed its name to Schweizerischer Bankverein.[77] The English name of the bank was originally Swiss Bankverein, but was changed to Swiss Bank Corporation (SBC) in 1917.[78]

 
 
The Basel offices of Swiss Bank Corporation c.1920[79]

SBC subsequently experienced a period of growth, which was only interrupted by the onset of World War I, in which the bank lost investments in a number of large industrial companies. By the end of 1918, the bank had recovered and surpassed CHF 1 billion in total assets and grew to 2,000 employees by 1920. The impact of the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression was severe, particularly as the Swiss franc suffered major devaluation in 1936. The bank saw its assets fall from a 1929 peak of CHF 1.6 billion to its 1918 levels of CHF 1 billion by 1936.[78][77]

In 1937, SBC adopted its three-keys logo, designed by Warja Honegger-Lavater, symbolizing confidence, security, and discretion, which remains an integral part in the current-day logo of UBS.[77] On the eve of World War II in 1939, SBC, like other Swiss banks, was the recipient of large influxes of foreign funds for safekeeping. Just prior to the outbreak of the war, SBC made the timely decision to open an office in New York City.[80] The office, located in the Equitable Building, was able to begin operations a few weeks after the outbreak of the war and was intended as a safe place to store assets in the case of an invasion.[81] During the war, the banks' traditional business fell off and the Swiss government became their largest client.[78]

In 1945, SBC acquired the Basler Handelsbank (Commercial Bank of Basel), which was one of the largest banks in Switzerland, but became insolvent by the end of the war. SBC remained among the Swiss government's leading underwriters of debt in the post-war years. SBC, which had entered the 1950s with 31 branch offices in Switzerland and three abroad, more than doubled its assets from the end of the war to CHF 4 billion by the end of the 1950s and doubled assets again in the mid-1960s, exceeding CHF 10 billion by 1965.[77] In 1961, SBC acquired Banque Populaire Valaisanne, based in Sion, Switzerland, and the Banque Populaire de Sierre.[52] The bank opened a full branch office in Tokyo in 1970.[77]

 
The St. Gallen, Switzerland, offices of Swiss Bank Corporation c.1920

In 1992, SBC acquired O'Connor & Associates, a Chicago-based options trading firm and the largest market maker in the financial options exchanges in the U.S.[82] O'Connor was combined with SBC's money market, capital market, and currency market activities to form a globally integrated capital markets and treasury operation.[82] In 1994, SBC acquired Brinson Partners, an asset management firm focused on providing access for U.S. institutions to global markets, for US$750 million.[83] Following the acquisition, founder Gary P. Brinson ran SBC's asset management business and later when SBC merged with UBS was named chief investment officer of UBS Asset Management.[84] The acquisition of S.G. Warburg & Co., a leading British investment banking firm, in 1995 for the price of US$1.4 billion signified a major push into investment banking. S.G. Warburg & Co. had established a reputation as a daring merchant bank that grew to be one of the most respected investment banks in London.[85] However, a Warburg expansion into the U.S. had turned out flawed and costly, and talks in 1994 with Morgan Stanley about a merger had collapsed.[86] SBC merged the firm with its own existing investment banking unit to create SBC Warburg.[83][87]

Two years later, in 1997, SBC paid US$600 million to acquire Dillon, Read & Co., a U.S. bulge bracket investment bank.[88][89] Dillon, Read & Co., which traced its roots to the 1830s, was among the powerhouse firms on Wall Street in the 1920s and 1930s, and by the 1990s had a particularly strong mergers and acquisitions advisory group. Dillon Read had been in negotiations to sell itself to ING, which owned 25% of the firm already, but Dillon Read partners balked at ING's integration plans.[88] After its acquisition by SBC, Dillon Read was merged with SBC-Warburg to create SBC-Warburg Dillon Read. Following SBC's later merger with Union Bank of Switzerland, the SBC part was dropped from the name; in 2000 when the new UBS got restructured the Dillon Read name was dropped, although it was brought back in 2005 as Dillon Read Capital Management, UBS's ill-fated hedge fund operations.[77]

Union Bank of Switzerland

Main article: Union Bank of Switzerland
 
1966 Union Bank of Switzerland logo, featuring the two acronyms of its English and French names (UBS) and its German counterpart (SBG)

The Union Bank of Switzerland emerged in 1912 when the Bank in Winterthur fused with the Toggenburger Bank. The Bank in Winterthur, founded in 1862 with an initial share capital of CHF 5 million, focused on providing financing for industry and other companies,[78][77] and had profited considerably from its close railroad connections and large warehousing facilities during the American Civil War when cotton prices rose dramatically.[90] The Toggenburger Bank was founded in 1863 with an initial share capital of CHF 1.5 million,[77] and specialized as a savings and mortgage bank for individual customers, maintaining a branch office network in eastern Switzerland.[91][77] The new company was initially traded under the English name Swiss Banking Association, but in 1921 it was changed to Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) to mirror its French name, Union de Banques Suisses. In German, the bank was known as the Schweizerische Bankgesellschaft (SBG).[92]

 
Bank in Winterthur, est. 1862
 
Toggenburger Bank, est. 1863

The combined bank had total assets of CHF 202 million and a total shareholders' equity of CHF 46 million.[77] In 1917, UBS completed the construction of a new headquarters in Zurich on Bahnhofstrasse, considered to be the Wall Street of Switzerland.[78] By 1923, offices were established throughout Switzerland.[91] Although the bank suffered in the aftermath of World War I and the Great Depression, it was able to make several smaller acquisitions; in 1937 it established Intrag AG, an asset management business responsible for investment trusts, (i.e. mutual funds).[77][91]

The activities of the Union Bank of Switzerland during World War II were not publicly known until decades after the war, when it was demonstrated that UBS likely took active roles in trading stolen gold, securities, and other assets during World War II.[93][94] The issue of "unclaimed property" of Holocaust victims became a major issue for UBS in the mid-1990s, and a series of revelations in 1997 brought the issue to the forefront of national attention in 1996 and 1997.[95] UBS confirmed that a large number of accounts had gone unclaimed as a result of the bank's policy of requiring death certificates from family members to claim the contents of the account.[96][97] UBS's handling of these revelations were largely criticized and the bank received significant negative attention in the U.S.[98][99] UBS came under significant pressure, particularly from American politicians, to compensate Holocaust survivors who were making claims against the bank.[100]

 
In 1917, the Union Bank of Switzerland opened a new headquarters on Bahnhofstrasse (pictured above) in Zürich.

Shortly after the end of World War II, Union Bank of Switzerland completed the acquisition of the Eidgenössische Bank, a large Zürich-based bank that became insolvent. As a result of the merger, Union Bank of Switzerland exceeded CHF 1 billion in assets and moved its operations to Zürich. UBS opened branches and acquired a series of banks in Switzerland in the following years, growing from 31 offices in 1950 to 81 offices by the early 1960s.[77] In 1960, Union Bank of Switzerland acquired an 80% stake in Argor SA, a Swiss precious metals refinery founded in 1951 in the canton of Ticino.[52] UBS continues to issue gold bars via Argor-Heraeus which is famous for the unique kinebar holographic technology it uses to provide enhanced protection against bank gold bar counterfeiting.[101] By 1962, Union Bank of Switzerland reached CHF 6.96 billion of assets, narrowly edging ahead of Swiss Bank Corporation to become the largest bank in Switzerland.[102] The rapid growth was punctuated by the 1967 acquisition of Interhandel, which made UBS one of the strongest banks in Europe.[91]

By the 1980s, Union Bank of Switzerland established a position as a leading European underwriter of Eurobonds.[78] Following two major acquisitions in 1986 (Phillips & Drew and Deutsche Länderbank), UBS made its first purchase in the United States in 1991 with Chase Investors Management Corporation, the asset management business of Chase Manhattan Bank.[52] At the time of the acquisition, the business managed in excess of US$30 billion in assets.[103] The bank's investments had been in the conservative asset management and life insurance businesses; further, 60% of the bank's profits came from its even more conservative Swiss banking operations.[104][105] In 1993, Credit Suisse outbid Union Bank of Switzerland for Switzerland's Swiss Volksbank, the fifth largest bank in Switzerland which had run into financial difficulties in the early 1990s.[102] The acquisition propelled Credit Suisse ahead of Union Bank of Switzerland as the largest bank in Switzerland for the first time. Prior to the merger with Swiss Bank Corporation, UBS purchased a group of smaller Swiss banks in 1994 including the Cantonal Bank of Appenzell-Ausserrhoden in 1996,[77] and in 1997 Schröder, Münchmeyer, Hengst & Co. from Lloyds Bank was acquired to improve access to the German investment banking and private wealth management markets.[106]

Merger of Union Bank of Switzerland and Swiss Bank Corporation: 1998

 
After the two banks merged, they became known solely as "UBS" while retaining the Swiss Bank Corporation's "three keys" icon.

During the mid-1990s, Union Bank of Switzerland came under fire from dissident shareholders critical of its conservative management and lower return on equity.[107] Martin Ebner, through his investment trust, BK Vision, became the largest shareholder in Union Bank of Switzerland and attempted to force a major restructuring of the bank's operations.[108] Looking to take advantage of the situation, Credit Suisse approached Union Bank of Switzerland about a merger that would have created the second largest bank in the world in 1996.[109] Union Bank of Switzerland's management and board unanimously rebuffed the proposed merger.[110] Ebner, who supported the idea of a merger, led a shareholder revolt that resulted in the replacement of Union Bank of Switzerland's chairman, Robert Studer with Mathis Cabiallavetta, one of the key architects of the merger with Swiss Bank Corporation.[78][111]

On 8 December 1997, Union Bank of Switzerland and Swiss Bank Corporation announced an all-stock merger. At the time of the merger, Union Bank of Switzerland and Swiss Bank Corporation were the second and third largest banks in Switzerland, respectively.[112] Discussions between the two banks had begun several months earlier, less than a year after rebuffing Credit Suisse's merger overtures.[113] The merger resulted in the creation of UBS AG, a new bank with total assets of more than US$590 billion, the largest of its kind.[114] During the merger, UBS chairman Marcel Ospel originally wanted to call the company "United Bank of Switzerland", but settled on simply using "UBS" following the acquisition of American brokerage firm, Paine Webber.[115]

Colloquially referred to as the "New UBS" to distinguish itself from the former Union Bank of Switzerland, the combined bank became the second largest in the world at the time, behind only the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.[114] Additionally, the merger pulled together the banks' various asset management businesses to create the world's largest money manager, with approximately US$910 billion in assets under management.[114] Union Bank of Switzerland's Mathis Cabiallavetta became chairman of the new bank while Swiss Bank's Marcel Ospel was named chief executive officer.[114] Nearly 80% of the top management positions were filled by legacy Swiss Bank professionals.[78] Prior to the merger, Swiss Bank Corporation was considered to be further along than Union Bank of Switzerland in developing its international investment banking business, particularly in the higher margin advisory businesses where Warburg Dillon Read was considered to be the more established platform.[116][117] Union Bank of Switzerland had a stronger retail and commercial banking business in Switzerland, while both banks had strong asset management capabilities.[114] After the merger was completed, it was speculated that a series of losses suffered by UBS on its equity derivative positions in late 1997 was a contributing factor in pushing UBS management to consummate the merger.[118][119]

Paine Webber and international expansion: 2000–2006

 
UBS PaineWebber logo in use from 2001 until 2003 when the use of the Paine Webber brand was dropped

On 3 November 2000, UBS merged with Paine Webber, an American stock brokerage and asset management firm led by chairman and CEO Donald Marron.[120][121] At the time of its merger with UBS, Paine Webber had emerged as the fourth largest private client firm in the United States with 385 offices employing 8,554 brokers. The acquisition pushed UBS to the top wealth and asset management firm in the world. Initially, the business was given the divisional name UBS PaineWebber but in 2003 the 123-year-old name Paine Webber disappeared when it was renamed UBS Wealth Management USA.[122] UBS took a CHF 1 billion write-down for the loss of goodwill associated with the retirement of the Paine Webber brand when it integrated its brands under the unified UBS name in 2003.[52]

 
UBS Warburg was the brand used for the Investment Banking division of UBS from 1999 to 2003.

John P. Costas, a former bond trader and co-head of Fixed income at Credit Suisse First Boston and head of Fixed Income Trading at Union Bank of Switzerland in 1998, was appointed CEO of UBS's investment banking division, which originated in SBC's Warburg Dillon Read division and was renamed UBS Warburg in December 2001.[123][124] In an attempt to break into the elite bulge bracket of investment banks, in which UBS then had little success while rival Credit Suisse was establishing itself as a major player on Wall Street with the acquisition of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette in 2000, Costas shifted the growth strategy from acquiring entire firms to hiring individual investment bankers or teams of bankers from rival firms.[125][126] Costas had followed a similar approach in building out the UBS fixed income business, hiring over 500 sales and trading personnel and increasing revenues from US$300 million in 1998 to over US$3 billion by 2001.

 
UBS Financial Services (left) in Frankfurt, 2012

The arrival of former Drexel Burnham Lambert investment banker Ken Moelis marked a major coup for Costas. Moelis joined UBS from Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette in 2001 shortly after its acquisition by Credit Suisse First Boston (although Huw Jenkins claimed he had hired Moelis to the UK Parliamentary Banking commission while under oath, which is patently false). In his six years at UBS, Moelis ultimately assumed the role of president of UBS Investment Bank and was credited, along with Costas, with the build-out of UBS's investment banking operation in the United States.[127] Within weeks of joining, Moelis brought over a team of 70 bankers from Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.[127] Costas and Moelis hired more than 30 senior U.S. bankers from 2001 through 2004.[123] It was estimated that UBS spent as much as US$600 million to US$700 million hiring top bankers in the U.S. during this three-year period.[128] Among the bank's other major recruits during this period were Olivier Sarkozy, Ben Lorello, Blair Effron, and Jeff McDermott.[129][130] By 2003, UBS had risen to fourth place from seventh in global investment banking fees, earning US$2.1 billion of the US$39 billion paid to investment banks that year, increasing 33%.[123] Over the next four years, UBS consistently ranked in the top 4 in the global fee pool and established a track record of 20 consecutive quarters of rising profits.[131]

In 2006, UBS set up a joint venture in China (see UBS Securities, China branch). However, by the end of 2006, UBS began to experience changing fortunes. In late 2005, Costas headed a new hedge fund unit within UBS known as Dillon Read Capital Management. His former position was taken over by Huw Jenkins, a long-time legacy UBS investment banker.[132] In 2006, UBS bankers Blair Effron and Michael Martin announced their departures.[133][134] In March 2007, Moelis announced that he was leaving the company, and shortly thereafter founded a new business, Moelis & Company.[135] As he had when joining UBS, Moelis took a large team of senior UBS investment bankers.[136][137] Moelis's departure was caused primarily by repeated conflict over the availability of capital from the bank's balance sheet to pursue large transactions, particularly leveraged buyouts.[138] The bank's apparent conservatism would be turned on its head when large losses were reported in various mortgage securities rather than corporate loans that generated investment banking fees. After Moelis, other notable departures included investment banking co-head Jeff McDermott in early 2007 and, as the financial crisis set in, other high-profile bankers such as Oliver Sarkozy in early 2008 and Ben Lorello in 2009.[129][134]

UBS was fined $100 million by the FED in 2004 for trading in dollars with Iran and other sanctioned countries.[139]

Subprime mortgage crisis and recovery: 2007–2009

At the beginning of 2007, UBS became the first Wall Street firm to announce a heavy loss in the subprime mortgage sector as the subprime mortgage crisis began to develop.[140] In May 2007, UBS announced the closure of its Dillon Read Capital Management (DRCM) division.[141] Although in 2006, DCRM had generated a profit for the bank of US$720 million, after UBS took over DRCM's positions in May 2007, losses grew from the US$124 million recorded by DRCM, ultimately to "16% of the US$19 billion in losses UBS recorded." The UBS investment bank continued to expand subprime risk in the second quarter of 2007 while most market participants were reducing risk,[142] resulting in not only expanding DRCM losses but creating the 84% of the other losses experienced by the bank.[143]

In response to the growing series of problems at UBS, and possibly his role in spearheading Costas' departure from the bank, Peter Wuffli unexpectedly stepped down as CEO of the firm during the second quarter of 2007.[144][145] Wuffli would be joined by many of his fellow managers in the next year, most notably the bank's chairman Marcel Ospel. However, the bank's problems continued through the end of 2007,[146] when the bank reported its first quarterly loss in over five years.[147] As its losses jeopardized the bank's capital position, UBS quickly raised US$11.5 billion of capital in December 2007, US$9.7 billion of which came from the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC)[148] and US$1.8 billion from an unnamed Middle Eastern investor.[149]

 
Protestors outside of UBS's Zürich headquarters, 2009

After a significant expansion of fixed income risk during 2006 and 2007 under the leadership of Huw Jenkins, the UBS Investment Bank CEO,[150] the bank's losses continued to mount in 2008 when UBS announced in April 2008 that it was writing down a further US$19 billion of investments in subprime and other mortgage assets.[151]

By this point, UBS's total losses in the mortgage market were in excess of US$37 billion, the largest such losses of any of its peers.[152] In response to its losses, UBS announced a CHF 15 billion rights offering to raise the additional funds need to shore up its depleted reserves of capital. UBS cut its dividend in order to protect its traditionally high Tier 1 capital ratio, seen by investors as a key to its credibility as the world's largest wealth management company.[153][154] In October 2008, UBS announced that it had placed CHF 6 billion of new capital, through mandatory convertible notes, with Swiss Confederation.[155] The Swiss National Bank and UBS made an agreement to transfer approximately US$60 billion of currently illiquid securities and various assets from UBS to a separate fund entity.[156][157] In November 2008, UBS put US$6 billion of equity into the new "bad bank" entity, keeping only an option to benefit if the value of its assets were to recover. Heralded as a "neat" package by The New York Times, the UBS structure guaranteed clarity for UBS investors by making an outright sale.[158] UBS announced in February 2009 that it had lost nearly CHF 20 billion (US$17.2 billion) in 2008, the biggest single-year loss of any company in Swiss history.[159] Since the beginning of the financial crisis in 2007, UBS has written down more than US$50 billion from subprime mortgage investments and cut more than 11,000 jobs.[160][161] By the spring of 2009, UBS announced another management restructuring and initiated a plan to return to profitability. Jerker Johansson, the head of the investment bank division, resigned in April 2009 and was replaced by Alex Wilmot-Sitwell and Carsten Kengeter.[162] At the same time, UBS announced the planned cut of 8,700 jobs[163] and had implemented a new compensation plan. Under the plan, no more than one-third of any cash bonus would be paid out in the year it is earned with the rest to be held in reserve and stock-based incentives that would vest after three years. In April 2009, UBS announced that it agreed to sell its Brazilian financial services business, UBS Pactual, for approximately US$2.5 billion to BTG Investments.[164]

 
UBS world headquarters in Zürich's Paradeplatz

The Swiss government sold its CHF 6 billion stake in UBS in late 2008 at a large profit; Switzerland had purchased convertible notes in 2008 to help UBS clear its balance sheets of toxic assets.[165] Taking advantage of improved conditions in the stock market in mid-2009, UBS placed US$3.5 billion of shares with a small number of large institutional investors.[166] Oswald Grübel announced, "We are building a new UBS, one that performs to the highest standards and behaves with integrity and honesty; one that distinguishes itself not only through the clarity and reliability of the advice and services it provides but in how it manages and executes."[167] Grübel reiterated plans to maintain an integrated business model of providing wealth management advisory, investment banking, and asset management services.[168]

Shift to private banking and market reemergence: 2010–present

In August 2010, UBS launched a new advertising campaign featuring the slogan: "We will not rest" and signed a global sponsorship agreement with Formula 1.[169][170] On 26 October 2010, UBS announced that its private bank recorded net new funds of CHF 900 million during the third quarter, compared to an outflow of CHF 5.5 billion in second quarter.[171] UBS's third quarter net profit of US$1.65 billion beat analyst estimates, continuing a string of profitability. After the elimination of almost 5,000 jobs, UBS announced on 23 August 2011 that it was further cutting another 3,500 positions in order to "improve operating efficiency" and save CHF 1.5 to CHF 2 billion a year. 45 percent of the job cuts would come from the investment banking unit, which continued to post dismal figures since the 2008 financial crisis, while the rest would come from the wealth management and asset management divisions. The firm has seen profits fall due to the rise of the Swiss franc.[172][173]

On 15 September 2011, UBS became aware of a massive loss, originally estimated at US$2 billion, allegedly due to unauthorized trading by Kweku Adoboli, a then 31-year-old Ghanaian trader on the Delta One desk of the firm's investment bank.[174] Adoboli was arrested and later charged with fraud by abuse of position and false accounting dating as far back as 2008. UBS's actual losses were subsequently confirmed as US$2.3 billion, and according to the prosecutor in Adoboli's trial he "was a gamble or two from destroying Switzerland's largest bank for his own benefit."[175][176] On 24 September 2011 UBS announced chief executive Oswald Grübel's resignation, and the appointment of Sergio Ermotti as his replacement on an interim basis.[177][178]

 
A UBS retail bank for private wealth management in St. Gallen, Switzerland

On 30 October 2012, UBS announced that it was cutting 10,000 jobs worldwide in an effort to slim down its investment banking operations, of which 2,500 would be in Switzerland, followed by the United States and Great Britain. This 15-percent staff cut would make overall staff count come down from 63,745 to 54,000. (For comparison, the peak employment level in 2007 before the 2008 financial crisis was 83,500).[179][180] UBS also announced that the investment bank would focus on its traditional strengths and exit much of its fixed income trading business that was not economically profitable. On 19 December 2012, UBS was fined $1.5 billion for its role in the Libor scandal[181] over accusations that it tried to rig benchmark interest rates.[182] In November 2014, regulators including the FCA and CFTC hit UBS with fines, along with other banks, for currency manipulation.[183] On 6 January 2014, it was reported that UBS had become the largest private banker in the world, with $1.7 trillion in assets.[184] In May 2015, media reports revealed UBS is planning to sell its Australian private banking division to some of its management after a review of underperforming businesses was conducted at the company.[185]

In late 2016, the bank created the digital currency "Utility Settlement Coin" (USC) to accelerate inter-bank settlements and established a blockchain technology research laboratory in London.[186][187] From 2012 to 2018, the investment bank, led by Andrea Orcel, initiated a major restructuring, firing over 10,000 employees and focusing on European underwriting business instead of traditional dealmaking.[188][189] UBS announced in January 2018 that it does not trade or expose clients to cryptocurrencies as it believes they have little to no elasticity, and are speculatively valued.[190] It partnered with technology company IBM to launch a blockchain trade finance platform called "Batavia" in early 2018.[191]

In April 2021, UBS reported a $774 million loss from the collapse of US investment fund Archegos Capital Management.[192]

In July 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, UBS announced it would continue to allow for flextime and remote work by many employees, noting that they did not impede productivity.[193] The announcement distinguished the bank from its competitors, such as Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, which pressured on employees to return to the office as COVID-19 lockdowns and measures eased.[194][195]

In January 2022, UBS agreed to acquire Wealthfront for $1.4 billion.[196] UBS expects to accelerate its growth in the US with the purchase, and will operate Wealthfront as a business within UBS Global Wealth Management.[196] The acquisition was mutually terminated in September 2022 with both companies not providing a reason.[197][198] UBS announced that it would instead invest in a $69.7 million note convertible into Wealthfront shares, valuing the latter at its acquisition price.[198]

In November 2022, Fang Xinghai, vice chairperson of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, made remarks by prerecorded video to the Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit.[199] In it, he warned investors to not read too much foreign news (international media) about China, and said that some international investors read "too much" of it.[199]Later at the Summit, Colm Kelleher said, regarding global bankers, that "we're all very pro-China," and in reference to Fang's comments, said "We're not reading the American press, we actually buy the [China] story."[200][201]

Acquisition history

As it exists today, UBS represents a conglomeration of dozens of individual firms, many of which date back to the 19th century. Over the years, these firms merged to form the bank's three major predecessors, Union Bank of Switzerland, Swiss Bank Corporation, ICO Markets Exchange Clearing Limited and Paine Webber. The following is a visual illustration of the company's major mergers and acquisitions and historical predecessors, although this is not necessarily a comprehensive list:[202]

 <br />(Formed 1998 from merger of Union Bank of Switzerld & Swiss Bank Corp.)
 <br />Union Bank of Switzerland<br />(Merged in 1998 with Swiss Bank Corporation)
Union Bank of Switzerland<br />(originally Swiss Banking Association, merged 1912)

Bank in Winterthur
(est. 1862)

Toggenburger Bank
(est. 1863)

Aargauische Kreditanstalt<br />(merged 1915, acq. 1919)

Aargauische Kreditanstalt
(est. 1872)

Bank in Baden
(est. 1863)

Eidgenössische Bank
(est. 1863, acq. 1945)

Interhandel
(est. 1928, acq. 1967)

Phillips & Drew
(est. 1895 as G.A. Phillips & Co., acq. 1986)

Chase Investors Management Corporation
(est. 1972 as subsidiary)

Schröder Brothers & Co.
(est. 1846)

Münchmeyer & Co.
(est. 1855)

Frederick Hengst & Co.

 <br />Swiss Bank Corporation<br />(Merged in 1998 with Union Bank of Switzerland)
Swiss Bank Corporation<br />(merged 1897)
Basler & Zürcher Bankverein<br />(est. 1880)

Basler Bankverein
(est. 1856 as Bankverein, renamed in 1872)

Zürcher Bankverein
(est. 1889)

Basler Depositenbank
(est. 1882)

Schweiz Unionbank
(est. 1889)

Basler Handelsbank
(est. 1862, acq. 1945)

O'Connor & Associates
(est. 1977, acq. 1992)

Brinson Partners
(est. 1989, acq. 1994)

Warburg Dillon Read<br />(merged 1997 under SBC ownership)

S. G. Warburg & Co.
(est. 1946, acq. 1995)

Dillon, Read & Co.
(est. 1832, acq. 1997)

 <br />Paine Webber<br />(consolidated 3 subsidiaries in 1984; merged in 2000 with UBS)
Paine, Webber, Jackson & Curtis<br />(merged 1942)

Paine & Webber
(est. 1880)

Jackson & Curtis
(est. 1879)

Mitchell Hutchins
(est. 1938, acq. 1975)

Blyth, Eastman Dillon & Co.<br />(merged 1972, acq. 1979)

Kidder, Peabody & Co.
(est. 1864, acq. 1995)

J.C. Bradford & Co.
(est. 1928, acq. 2000)

ICO Markets Exchange Clearing Limited
(est. 2021, acq. as a shareholder 2021)

Corporate governance

Senior leadership

  • Chairman: Colm Kelleher (since April 2022)
  • Chief Executive: Ralph Hamers (since November 2020) [203]

List of former chairmen

  1. Mathis Cabiallavetta (1998)
  2. Alex Krauer (1998–2001)
  3. Marcel Ospel (2001–2008)
  4. Peter Kurer (2008–2009)
  5. Kaspar Villiger (2009–2012)
  6. Axel Weber (2012–2022)

List of former chief executives

  1. Marcel Ospel (1998–2001)
  2. Peter Wuffli (2001–2007)
  3. Marcel Rohner (2007–2009)
  4. Oswald Grübel (2009–2011)
  5. Sergio Ermotti (2011–2020)

Shareholders

 
UBS Europe SE Headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, Germany

As disclosed under the Swiss Stock exchange Act, the most significant shareholders of UBS are GIC Private Limited with 7.07%, BlackRock Inc with 4.98%,[204] Norges Bank with 3.30%, MFS Investment Management with 3.05% and Capital Group Companies with 3.01% of total share capital.[205] In 2008 during the subprime mortgage crisis, GIC Private Limited invested CHF 11 billion into UBS to help bail it out, thus becoming the largest single shareholder.[34]

Additionally, the UBS Group AG disclosed shareholders registered in their share register with 3% or more of shares issued. As of 30 September 2017, these are Chase Nominees Ltd, DTC (Cede & Co.) and Nortrust Nominees Ltd with 10.32%, 6.63% and 4.04% of total share capital respectively.[206]

As of 30 June 2019, shareholdings of the Group were distributed as follows:[207]

Shareholders
registered 		Shares
registered
amount % amount %
Individual shareholders 220,172 97.8 490,593,639 12.7
Legal entities 4,665 2.1 543,626,690 14.1
Nominees, fiduciaries 217 0.1 1,165,313,198 30.2
Total 225,054 100.0 3,859,055,395 100.0

Banking secrecy

UBS frequently cites Swiss culture—specifically its penchant for privacy, security and neutrality—as foundational to its company culture.[208] Although banking secrecy started in the 1700s, Switzerland drafted a series of banking regulations and statutes the late 1800s and 1930s to protect and secure banks within its borders.[209] The most prominent was the Federal Act on Banks and Savings Banks, known simply as the "Banking Law of 1934".[210] The federal law prohibits and criminalizes the distribution and release of client information to third parties.[210] The bill was passed by the Swiss Federal Assembly in order to combat the seizure of client assets and information for reasons debated by historians.[209] UBS, then known as the Swiss Bank Corporation, received large influxes of capital from Europe for safe keeping during the war.[211] More than two dozen Swiss banking statutes were drafted from 1934 to 2008 to strengthen banking secrecy at UBS Switzerland AG.[211] In 2018, Switzerland, alongside major Swiss banks including UBS, was ranked first on the Financial Secrecy Index.[212] UBS was the largest wealth manager in 23 of the top 25 countries on the 2018 Financial Secrecy Index.[212]

While UBS maintains the strictest banking secrecy policies in Switzerland, its policies across Europe and especially the United States are comparable.[211] Within the U.S., the bank is prohibited from disclosing client activities and information both internally and through regulation imposed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), U.S. Treasury, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and various U.S. state regulators.[213] UBS employees are prohibited from discussing client activity or information publicly, sharing information across borders, retaining client information insecurely and required to maintain robust bank-client confidentiality agreements.[213] In 2018, UBS operations within the U.S. were ranked second on the Financial Secrecy Index, following UBS Switzerland AG.[212] Within the European Union (E.U.), UBS operations maintain similar banking secrecy policies to Switzerland in the following countries and crown dependencies: Jersey, Austria, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Monaco, and the Isle of Man.[214] Substantial, albeit greatly reduced, banking secrecy provisions are afforded to UBS operations in France, Germany, Ireland, and the Netherlands.[214]

Hidden assets

UBS, along with other Swiss banks, maintains a variety of hidden assets and numbered bank accounts in an effort to preserve anonymity and confidentiality.[215] Despite its name, hidden accounts are not truly hidden.[216] The usage of these types of accounts (and assets) limits the knowledge of the account between the client and a restricted number of private bankers who retain record of who the account belongs to.[216]

In January 1997, Christoph Meili, a night guard at the Union Bank of Switzerland (precursor of UBS) in Zürich, publicly announced that bank officials were destroying documents about orphaned assets, believed to be the credit balances of both Nazi German and Jewish clients attained during World War II.[208] Soon after, Zurich authorities opened a judicial investigation against Meili for suspected violations of the Swiss laws on banking secrecy.[217] After a US$2.56 billion lawsuit was filed against UBS and other Swiss banks on behalf of the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, a settlement was reached that totalled US$1.25 billion in August 1998.[218][219]

 
An entrance to a UBS Wealth Management office in Milan, Italy. With a strike-plated door and frosted glass, its purpose is to provide security and banking discretion.

The Swiss government has taken steps to curb the usage of hidden services by foreign account holders as they have been frequently used to facilitate the transfer of "black money".[220] In May 2013, Switzerland announced that it would amend certain banking secrecy laws applicable to UBS Switzerland AG to allow the disclosure of hidden client accounts to various investigative authorities.[220] However, the disclosure of such information is heavily regulated and only "occur exclusively within the scope of administrative assistance procedures based on a valid double taxation agreement."[215]

Bank vaults and bunkers

UBS, along with other Swiss banks, owns and operates undisclosed or otherwise secretive bank vaults, storage facilities or underground bunkers for gold bars, diamonds, cash, or other valuable physical assets.[208][221] The geographical location of these facilities are undisclosed to the public but are known to be present in the mountainous regions of the Swiss Alps.[222] These facilities are not subject to the same banking regulations as banks in Switzerland and do not have to report holdings to regulatory agencies.[222][223] According to the Swiss Armed Forces, UBS purchased four former military bunkers to convert into storage facilities throughout the 1980s and 1990s.[208][224] Three of these bunkers are not accessible by road or foot and require aircraft transportation.[208] The transfer of assets to these bunkers is selective as a multi-stage security clearance is required and is not available to all UBS clients.[222] In special circumstances, UBS contracts smaller banks in Southern Switzerland to maintain company assets.[208]

The largest disclosed Swiss bank vault is five floors (19 metres or 62 feet) under the bank's Geneva headquarters.[225] In July 2013, UBS established a gold storage facility and depository in Singapore for high net worth and ultra high net worth clients in their Hong Kong, China, and Malaysia markets who are willing to pay high fees and commissions for the highest level of secrecy and safety for their assets.[224]

Tax evasion

Main article: UBS tax evasion controversies

The strict banking secrecy policies and bank-client confidentiality agreements at UBS have frequently been used to avoid, evade or otherwise escape foreign direct taxation. UBS reached multilateral agreements with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and U.K. HM Revenue and Customs in 2009 and 2010, respectively.[226] These agreements ensured a line of communication between the tax agencies and all registered Swiss banks.[227] The most commonly used stipulation triggered by select UBS Switzerland AG clients regard the following statute: Swiss banks are only allowed to disclose client information if a client is legally charged with proof of deliberate financial fraud, not merely the non-reporting of assets to avoid taxation.[215]

The banking privacy policies of UBS have led to numerous controversies and disagreements with foreign governments:

 
The French supreme court, Cour de Cassation, ruled against UBS in their 2014 appeal of tax evasion.
  • In 2007, Bradley Birkenfeld, a Geneva-based employee who worked in the bank's North American wealth management business, claimed that UBS's dealings with American clients violated an agreement between the bank and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.[228] He subsequently complained to UBS compliance officials about the bank's "unfair and deceptive business practices", which included sponsoring events like yacht races and art festivals in the United States to attract wealthy people as potential clients.[229] UBS was charged by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and ordered it to cease providing cross-border private banking services to US-domiciled clients through its non-US regulated units as of July 2008.[230]
  • In 2012, the German government saw to it that UBS Deutschland AG came under investigation by prosecutors in Mannheim, Germany, after a tax probe revealed suspicious funds transfers from Germany to Switzerland allegedly facilitated by the bank's Frankfurt office.[231] UBS Deutschland's Frankfurt office was raided by tax investigators in May 2012, and over 100,000 computer files and records were seized for evidence. The bank, which claims it is cooperating with the investigators, said that "an internal investigation into the specific allegations has not identified any evidence of misbehaviour by UBS Deutschland AG."[231]
  • In 2014, the French government launched an investigation into UBS France's alleged abetting of tax evasion by French taxpayers.[232] The investigation estimated the amount of tax income lost to UBS-controlled offshore accounts at €600 billion.[233] In July 2014, the bank was required to post a bond of 1.1 billion euros, which UBS complied with while making multiple appeals in the French court system, finally losing its appeal at the Cour de Cassation, France's highest court.[234] That same year, UBS accused the French government of engaging in a "highly politicized process" in its investigation of the bank.[235]

In December 2021, UBS was criminally convicted by an appeals court in France for “illegal banking activities”, money laundering and “aggravated tax fraud” and fined €1.8 billion.[236][237] UBS has said it is appealing that decision.[238]

Corporate social responsibility

In January 2010, UBS issued a new code of conduct and business ethics which all employees were encouraged to sign. The code addressed issues such as financial crime, competition, confidentiality, as well as human rights and environmental issues. The eight-page code also lays out potential sanctions against employees who violate it, including warnings, demotions, or dismissal.[239] According to Kaspar Villiger, former chairman of the board, and Oswald J. Grübel, former Group CEO, the code is "an integral part of changing the way UBS conducts business".[240]

In 2011, UBS expanded its global compliance database to include information on environmental and social issues provided by RepRisk,[241] a global research firm specialized in environmental, social and corporate governance (e.g., ESG) risk analytics and metrics.[242] This was done in an effort to mitigate environmental and social risks that could impact the bank's reputation or financial performance and to simultaneously help globally standardize and systematically implement the firm's due diligence processes.[243] RepRisk data is used in the on-boarding process to screen potential new clients and sourcing partners,[244] alongside periodic client reviews and, also, to evaluate the risks related to transactions in investment banking and institutional lending.[245]

In 2018, UBS held 0.72% of shares in HikVision[246] (surveillance cameras), a subsidiary of the Chinese military conglomerate CETC, sanctioned by the US Department of Commerce for participating to mass surveillance in the predominantly Muslim populated Chinese autonomous region of Xinjiang.[247]

In October 2019, UBS joined UN's Global Investors for Sustainable Development Alliance (GISD).[248] UBS has committed to raise US$5 billion of SDG-related impact investments by the end of 2021, which aim to create a measurable positive social or environmental impact.[248]

Research and development

Blockchain

UBS has been an early adopter regarding the use of blockchain technology in financial services. In April 2015, UBS opened an innovation lab at the Level39 technology accelerator space in London.[249]

In August 2016, UBS announced that it will team up with BNY Mellon, Deutsche Bank, Banco Santander, brokerage company ICAP and the fintech company Clearmatics, to promote UBS's "Utility Settlement Coin" (USC). The USC is a blockchain-based digital currency that financial institutions could use to transact securities with each other, bypassing the traditional settlement processes which is ongoing.[250]

IMECL

In 2021, UBS buys 31% ICO Markets Exchange Clearing Limited, Digital Asset Exchange, Regulator Company in the European Digital Asset Market which financial institutions and private clients they will use to trade securities among themselves, bypassing the traditional ongoing settlement processes.[251]

Artificial intelligence

In 2018, UBS digitally cloned Daniel Kalt, one of its chief economists. Artificial intelligence expert FaceMe was hired to create an interactive avatar of Kalt that can meet with clients via television screen. The clients will be able to ask questions and receive answers, made possible by IBM's Watson AI technology.[252][253]

Recognition

 
The largest UBS operations across Switzerland

In 2006, for the fourth consecutive year, UBS was named one of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers living in the U.S. by Working Mother magazine.[254] It is a member of the Stonewall Diversity Champions scheme[255] and has active gay and lesbian, ethnic minority, and women's networking groups. UBS was included on Business Week's The Best Places to Launch a Career 2008, and ranked No. 96 out of the 119 total companies listed.[255] On 2 February 2010, UBS topped the charts for the ninth year in a row in Institutional Investor's annual ranking of Europe's most highly regarded equity analysts. In a year of extremes for equity markets, money managers say that no firm did a better job than UBS to keep them informed about which European sectors, countries, and industries offered the greatest potential.[256] On 4 May 2010, UBS Investment Bank was voted the leading pan-European brokerage firm for equity and equity linked research for a record tenth successive year. A Thomson Reuters Extel survey ranked UBS number one in all three of the key disciplines of research: Research (tenth year); Sales (ninth year running); and Equity Trading and Execution (up from second place in 2009). UBS was also named as the number one leading pan-European brokerage firm for economics and strategy research.[257]

On 31 October 2013, UBS Wealth Management was voted the Best Global Private Bank by Professional Wealth Management,[258] retaining the title in 2014 while also being recognized as the Best Private Bank for Philanthropy Services, and Best Global Brand in Private Banking.[259] On 27 October 2016, for the 4th consecutive year, UBS Wealth Management won the Best Global Private Bank title, as well as the Best Private Bank in Asia award for the 5th consecutive year.[260] UBS won the top prize again in 2018.[261]

In 2014, the Group received Euromoney's Awards for Excellence 2014 as the Best global bank,[262][263] and as the Best Bank in Switzerland.[264] In 2017, UBS not only retained its leading position taken in 2016 in the main category best private banking services overall at the Euromoney's Private Banking Awards,[265] but also received recognition as Western Europe's best bank for advisory 2017.[266]

In 2018, for the third consecutive year, RobecoSAM, an organization specialized exclusively on Sustainability Investing and conducting extensive research,[267] named UBS in its Industry group leader report 2018 for each of the industry groups represented in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index the group leader[268] in Diversified Financials.[269] The report highlighted Group's sustainability efforts directed through its UBS and Society program: a cross-divisional platform involving activities and capabilities in sustainable investing and philanthropy, environmental and human rights policies, UBS's own environmental footprint, as well as the community investment.[270] The Group also received recognition from Global Finance which rates financial services providers that best meet the specialized needs of corporations on a global level. The selection criteria are focused less on the size, but rather on qualities that companies look for when choosing a provider.[271][272] UBS was named in the category Global Winners as Best Private Bank in the World 2017,[273] and in the list of global best banks 2017, the Group received the award as Global Winner in the category World's Best Investment Banks 2017.[272][274]

In 2019, UBS was listed as one of the Top 50 World's Most Attractive Employers Global Business Ranking 2019 by Universum Global Survey.[275]

Sponsorship

Sports

UBS is particularly active in sponsoring various golf tournaments, cross-country skiing in Switzerland, ice hockey, and a range of other events around the world. UBS was the sponsor of the Alinghi sailing ship, winner of the Americas Cup in 2003. UBS has been or currently is a sponsor of the following sporting events and organizations:

Culture

UBS's cultural sponsorships are typically related to classical music and contemporary art, although the company also sponsors a range of film festivals, music festivals, and other cultural events and organizations. UBS supported the Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative in which the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation identified and worked with artists, curators and educators from South and Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East and North Africa to expand their reach in the international art world and challenge the Western-centric view of art history.[276] UBS has previously been or currently is a sponsor of the following cultural events and organizations:

Naming rights

UBS currently holds the naming rights to UBS Arena which is the home of the New York Islanders.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The name "UBS" is derived from "Union Bank of Switzerland".[4] Although "Union Bank of Switzerland" was discontinued in 1998, the name "UBS" remained as the company's legal and trade name going forward.[5] During the 1998 merger, UBS chairman Marcel Ospel originally wanted to call the company "United Bank of Switzerland", but settled on simply using "UBS" following the acquisition of American brokerage firm, Paine Webber.[6] As of November 1998, the bank is only known as "UBS" or "UBS Group AG"with derivative titles such as UBS Investment Bank, UBS Financial Services, UBS Asset Management–among others–being common.[7]
  2. ^ UBS maintains global client confidentiality standards across its wealth management, investment banking, asset management, and private banking services. In Switzerland, UBS operations are regulated by Swiss banking secrecy laws, which legally prohibit it from disclosing client information to third parties, subject to terms and conditions.[8] Outside of Switzerland, UBS complies with foreign market mandates on banking secrecy and client privacy. In its third largest market, the United States, UBS complies with FINRA privacy laws, which prohibits the unauthorized distribution of client information or data, subject to terms and conditions.[9] UBS imposes a basic standard of banking discretion to all of its operations regardless legal directives.[10][11] The bank's global compliance policies ensures that it:[12][13]
  3. ^ The "three keys" symbol was taken from the Swiss Bank Corporation's logo and are meant to represent the following, from left to right:[23]
  4. ^ UBS is the largest wealth manager in the world.[37][38]

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Further reading

  • Schutz, Dirk. The Fall of the UBS: The Reasons Behind the Decline of the Union Bank of Switzerland, 1st ed. Pyramid Media Group, 2000. ISBN 978-1-57441-308-3.
  • Fox, Guy. How the World Really Works: Investment Banking, Guy Fox Publishing, 2009. ISBN 978-1-90471-111-7.
  • Suter, Martin. Montecristo. Roman. Diogenes-Verlag, Zürich 2015. 320 S. ISBN 978-3-257-06920-4.
  • Blum, Georges. Société de Banque Suisse – Union de Banques Suisses. La vérité et le pourquoi de cette fusion. Favre, Lausanne 2015. ISBN 978-2-8289-1548-3 (French)
  • Temkin, Ann. Contemporary Voices: Works from the UBS Art Collection, Museum of Modern Art; First Paperback edition, 2005. ISBN 978-0-870-70087-3

External links

  • Official website
  • Business data for UBS:
    • Bloomberg
    • Google
    • Reuters
    • SEC filings
    • Yahoo!
  • Documents and clippings about UBS in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW
 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to UBS.

January 26, 2023
this, article, about, investment, bank, financial, services, company, other, uses, disambiguation, confused, with, courier, company, united, parcel, service, this, article, needs, updated, please, help, update, this, article, reflect, recent, events, newly, av. This article is about the investment bank and financial services company For other uses see UBS disambiguation Not to be confused with the courier company UPS or United Parcel Service This article needs to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information May 2022 UBS Group AG nb 1 is a multinational investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland Co headquartered in the cities of Zurich and Basel it maintains a presence in all major financial centres as the largest Swiss banking institution and the largest private bank in the world UBS client services are known for their strict bank client confidentiality and culture of banking secrecy nb 2 Because of the bank s large positions in the Americas EMEA and Asia Pacific markets the Financial Stability Board considers it a global systemically important bank UBS Group AGUBS headquarters in Zurich SwitzerlandFormerlyUnion Bank of Switzerland 1862 1998 TypePublic Aktiengesellschaft Traded asSIX UBSG NYSE UBSISINCH0244767585IndustryBanking Financial servicesPredecessorUnion Bank of SwitzerlandSwiss Bank CorporationFounded29 June 1998 24 years ago 1998 06 29 through the merger of Union Bank of Switzerland and Swiss Bank Corporation HeadquartersBahnhofstrasse 45 Zurich Switzerland 8001Area servedWorldwideKey peopleColm Kelleher chairman Ralph Hamers CEO Kirt Gardner CFO 1 ProductsInvestment bankingwealth managementprivate bankinginvestment managementasset managementcorporate bankingretail bankingcorporate bankingprivate equityfinance and insuranceretail bankingmortgagescredit cardsRevenueUS 35 54 billion 2021 2 Operating incomeUS 9 48 billion 2021 2 Net incomeUS 7 46 billion 2021 2 Total assetsUS 1 12 trillion 2021 2 Total equityUS 60 66 billion 2021 2 Number of employees71 385 end 2021 3 Capital ratio35 2 2020 RatingStandard amp Poor s A Moody s Aa2 Fitch Ratings AA Websiteubs wbr comFootnotes referencesUBS Institutional Reporting as of end of 2021 2 Apart from private banking UBS provides wealth management asset management and investment banking services for private corporate and institutional clients with international service UBS manages the largest amount of private wealth in the world counting approximately half of the world s billionaires among its clients Despite its trimming of sell side operations UBS maintains a global investment bank and is considered a primary market maker The bank also maintains numerous underground bank vaults bunkers and storage facilities for gold bars around the Swiss Alps and internationally Partly due to its banking secrecy it has been at the centre of numerous tax avoidance investigations undertaken by U S French German Israeli and Belgian authorities UBS operations in Switzerland and the United States were respectively ranked first and second on the 2018 Financial Secrecy Index As of May 2022 update UBS is the 3rd largest bank in Europe with a market capitalization of 63 billion 14 It is one of the nine global Bulge Bracket banks It has over CHF3 2 trillion in assets under management AUM approximately CHF 2 8 trillion of which are invested assets 15 In June 2017 its return on invested capital was 11 1 followed by Goldman Sachs 9 35 and JPMorgan Chase s 9 456 16 In late 2016 UBS established a blockchain technology research lab in London to advance its cyber security and encryption of client activities Based on regional deal flow and political influence UBS is considered one of the biggest most powerful financial institutions in the world 17 18 The company s capital strength security protocols and reputation for discretion have yielded a substantial market share in banking and a high level of brand loyalty Alternatively it receives routine criticism for facilitating tax noncompliance and off shore financing UBS is a primary dealer and Forex counterparty of the U S Federal Reserve Contents 1 History 2 Corporate structure 2 1 Global Wealth Management 2 2 Personal amp Corporate Banking 2 3 UBS Asset Management 2 4 UBS Investment Bank 3 Competition 4 History 4 1 Swiss Bank Corporation 4 2 Union Bank of Switzerland 4 3 Merger of Union Bank of Switzerland and Swiss Bank Corporation 1998 4 4 Paine Webber and international expansion 2000 2006 4 5 Subprime mortgage crisis and recovery 2007 2009 4 6 Shift to private banking and market reemergence 2010 present 5 Acquisition history 6 Corporate governance 6 1 Senior leadership 6 1 1 List of former chairmen 6 1 2 List of former chief executives 6 2 Shareholders 7 Banking secrecy 7 1 Hidden assets 7 2 Bank vaults and bunkers 7 3 Tax evasion 8 Corporate social responsibility 9 Research and development 9 1 Blockchain 9 2 IMECL 9 3 Artificial intelligence 10 Recognition 11 Sponsorship 11 1 Sports 11 2 Culture 11 3 Naming rights 12 See also 13 Notes 14 References 15 Further reading 16 External linksHistory EditUBS was founded in 1862 as the Bank in Winterthur 19 This development came with the formation of the series of modern Swiss Grossbanken big banks in the latter part of the 19th century 20 The name of the bank was derived from the town of Winterthur which served as Switzerland s industrial hub in the 19th century 21 By 1854 six private bankers in Basel founded the Swiss Bank Corporation SBC to cater to the increasing credit needs of Swiss railroad and manufacturing companies 22 It formed a private banking syndicate that expanded aided by Switzerland s international neutrality citation needed In 1912 the Bank of Winterthur merged with Toggenburger Bank to form the Union Bank of Switzerland UBS 19 and grew rapidly after the Banking Law of 1934 codified Swiss banking secrecy Following decades of market competition between Union Bank of Switzerland and the Swiss Bank Corporation SBC the two merged in 1998 to create a single company known solely as UBS nb 3 UBS does not stand for Union Bank of Switzerland In fact that was one of the more than 370 financial firms that have since 1862 become part of today s UBS During the 2008 financial crisis UBS managed heavy losses with an asset relief recovery program citation needed In 2011 the company was hit by the 2011 rogue trader scandal resulting in a US 2 billion trading loss 24 In 2012 the bank reoriented itself around wealth management advisory services and limited its sell side operations Corporate structure EditCapital ownership of UBS by country of origin as of 2014 25 Switzerland 19 5 United States 10 6 United Kingdom 16 8 Asia Pacific Singapore 9 7 Others 42 7 Germany 0 7 UBS is a joint stock company Aktiengesellschaft pursuant to Swiss laws Its shares are listed at the SIX Swiss Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange NYSE As of December 2020 UBS is present in all major financial centres worldwide having offices in 50 countries with about 30 of its approx 73 000 employees working in the Americas 30 in Switzerland 19 in Europe excluding Switzerland the Middle East and Africa and 21 in the Asia Pacific region 26 The bank has its major presence in the United States Its American headquarters for investment banking are located in New York City for private wealth management advisory in Weehawken New Jersey They have sales amp trading and private wealth management offices in Stamford Connecticut citation needed The company s global business groups are global wealth management investment bank asset management and personal amp corporate banking 26 UBS is the leading provider of retail banking and commercial banking services in Switzerland as established already in 2009 27 Overall invested assets are 3 101 billion shareholders equity is 52 928 billion and market capitalization is 45 907 billion by the end of 2018 26 In November 2014 the shares in UBS Group AG were listed and started trading as a new holding company at the NYSE and SIX Swiss Exchange Upon application and with effect as of 14 January 2015 the shares of UBS AG the subsidiary of the UBS Group AG were delisted from the NYSE 28 As of September 2019 the largest institutional shareholders are 29 The UBS Investment Bank s Offices at 299 Park Avenue in New York City Owner name Chase Nominees Ltd London 11 76DTC Cede amp Co New York 7 57Nortrust Nominees Ltd London 4 53As of 30 June 2018 the geographical distribution of the shareholders presents itself as follows 30 Shareholders Shares Americas 5 675 2 5 434 200 367 11 3Asia Pacific 5 530 2 4 101 914 133 2 6Europe Middle East and Africa 13 065 5 7 823 401 277 21 4Switzerland 206 060 89 5 823 785 072 21 4Total registered shares 2 183 300 849 56 6Total unregistered shares 1 671 288 703 43 34Total 230 330 100 0 3 854 589 522 100 0UBS s corporate structure includes four divisions in total as of June 2018 31 32 Global Wealth Management Personal amp Corporate Bank Asset Management Investment BankStarting on 9 June 2003 all UBS business groups including UBS Paine Webber and UBS Warburg were rebranded under the UBS moniker following company s start of operations as a unified global entity 33 Global Wealth Management Edit UBS s global wealth management advisory division offers high net worth individuals around the world a range of advisory and investment products and services 34 As of the end of 2016 UBS Wealth Management s invested assets totalled CHF 977billion 35 The whole companies assets under management AUM amounted to US 1 737 5 billion in 2015 representing a 1 decrease in AUM compared to the equivalent data of 2014 36 As of 2018 UBS manages the largest amount of private wealth in the world counting approximately half of the world s billionaires among its clients nb 4 More than 60 of total invested assets in UBS Wealth Management belong to individuals with a net worth of CHF 10 million or more Of the remaining 40 of total invested assets 30 of the total belong to individuals with net worth between CHF 1 million and CHF 10 million and the last 10 of total assets belong to individuals with a net worth of less than CHF 1 million 34 UBS offers brokerage services and products as well as asset management and other investment advisory and portfolio management products and services 39 40 Additionally UBS provides a broad range of securities and savings products that are supported by the firm s underwriting and research activities as well as clients orders management and execution and also clearing services for transactions originated by individual investors The business is further divided geographically with separate businesses focused on the U S and other international markets 27 41 Two thirds of the total invested assets come from Europe and Switzerland with the final third coming mainly from the Asia Pacific region UBS U S wealth management headquarters at Lincoln Harbor in Weehawken New Jersey With its headquarters in Switzerland UBS Wealth Management is present in more than 40 countries with approximately 190 offices 100 of which are in Switzerland 34 As of the end of 2018 around 23 600 people worldwide were employed by Global Wealth Management 26 35 In Switzerland UBS Swiss Bank provides a complete set of retail banking services that includes chequing savings credit cards and mortgage products for individuals 42 They offer cash management and commercial banking services for small businesses and corporate clients as well 42 UBS global wealth management advisory operations in the Americas consists of U S and Canadian wealth management businesses as well as international business booked in the U S 43 UBS Wealth Management in the U S is an outgrowth of the former Paine Webber brokerage business The business was initially renamed UBS Paine Webber in March 2001 after it was acquired by UBS The division offers wealth management advice for ultra high net worth and high net worth clients 44 UBS was named Best Bank for Wealth Management in North America at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2017 45 UBS s main competitors in this division are Bank of America Credit Suisse Morgan Stanley JP Morgan Chase Wells Fargo and Charles Schwab 46 Personal amp Corporate Banking Edit UBS s Personal amp Corporate Banking division delivers financial products and services to retail 47 corporate and institutional clients 48 in Switzerland 34 It also provides stable and substantial profits for the Group and revenue opportunities for businesses within the bank 34 UBS maintains a leading position in the retail and corporate loan market in Switzerland in fact it serves one in three pension funds more than 85 of the 1 000 largest Swiss corporations and 85 of banks that resides within the nation 34 In 2015 2017 and 2018 the international financial magazine Euromoney named UBS Best Domestic Cash Manager Switzerland 49 As of 31 December 2018 its lending portfolio reached US 131 billion 50 26 The products that this UBS division offers range from cash accounts payments savings and retirement plans to investment fund products residential mortgages and advisory services 34 This business division constitutes a central building block of UBS s universal bank delivery model in Switzerland and it supports other divisions such as Investment Bank by referring clients to them and by assisting them to build their wealth to a level at which they can be transferred to UBS Wealth Management 34 The retail and corporate distribution network comprises not only 279 branches in Switzerland but 1 250 teller machines and self service terminals as well as digital banking services serving 2 5 million personal banking clients 34 26 UBS s main competitor in this division is Credit Suisse UBS Asset Management Edit The entrance of UBS Tower at One North Wacker Drive a 50 story skyscraper in downtown Chicago UBS Asset Management offers equity fixed income currency hedge fund global real estate infrastructure and private equity investment capabilities that can also be combined in multi asset strategies 51 The 1998 UBS SBC merger and subsequent restructuring resulted in the combination of three major asset management operations UBS Asset Management Phillips amp Drew owned by Union Bank of Switzerland and Brinson Partners owned by SBC The investment teams were merged in 2000 and in 2002 the brands were consolidated to become UBS Global Asset Management 52 At the end of December 2018 UBS Asset Management was responsible for US 781 billion of invested assets and the assets under administration were US 413 billion 50 26 With around 2 300 employees in 23 countries UBS Asset Management is the largest mutual fund manager in Switzerland a leading fund house in Europe and one of the largest hedge funds and real estate investment managers in the world 53 54 It has main offices in Chicago Hong Kong 55 London 56 New York Singapore 57 Sydney 58 Tokyo and Zurich 59 26 With the aim to generate systematic products and services for clients in 2017 UBS integrated Equities Fixed Income and Solutions capabilities and hedge funds business within a new area named Investments UBS also formed a new area of business named Real Estate and Private Markets by combining their Global Real Estate and Infrastructure and Private Equity businesses 34 In February 2017 UBS Group AG and the Northern Trust Corporation an American international financial services company announced an agreement for the acquisition of UBS Asset Management s fund administration servicing units in Luxembourg and Switzerland This acquisition will facilitate the expansion of the Northern Trust Corporation into these two countries turning the American company into the major fund administrator in the local markets and into one of the ten global leaders in the sector At the end of the transaction completed in October 2017 60 the American company will administrate a total of CHF 420 billion in assets UBS Asset Management will continue anyway to offer Management Company White Labelling and Representative Services to its clients Ulrich Korner president of the UBS Asset Management affirms that the continuous transformation of their platform is due to a major efficiency effectiveness and geographical dislocation of the services offered by the bank 61 UBS s main competitors in this division are BlackRock Vanguard Group State Street Global Advisers SSGA Fidelity Investments and Allianz Asset Management AAM 62 UBS Investment Bank Edit UBS Investment Bank s former offices in Stamford Connecticut At roughly the size of two American football fields it was the largest column less trading floor in the world 63 UBS Investment Bank provides services covering securities other financial products and research in equities rates credit foreign exchange precious metals and derivatives 64 As of the end of December 2018 the personnel employed at UBS Investment Bank totalled 5 205 present in 33 countries with principal offices in Chicago Frankfurt Hong Kong London New York Shanghai Singapore Tokyo and Zurich 50 26 This business division also advises and provides access to capital markets for corporate and institutional clients governments financial intermediaries alternative asset managers and private investors 42 UBS Investment Bank was formerly known as UBS Warburg and as Warburg Dillon Read before the merger of the Union Bank of Switzerland and the Swiss Bank Corporation SBC Within the UBS Investment Bank division the Investment Banking Department IBD provides a range of advisory and underwriting services including mergers and acquisitions restructuring equity offerings investment grade and high yield debt offerings leveraged finance and leveraged loan structuring and the private placement of equity debt and derivatives The Sales amp Trading division comprises equities brokering dealing market making and engaging in proprietary trading in equities equity related products equity derivatives and structured products and FX Rates and Credit FRC brokering dealing market making and engaging in proprietary trading in interest rate products credit products mortgage backed securities leveraged loans investment grade and high yield debt currencies structured products and derivative products Following an expansion in 2002 the trading floor covers 9 600 square metre 103 000 sq ft with 12 metre 40 ft arched ceilings Over US 1 trillion in assets are traded here every trading day In June 2011 it was announced that UBS was considering moving its North American headquarters back to New York City and that the bank was looking for office spaces in Midtown and in the rebuilt World Trade Center 65 66 UBS s main competitors in this division are fellow members of the Bulge Bracket 67 particularly Goldman Sachs JPMorgan Chase and Merrill Lynch 68 69 The American division also offers its own credit card not sponsored by another bank unlike many of its competitors 70 Competition Edit UBS and Credit Suisse branches next to each other in Zurich On a global scale UBS competes with the largest global investment banks 71 72 particularly within the Bulge Bracket 71 69 and is regularly compared against its fellow Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse 73 74 According to a 2018 study published by Coalition Research Institute UBS was among the top 10 of the world s investment banks 75 In Switzerland UBS competes with a number of cantonal banks such as Zurcher Kantonalbank Banque Cantonale Vaudoise and other cantonal banks as well as Raiffeisen PostFinance and the Migros Bank citation needed In Europe UBS competes with several larger banks such as Deutsche Bank HSBC Credit agricole BNP Paribas Natixis Royal Bank of Scotland Santander and UniCredit citation needed In the United States UBS competes with the largest American banks such as Citigroup Bank of America Goldman Sachs JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley citation needed History EditThe official founding date of the bank is April 1862 the year when its nucleus Bank in Winterthur was founded 76 Although the merged company s new name was originally supposed to be the United Bank of Switzerland the officials opted to call it simply UBS because of a name clash with the separate Swiss company United Bank Switzerland a part of the United Bank Limited s Swiss subsidiary Therefore UBS is no longer an acronym but is the company s brand Its logo of three keys carried over from SBC stands for the company s values of confidence security and discretion 42 Swiss Bank Corporation Edit Main article Swiss Bank Corporation Swiss Bank Corporation logo c 1973 featuring the three keys meant to symbolize confidence security and discretionUBS through Swiss Bank Corporation traces its history to 1854 when six private banking firms in Basel Switzerland pooled their resources to form the Bankverein a consortium that acted as an underwriting syndicate for its member banks 77 In 1871 the Bankverein coordinated with the German Frankfurter Bankverein to form the Basler Bankverein a joint stock company replacing the original Bankverein consortium 77 After the new bank started with an initial commitment of CHF 30 million and CHF 6 million of share capital it soon experienced growing pains when heavy losses in Germany caused it to suspend its dividend until 1879 77 Following the years 1885 and 1886 when the bank merged with the Zurcher Bankverein and acquired the Basler Depositenbank and the Schweizerische Unionbank it changed its name to Schweizerischer Bankverein 77 The English name of the bank was originally Swiss Bankverein but was changed to Swiss Bank Corporation SBC in 1917 78 The Basel offices of Swiss Bank Corporation c 1920 79 SBC subsequently experienced a period of growth which was only interrupted by the onset of World War I in which the bank lost investments in a number of large industrial companies By the end of 1918 the bank had recovered and surpassed CHF 1 billion in total assets and grew to 2 000 employees by 1920 The impact of the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression was severe particularly as the Swiss franc suffered major devaluation in 1936 The bank saw its assets fall from a 1929 peak of CHF 1 6 billion to its 1918 levels of CHF 1 billion by 1936 78 77 In 1937 SBC adopted its three keys logo designed by Warja Honegger Lavater symbolizing confidence security and discretion which remains an integral part in the current day logo of UBS 77 On the eve of World War II in 1939 SBC like other Swiss banks was the recipient of large influxes of foreign funds for safekeeping Just prior to the outbreak of the war SBC made the timely decision to open an office in New York City 80 The office located in the Equitable Building was able to begin operations a few weeks after the outbreak of the war and was intended as a safe place to store assets in the case of an invasion 81 During the war the banks traditional business fell off and the Swiss government became their largest client 78 In 1945 SBC acquired the Basler Handelsbank Commercial Bank of Basel which was one of the largest banks in Switzerland but became insolvent by the end of the war SBC remained among the Swiss government s leading underwriters of debt in the post war years SBC which had entered the 1950s with 31 branch offices in Switzerland and three abroad more than doubled its assets from the end of the war to CHF 4 billion by the end of the 1950s and doubled assets again in the mid 1960s exceeding CHF 10 billion by 1965 77 In 1961 SBC acquired Banque Populaire Valaisanne based in Sion Switzerland and the Banque Populaire de Sierre 52 The bank opened a full branch office in Tokyo in 1970 77 The St Gallen Switzerland offices of Swiss Bank Corporation c 1920 In 1992 SBC acquired O Connor amp Associates a Chicago based options trading firm and the largest market maker in the financial options exchanges in the U S 82 O Connor was combined with SBC s money market capital market and currency market activities to form a globally integrated capital markets and treasury operation 82 In 1994 SBC acquired Brinson Partners an asset management firm focused on providing access for U S institutions to global markets for US 750 million 83 Following the acquisition founder Gary P Brinson ran SBC s asset management business and later when SBC merged with UBS was named chief investment officer of UBS Asset Management 84 The acquisition of S G Warburg amp Co a leading British investment banking firm in 1995 for the price of US 1 4 billion signified a major push into investment banking S G Warburg amp Co had established a reputation as a daring merchant bank that grew to be one of the most respected investment banks in London 85 However a Warburg expansion into the U S had turned out flawed and costly and talks in 1994 with Morgan Stanley about a merger had collapsed 86 SBC merged the firm with its own existing investment banking unit to create SBC Warburg 83 87 Two years later in 1997 SBC paid US 600 million to acquire Dillon Read amp Co a U S bulge bracket investment bank 88 89 Dillon Read amp Co which traced its roots to the 1830s was among the powerhouse firms on Wall Street in the 1920s and 1930s and by the 1990s had a particularly strong mergers and acquisitions advisory group Dillon Read had been in negotiations to sell itself to ING which owned 25 of the firm already but Dillon Read partners balked at ING s integration plans 88 After its acquisition by SBC Dillon Read was merged with SBC Warburg to create SBC Warburg Dillon Read Following SBC s later merger with Union Bank of Switzerland the SBC part was dropped from the name in 2000 when the new UBS got restructured the Dillon Read name was dropped although it was brought back in 2005 as Dillon Read Capital Management UBS s ill fated hedge fund operations 77 Union Bank of Switzerland Edit Main article Union Bank of Switzerland 1966 Union Bank of Switzerland logo featuring the two acronyms of its English and French names UBS and its German counterpart SBG The Union Bank of Switzerland emerged in 1912 when the Bank in Winterthur fused with the Toggenburger Bank The Bank in Winterthur founded in 1862 with an initial share capital of CHF 5 million focused on providing financing for industry and other companies 78 77 and had profited considerably from its close railroad connections and large warehousing facilities during the American Civil War when cotton prices rose dramatically 90 The Toggenburger Bank was founded in 1863 with an initial share capital of CHF 1 5 million 77 and specialized as a savings and mortgage bank for individual customers maintaining a branch office network in eastern Switzerland 91 77 The new company was initially traded under the English name Swiss Banking Association but in 1921 it was changed to Union Bank of Switzerland UBS to mirror its French name Union de Banques Suisses In German the bank was known as the Schweizerische Bankgesellschaft SBG 92 Bank in Winterthur est 1862 Toggenburger Bank est 1863 The combined bank had total assets of CHF 202 million and a total shareholders equity of CHF 46 million 77 In 1917 UBS completed the construction of a new headquarters in Zurich on Bahnhofstrasse considered to be the Wall Street of Switzerland 78 By 1923 offices were established throughout Switzerland 91 Although the bank suffered in the aftermath of World War I and the Great Depression it was able to make several smaller acquisitions in 1937 it established Intrag AG an asset management business responsible for investment trusts i e mutual funds 77 91 The activities of the Union Bank of Switzerland during World War II were not publicly known until decades after the war when it was demonstrated that UBS likely took active roles in trading stolen gold securities and other assets during World War II 93 94 The issue of unclaimed property of Holocaust victims became a major issue for UBS in the mid 1990s and a series of revelations in 1997 brought the issue to the forefront of national attention in 1996 and 1997 95 UBS confirmed that a large number of accounts had gone unclaimed as a result of the bank s policy of requiring death certificates from family members to claim the contents of the account 96 97 UBS s handling of these revelations were largely criticized and the bank received significant negative attention in the U S 98 99 UBS came under significant pressure particularly from American politicians to compensate Holocaust survivors who were making claims against the bank 100 In 1917 the Union Bank of Switzerland opened a new headquarters on Bahnhofstrasse pictured above in Zurich Shortly after the end of World War II Union Bank of Switzerland completed the acquisition of the Eidgenossische Bank a large Zurich based bank that became insolvent As a result of the merger Union Bank of Switzerland exceeded CHF 1 billion in assets and moved its operations to Zurich UBS opened branches and acquired a series of banks in Switzerland in the following years growing from 31 offices in 1950 to 81 offices by the early 1960s 77 In 1960 Union Bank of Switzerland acquired an 80 stake in Argor SA a Swiss precious metals refinery founded in 1951 in the canton of Ticino 52 UBS continues to issue gold bars via Argor Heraeus which is famous for the unique kinebar holographic technology it uses to provide enhanced protection against bank gold bar counterfeiting 101 By 1962 Union Bank of Switzerland reached CHF 6 96 billion of assets narrowly edging ahead of Swiss Bank Corporation to become the largest bank in Switzerland 102 The rapid growth was punctuated by the 1967 acquisition of Interhandel which made UBS one of the strongest banks in Europe 91 By the 1980s Union Bank of Switzerland established a position as a leading European underwriter of Eurobonds 78 Following two major acquisitions in 1986 Phillips amp Drew and Deutsche Landerbank UBS made its first purchase in the United States in 1991 with Chase Investors Management Corporation the asset management business of Chase Manhattan Bank 52 At the time of the acquisition the business managed in excess of US 30 billion in assets 103 The bank s investments had been in the conservative asset management and life insurance businesses further 60 of the bank s profits came from its even more conservative Swiss banking operations 104 105 In 1993 Credit Suisse outbid Union Bank of Switzerland for Switzerland s Swiss Volksbank the fifth largest bank in Switzerland which had run into financial difficulties in the early 1990s 102 The acquisition propelled Credit Suisse ahead of Union Bank of Switzerland as the largest bank in Switzerland for the first time Prior to the merger with Swiss Bank Corporation UBS purchased a group of smaller Swiss banks in 1994 including the Cantonal Bank of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in 1996 77 and in 1997 Schroder Munchmeyer Hengst amp Co from Lloyds Bank was acquired to improve access to the German investment banking and private wealth management markets 106 Merger of Union Bank of Switzerland and Swiss Bank Corporation 1998 Edit After the two banks merged they became known solely as UBS while retaining the Swiss Bank Corporation s three keys icon During the mid 1990s Union Bank of Switzerland came under fire from dissident shareholders critical of its conservative management and lower return on equity 107 Martin Ebner through his investment trust BK Vision became the largest shareholder in Union Bank of Switzerland and attempted to force a major restructuring of the bank s operations 108 Looking to take advantage of the situation Credit Suisse approached Union Bank of Switzerland about a merger that would have created the second largest bank in the world in 1996 109 Union Bank of Switzerland s management and board unanimously rebuffed the proposed merger 110 Ebner who supported the idea of a merger led a shareholder revolt that resulted in the replacement of Union Bank of Switzerland s chairman Robert Studer with Mathis Cabiallavetta one of the key architects of the merger with Swiss Bank Corporation 78 111 On 8 December 1997 Union Bank of Switzerland and Swiss Bank Corporation announced an all stock merger At the time of the merger Union Bank of Switzerland and Swiss Bank Corporation were the second and third largest banks in Switzerland respectively 112 Discussions between the two banks had begun several months earlier less than a year after rebuffing Credit Suisse s merger overtures 113 The merger resulted in the creation of UBS AG a new bank with total assets of more than US 590 billion the largest of its kind 114 During the merger UBS chairman Marcel Ospel originally wanted to call the company United Bank of Switzerland but settled on simply using UBS following the acquisition of American brokerage firm Paine Webber 115 Colloquially referred to as the New UBS to distinguish itself from the former Union Bank of Switzerland the combined bank became the second largest in the world at the time behind only the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi 114 Additionally the merger pulled together the banks various asset management businesses to create the world s largest money manager with approximately US 910 billion in assets under management 114 Union Bank of Switzerland s Mathis Cabiallavetta became chairman of the new bank while Swiss Bank s Marcel Ospel was named chief executive officer 114 Nearly 80 of the top management positions were filled by legacy Swiss Bank professionals 78 Prior to the merger Swiss Bank Corporation was considered to be further along than Union Bank of Switzerland in developing its international investment banking business particularly in the higher margin advisory businesses where Warburg Dillon Read was considered to be the more established platform 116 117 Union Bank of Switzerland had a stronger retail and commercial banking business in Switzerland while both banks had strong asset management capabilities 114 After the merger was completed it was speculated that a series of losses suffered by UBS on its equity derivative positions in late 1997 was a contributing factor in pushing UBS management to consummate the merger 118 119 Paine Webber and international expansion 2000 2006 Edit UBS PaineWebber logo in use from 2001 until 2003 when the use of the Paine Webber brand was dropped On 3 November 2000 UBS merged with Paine Webber an American stock brokerage and asset management firm led by chairman and CEO Donald Marron 120 121 At the time of its merger with UBS Paine Webber had emerged as the fourth largest private client firm in the United States with 385 offices employing 8 554 brokers The acquisition pushed UBS to the top wealth and asset management firm in the world Initially the business was given the divisional name UBS PaineWebber but in 2003 the 123 year old name Paine Webber disappeared when it was renamed UBS Wealth Management USA 122 UBS took a CHF 1 billion write down for the loss of goodwill associated with the retirement of the Paine Webber brand when it integrated its brands under the unified UBS name in 2003 52 UBS Warburg was the brand used for the Investment Banking division of UBS from 1999 to 2003 John P Costas a former bond trader and co head of Fixed income at Credit Suisse First Boston and head of Fixed Income Trading at Union Bank of Switzerland in 1998 was appointed CEO of UBS s investment banking division which originated in SBC s Warburg Dillon Read division and was renamed UBS Warburg in December 2001 123 124 In an attempt to break into the elite bulge bracket of investment banks in which UBS then had little success while rival Credit Suisse was establishing itself as a major player on Wall Street with the acquisition of Donaldson Lufkin amp Jenrette in 2000 Costas shifted the growth strategy from acquiring entire firms to hiring individual investment bankers or teams of bankers from rival firms 125 126 Costas had followed a similar approach in building out the UBS fixed income business hiring over 500 sales and trading personnel and increasing revenues from US 300 million in 1998 to over US 3 billion by 2001 UBS Financial Services left in Frankfurt 2012 The arrival of former Drexel Burnham Lambert investment banker Ken Moelis marked a major coup for Costas Moelis joined UBS from Donaldson Lufkin amp Jenrette in 2001 shortly after its acquisition by Credit Suisse First Boston although Huw Jenkins claimed he had hired Moelis to the UK Parliamentary Banking commission while under oath which is patently false In his six years at UBS Moelis ultimately assumed the role of president of UBS Investment Bank and was credited along with Costas with the build out of UBS s investment banking operation in the United States 127 Within weeks of joining Moelis brought over a team of 70 bankers from Donaldson Lufkin amp Jenrette 127 Costas and Moelis hired more than 30 senior U S bankers from 2001 through 2004 123 It was estimated that UBS spent as much as US 600 million to US 700 million hiring top bankers in the U S during this three year period 128 Among the bank s other major recruits during this period were Olivier Sarkozy Ben Lorello Blair Effron and Jeff McDermott 129 130 By 2003 UBS had risen to fourth place from seventh in global investment banking fees earning US 2 1 billion of the US 39 billion paid to investment banks that year increasing 33 123 Over the next four years UBS consistently ranked in the top 4 in the global fee pool and established a track record of 20 consecutive quarters of rising profits 131 In 2006 UBS set up a joint venture in China see UBS Securities China branch However by the end of 2006 UBS began to experience changing fortunes In late 2005 Costas headed a new hedge fund unit within UBS known as Dillon Read Capital Management His former position was taken over by Huw Jenkins a long time legacy UBS investment banker 132 In 2006 UBS bankers Blair Effron and Michael Martin announced their departures 133 134 In March 2007 Moelis announced that he was leaving the company and shortly thereafter founded a new business Moelis amp Company 135 As he had when joining UBS Moelis took a large team of senior UBS investment bankers 136 137 Moelis s departure was caused primarily by repeated conflict over the availability of capital from the bank s balance sheet to pursue large transactions particularly leveraged buyouts 138 The bank s apparent conservatism would be turned on its head when large losses were reported in various mortgage securities rather than corporate loans that generated investment banking fees After Moelis other notable departures included investment banking co head Jeff McDermott in early 2007 and as the financial crisis set in other high profile bankers such as Oliver Sarkozy in early 2008 and Ben Lorello in 2009 129 134 UBS building on Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan UBS was fined 100 million by the FED in 2004 for trading in dollars with Iran and other sanctioned countries 139 Subprime mortgage crisis and recovery 2007 2009 Edit At the beginning of 2007 UBS became the first Wall Street firm to announce a heavy loss in the subprime mortgage sector as the subprime mortgage crisis began to develop 140 In May 2007 UBS announced the closure of its Dillon Read Capital Management DRCM division 141 Although in 2006 DCRM had generated a profit for the bank of US 720 million after UBS took over DRCM s positions in May 2007 losses grew from the US 124 million recorded by DRCM ultimately to 16 of the US 19 billion in losses UBS recorded The UBS investment bank continued to expand subprime risk in the second quarter of 2007 while most market participants were reducing risk 142 resulting in not only expanding DRCM losses but creating the 84 of the other losses experienced by the bank 143 In response to the growing series of problems at UBS and possibly his role in spearheading Costas departure from the bank Peter Wuffli unexpectedly stepped down as CEO of the firm during the second quarter of 2007 144 145 Wuffli would be joined by many of his fellow managers in the next year most notably the bank s chairman Marcel Ospel However the bank s problems continued through the end of 2007 146 when the bank reported its first quarterly loss in over five years 147 As its losses jeopardized the bank s capital position UBS quickly raised US 11 5 billion of capital in December 2007 US 9 7 billion of which came from the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation GIC 148 and US 1 8 billion from an unnamed Middle Eastern investor 149 Protestors outside of UBS s Zurich headquarters 2009 After a significant expansion of fixed income risk during 2006 and 2007 under the leadership of Huw Jenkins the UBS Investment Bank CEO 150 the bank s losses continued to mount in 2008 when UBS announced in April 2008 that it was writing down a further US 19 billion of investments in subprime and other mortgage assets 151 By this point UBS s total losses in the mortgage market were in excess of US 37 billion the largest such losses of any of its peers 152 In response to its losses UBS announced a CHF 15 billion rights offering to raise the additional funds need to shore up its depleted reserves of capital UBS cut its dividend in order to protect its traditionally high Tier 1 capital ratio seen by investors as a key to its credibility as the world s largest wealth management company 153 154 In October 2008 UBS announced that it had placed CHF 6 billion of new capital through mandatory convertible notes with Swiss Confederation 155 The Swiss National Bank and UBS made an agreement to transfer approximately US 60 billion of currently illiquid securities and various assets from UBS to a separate fund entity 156 157 In November 2008 UBS put US 6 billion of equity into the new bad bank entity keeping only an option to benefit if the value of its assets were to recover Heralded as a neat package by The New York Times the UBS structure guaranteed clarity for UBS investors by making an outright sale 158 UBS announced in February 2009 that it had lost nearly CHF 20 billion US 17 2 billion in 2008 the biggest single year loss of any company in Swiss history 159 Since the beginning of the financial crisis in 2007 UBS has written down more than US 50 billion from subprime mortgage investments and cut more than 11 000 jobs 160 161 By the spring of 2009 UBS announced another management restructuring and initiated a plan to return to profitability Jerker Johansson the head of the investment bank division resigned in April 2009 and was replaced by Alex Wilmot Sitwell and Carsten Kengeter 162 At the same time UBS announced the planned cut of 8 700 jobs 163 and had implemented a new compensation plan Under the plan no more than one third of any cash bonus would be paid out in the year it is earned with the rest to be held in reserve and stock based incentives that would vest after three years In April 2009 UBS announced that it agreed to sell its Brazilian financial services business UBS Pactual for approximately US 2 5 billion to BTG Investments 164 UBS world headquarters in Zurich s Paradeplatz The Swiss government sold its CHF 6 billion stake in UBS in late 2008 at a large profit Switzerland had purchased convertible notes in 2008 to help UBS clear its balance sheets of toxic assets 165 Taking advantage of improved conditions in the stock market in mid 2009 UBS placed US 3 5 billion of shares with a small number of large institutional investors 166 Oswald Grubel announced We are building a new UBS one that performs to the highest standards and behaves with integrity and honesty one that distinguishes itself not only through the clarity and reliability of the advice and services it provides but in how it manages and executes 167 Grubel reiterated plans to maintain an integrated business model of providing wealth management advisory investment banking and asset management services 168 Shift to private banking and market reemergence 2010 present Edit In August 2010 UBS launched a new advertising campaign featuring the slogan We will not rest and signed a global sponsorship agreement with Formula 1 169 170 On 26 October 2010 UBS announced that its private bank recorded net new funds of CHF 900 million during the third quarter compared to an outflow of CHF 5 5 billion in second quarter 171 UBS s third quarter net profit of US 1 65 billion beat analyst estimates continuing a string of profitability After the elimination of almost 5 000 jobs UBS announced on 23 August 2011 that it was further cutting another 3 500 positions in order to improve operating efficiency and save CHF 1 5 to CHF 2 billion a year 45 percent of the job cuts would come from the investment banking unit which continued to post dismal figures since the 2008 financial crisis while the rest would come from the wealth management and asset management divisions The firm has seen profits fall due to the rise of the Swiss franc 172 173 On 15 September 2011 UBS became aware of a massive loss originally estimated at US 2 billion allegedly due to unauthorized trading by Kweku Adoboli a then 31 year old Ghanaian trader on the Delta One desk of the firm s investment bank 174 Adoboli was arrested and later charged with fraud by abuse of position and false accounting dating as far back as 2008 UBS s actual losses were subsequently confirmed as US 2 3 billion and according to the prosecutor in Adoboli s trial he was a gamble or two from destroying Switzerland s largest bank for his own benefit 175 176 On 24 September 2011 UBS announced chief executive Oswald Grubel s resignation and the appointment of Sergio Ermotti as his replacement on an interim basis 177 178 A UBS retail bank for private wealth management in St Gallen Switzerland On 30 October 2012 UBS announced that it was cutting 10 000 jobs worldwide in an effort to slim down its investment banking operations of which 2 500 would be in Switzerland followed by the United States and Great Britain This 15 percent staff cut would make overall staff count come down from 63 745 to 54 000 For comparison the peak employment level in 2007 before the 2008 financial crisis was 83 500 179 180 UBS also announced that the investment bank would focus on its traditional strengths and exit much of its fixed income trading business that was not economically profitable On 19 December 2012 UBS was fined 1 5 billion for its role in the Libor scandal 181 over accusations that it tried to rig benchmark interest rates 182 In November 2014 regulators including the FCA and CFTC hit UBS with fines along with other banks for currency manipulation 183 On 6 January 2014 it was reported that UBS had become the largest private banker in the world with 1 7 trillion in assets 184 In May 2015 media reports revealed UBS is planning to sell its Australian private banking division to some of its management after a review of underperforming businesses was conducted at the company 185 In late 2016 the bank created the digital currency Utility Settlement Coin USC to accelerate inter bank settlements and established a blockchain technology research laboratory in London 186 187 From 2012 to 2018 the investment bank led by Andrea Orcel initiated a major restructuring firing over 10 000 employees and focusing on European underwriting business instead of traditional dealmaking 188 189 UBS announced in January 2018 that it does not trade or expose clients to cryptocurrencies as it believes they have little to no elasticity and are speculatively valued 190 It partnered with technology company IBM to launch a blockchain trade finance platform called Batavia in early 2018 191 In April 2021 UBS reported a 774 million loss from the collapse of US investment fund Archegos Capital Management 192 In July 2021 during the COVID 19 pandemic UBS announced it would continue to allow for flextime and remote work by many employees noting that they did not impede productivity 193 The announcement distinguished the bank from its competitors such as Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs which pressured on employees to return to the office as COVID 19 lockdowns and measures eased 194 195 In January 2022 UBS agreed to acquire Wealthfront for 1 4 billion 196 UBS expects to accelerate its growth in the US with the purchase and will operate Wealthfront as a business within UBS Global Wealth Management 196 The acquisition was mutually terminated in September 2022 with both companies not providing a reason 197 198 UBS announced that it would instead invest in a 69 7 million note convertible into Wealthfront shares valuing the latter at its acquisition price 198 In November 2022 Fang Xinghai vice chairperson of the China Securities Regulatory Commission made remarks by prerecorded video to the Global Financial Leaders Investment Summit 199 In it he warned investors to not read too much foreign news international media about China and said that some international investors read too much of it 199 Later at the Summit Colm Kelleher said regarding global bankers that we re all very pro China and in reference to Fang s comments said We re not reading the American press we actually buy the China story 200 201 Acquisition history EditAs it exists today UBS represents a conglomeration of dozens of individual firms many of which date back to the 19th century Over the years these firms merged to form the bank s three major predecessors Union Bank of Switzerland Swiss Bank Corporation ICO Markets Exchange Clearing Limited and Paine Webber The following is a visual illustration of the company s major mergers and acquisitions and historical predecessors although this is not necessarily a comprehensive list 202 lt br gt Formed 1998 from merger of Union Bank of Switzerld amp Swiss Bank Corp lt br gt Union Bank of Switzerland lt br gt Merged in 1998 with Swiss Bank Corporation Union Bank of Switzerland lt br gt originally Swiss Banking Association merged 1912 Bank in Winterthur est 1862 Toggenburger Bank est 1863 Aargauische Kreditanstalt lt br gt merged 1915 acq 1919 Aargauische Kreditanstalt est 1872 Bank in Baden est 1863 Eidgenossische Bank est 1863 acq 1945 Interhandel est 1928 acq 1967 Phillips amp Drew est 1895 as G A Phillips amp Co acq 1986 Chase Investors Management Corporation est 1972 as subsidiary Schroder Brothers amp Co est 1846 Munchmeyer amp Co est 1855 Frederick Hengst amp Co lt br gt Swiss Bank Corporation lt br gt Merged in 1998 with Union Bank of Switzerland Swiss Bank Corporation lt br gt merged 1897 Basler amp Zurcher Bankverein lt br gt est 1880 Basler Bankverein est 1856 as Bankverein renamed in 1872 Zurcher Bankverein est 1889 Basler Depositenbank est 1882 Schweiz Unionbank est 1889 Basler Handelsbank est 1862 acq 1945 O Connor amp Associates est 1977 acq 1992 Brinson Partners est 1989 acq 1994 Warburg Dillon Read lt br gt merged 1997 under SBC ownership S G Warburg amp Co est 1946 acq 1995 Dillon Read amp Co est 1832 acq 1997 lt br gt Paine Webber lt br gt consolidated 3 subsidiaries in 1984 merged in 2000 with UBS Paine Webber Jackson amp Curtis lt br gt merged 1942 Paine amp Webber est 1880 Jackson amp Curtis est 1879 Mitchell Hutchins est 1938 acq 1975 Blyth Eastman Dillon amp Co lt br gt merged 1972 acq 1979 Blyth amp Co est 1914 as Blyth Witter amp Co Eastman Dillon Union Securities amp Co lt br gt merged 1956 Union Securitiesest 1939 as spin offfrom J amp W Seligman amp Co Eastman Dillon amp Co est 1912 Kidder Peabody amp Co est 1864 acq 1995 J C Bradford amp Co est 1928 acq 2000 ICO Markets Exchange Clearing Limited est 2021 acq as a shareholder 2021 Corporate governance EditSenior leadership Edit Chairman Colm Kelleher since April 2022 Chief Executive Ralph Hamers since November 2020 203 List of former chairmen Edit Mathis Cabiallavetta 1998 Alex Krauer 1998 2001 Marcel Ospel 2001 2008 Peter Kurer 2008 2009 Kaspar Villiger 2009 2012 Axel Weber 2012 2022 List of former chief executives Edit Marcel Ospel 1998 2001 Peter Wuffli 2001 2007 Marcel Rohner 2007 2009 Oswald Grubel 2009 2011 Sergio Ermotti 2011 2020 Shareholders Edit UBS Europe SE Headquarters in Frankfurt am Main Germany As disclosed under the Swiss Stock exchange Act the most significant shareholders of UBS are GIC Private Limited with 7 07 BlackRock Inc with 4 98 204 Norges Bank with 3 30 MFS Investment Management with 3 05 and Capital Group Companies with 3 01 of total share capital 205 In 2008 during the subprime mortgage crisis GIC Private Limited invested CHF 11 billion into UBS to help bail it out thus becoming the largest single shareholder 34 Additionally the UBS Group AG disclosed shareholders registered in their share register with 3 or more of shares issued As of 30 September 2017 these are Chase Nominees Ltd DTC Cede amp Co and Nortrust Nominees Ltd with 10 32 6 63 and 4 04 of total share capital respectively 206 As of 30 June 2019 shareholdings of the Group were distributed as follows 207 Shareholders registered Shares registeredamount amount Individual shareholders 220 172 97 8 490 593 639 12 7Legal entities 4 665 2 1 543 626 690 14 1Nominees fiduciaries 217 0 1 1 165 313 198 30 2Total 225 054 100 0 3 859 055 395 100 0Banking secrecy EditUBS frequently cites Swiss culture specifically its penchant for privacy security and neutrality as foundational to its company culture 208 Although banking secrecy started in the 1700s Switzerland drafted a series of banking regulations and statutes the late 1800s and 1930s to protect and secure banks within its borders 209 The most prominent was the Federal Act on Banks and Savings Banks known simply as the Banking Law of 1934 210 The federal law prohibits and criminalizes the distribution and release of client information to third parties 210 The bill was passed by the Swiss Federal Assembly in order to combat the seizure of client assets and information for reasons debated by historians 209 UBS then known as the Swiss Bank Corporation received large influxes of capital from Europe for safe keeping during the war 211 More than two dozen Swiss banking statutes were drafted from 1934 to 2008 to strengthen banking secrecy at UBS Switzerland AG 211 In 2018 Switzerland alongside major Swiss banks including UBS was ranked first on the Financial Secrecy Index 212 UBS was the largest wealth manager in 23 of the top 25 countries on the 2018 Financial Secrecy Index 212 While UBS maintains the strictest banking secrecy policies in Switzerland its policies across Europe and especially the United States are comparable 211 Within the U S the bank is prohibited from disclosing client activities and information both internally and through regulation imposed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority FINRA Federal Reserve Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation FDIC U S Treasury Securities and Exchange Commission SEC and various U S state regulators 213 UBS employees are prohibited from discussing client activity or information publicly sharing information across borders retaining client information insecurely and required to maintain robust bank client confidentiality agreements 213 In 2018 UBS operations within the U S were ranked second on the Financial Secrecy Index following UBS Switzerland AG 212 Within the European Union E U UBS operations maintain similar banking secrecy policies to Switzerland in the following countries and crown dependencies Jersey Austria Luxembourg Liechtenstein Monaco and the Isle of Man 214 Substantial albeit greatly reduced banking secrecy provisions are afforded to UBS operations in France Germany Ireland and the Netherlands 214 Hidden assets Edit UBS along with other Swiss banks maintains a variety of hidden assets and numbered bank accounts in an effort to preserve anonymity and confidentiality 215 Despite its name hidden accounts are not truly hidden 216 The usage of these types of accounts and assets limits the knowledge of the account between the client and a restricted number of private bankers who retain record of who the account belongs to 216 In January 1997 Christoph Meili a night guard at the Union Bank of Switzerland precursor of UBS in Zurich publicly announced that bank officials were destroying documents about orphaned assets believed to be the credit balances of both Nazi German and Jewish clients attained during World War II 208 Soon after Zurich authorities opened a judicial investigation against Meili for suspected violations of the Swiss laws on banking secrecy 217 After a US 2 56 billion lawsuit was filed against UBS and other Swiss banks on behalf of the Jewish victims of the Holocaust a settlement was reached that totalled US 1 25 billion in August 1998 218 219 An entrance to a UBS Wealth Management office in Milan Italy With a strike plated door and frosted glass its purpose is to provide security and banking discretion The Swiss government has taken steps to curb the usage of hidden services by foreign account holders as they have been frequently used to facilitate the transfer of black money 220 In May 2013 Switzerland announced that it would amend certain banking secrecy laws applicable to UBS Switzerland AG to allow the disclosure of hidden client accounts to various investigative authorities 220 However the disclosure of such information is heavily regulated and only occur exclusively within the scope of administrative assistance procedures based on a valid double taxation agreement 215 Bank vaults and bunkers Edit UBS along with other Swiss banks owns and operates undisclosed or otherwise secretive bank vaults storage facilities or underground bunkers for gold bars diamonds cash or other valuable physical assets 208 221 The geographical location of these facilities are undisclosed to the public but are known to be present in the mountainous regions of the Swiss Alps 222 These facilities are not subject to the same banking regulations as banks in Switzerland and do not have to report holdings to regulatory agencies 222 223 According to the Swiss Armed Forces UBS purchased four former military bunkers to convert into storage facilities throughout the 1980s and 1990s 208 224 Three of these bunkers are not accessible by road or foot and require aircraft transportation 208 The transfer of assets to these bunkers is selective as a multi stage security clearance is required and is not available to all UBS clients 222 In special circumstances UBS contracts smaller banks in Southern Switzerland to maintain company assets 208 The largest disclosed Swiss bank vault is five floors 19 metres or 62 feet under the bank s Geneva headquarters 225 In July 2013 UBS established a gold storage facility and depository in Singapore for high net worth and ultra high net worth clients in their Hong Kong China and Malaysia markets who are willing to pay high fees and commissions for the highest level of secrecy and safety for their assets 224 Tax evasion Edit Main article UBS tax evasion controversies The strict banking secrecy policies and bank client confidentiality agreements at UBS have frequently been used to avoid evade or otherwise escape foreign direct taxation UBS reached multilateral agreements with the U S Internal Revenue Service IRS and U K HM Revenue and Customs in 2009 and 2010 respectively 226 These agreements ensured a line of communication between the tax agencies and all registered Swiss banks 227 The most commonly used stipulation triggered by select UBS Switzerland AG clients regard the following statute Swiss banks are only allowed to disclose client information if a client is legally charged with proof of deliberate financial fraud not merely the non reporting of assets to avoid taxation 215 The banking privacy policies of UBS have led to numerous controversies and disagreements with foreign governments The French supreme court Cour de Cassation ruled against UBS in their 2014 appeal of tax evasion In 2007 Bradley Birkenfeld a Geneva based employee who worked in the bank s North American wealth management business claimed that UBS s dealings with American clients violated an agreement between the bank and the U S Internal Revenue Service 228 He subsequently complained to UBS compliance officials about the bank s unfair and deceptive business practices which included sponsoring events like yacht races and art festivals in the United States to attract wealthy people as potential clients 229 UBS was charged by the U S Federal Bureau of Investigation and ordered it to cease providing cross border private banking services to US domiciled clients through its non US regulated units as of July 2008 230 In 2012 the German government saw to it that UBS Deutschland AG came under investigation by prosecutors in Mannheim Germany after a tax probe revealed suspicious funds transfers from Germany to Switzerland allegedly facilitated by the bank s Frankfurt office 231 UBS Deutschland s Frankfurt office was raided by tax investigators in May 2012 and over 100 000 computer files and records were seized for evidence The bank which claims it is cooperating with the investigators said that an internal investigation into the specific allegations has not identified any evidence of misbehaviour by UBS Deutschland AG 231 In 2014 the French government launched an investigation into UBS France s alleged abetting of tax evasion by French taxpayers 232 The investigation estimated the amount of tax income lost to UBS controlled offshore accounts at 600 billion 233 In July 2014 the bank was required to post a bond of 1 1 billion euros which UBS complied with while making multiple appeals in the French court system finally losing its appeal at the Cour de Cassation France s highest court 234 That same year UBS accused the French government of engaging in a highly politicized process in its investigation of the bank 235 In December 2021 UBS was criminally convicted by an appeals court in France for illegal banking activities money laundering and aggravated tax fraud and fined 1 8 billion 236 237 UBS has said it is appealing that decision 238 Corporate social responsibility EditIn January 2010 UBS issued a new code of conduct and business ethics which all employees were encouraged to sign The code addressed issues such as financial crime competition confidentiality as well as human rights and environmental issues The eight page code also lays out potential sanctions against employees who violate it including warnings demotions or dismissal 239 According to Kaspar Villiger former chairman of the board and Oswald J Grubel former Group CEO the code is an integral part of changing the way UBS conducts business 240 In 2011 UBS expanded its global compliance database to include information on environmental and social issues provided by RepRisk 241 a global research firm specialized in environmental social and corporate governance e g ESG risk analytics and metrics 242 This was done in an effort to mitigate environmental and social risks that could impact the bank s reputation or financial performance and to simultaneously help globally standardize and systematically implement the firm s due diligence processes 243 RepRisk data is used in the on boarding process to screen potential new clients and sourcing partners 244 alongside periodic client reviews and also to evaluate the risks related to transactions in investment banking and institutional lending 245 In 2018 UBS held 0 72 of shares in HikVision 246 surveillance cameras a subsidiary of the Chinese military conglomerate CETC sanctioned by the US Department of Commerce for participating to mass surveillance in the predominantly Muslim populated Chinese autonomous region of Xinjiang 247 In October 2019 UBS joined UN s Global Investors for Sustainable Development Alliance GISD 248 UBS has committed to raise US 5 billion of SDG related impact investments by the end of 2021 which aim to create a measurable positive social or environmental impact 248 Research and development EditBlockchain Edit UBS has been an early adopter regarding the use of blockchain technology in financial services In April 2015 UBS opened an innovation lab at the Level39 technology accelerator space in London 249 In August 2016 UBS announced that it will team up with BNY Mellon Deutsche Bank Banco Santander brokerage company ICAP and the fintech company Clearmatics to promote UBS s Utility Settlement Coin USC The USC is a blockchain based digital currency that financial institutions could use to transact securities with each other bypassing the traditional settlement processes which is ongoing 250 IMECL Edit In 2021 UBS buys 31 ICO Markets Exchange Clearing Limited Digital Asset Exchange Regulator Company in the European Digital Asset Market which financial institutions and private clients they will use to trade securities among themselves bypassing the traditional ongoing settlement processes 251 Artificial intelligence Edit In 2018 UBS digitally cloned Daniel Kalt one of its chief economists Artificial intelligence expert FaceMe was hired to create an interactive avatar of Kalt that can meet with clients via television screen The clients will be able to ask questions and receive answers made possible by IBM s Watson AI technology 252 253 Recognition Edit The largest UBS operations across Switzerland In 2006 for the fourth consecutive year UBS was named one of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers living in the U S by Working Mother magazine 254 It is a member of the Stonewall Diversity Champions scheme 255 and has active gay and lesbian ethnic minority and women s networking groups UBS was included on Business Week s The Best Places to Launch a Career 2008 and ranked No 96 out of the 119 total companies listed 255 On 2 February 2010 UBS topped the charts for the ninth year in a row in Institutional Investor s annual ranking of Europe s most highly regarded equity analysts In a year of extremes for equity markets money managers say that no firm did a better job than UBS to keep them informed about which European sectors countries and industries offered the greatest potential 256 On 4 May 2010 UBS Investment Bank was voted the leading pan European brokerage firm for equity and equity linked research for a record tenth successive year A Thomson Reuters Extel survey ranked UBS number one in all three of the key disciplines of research Research tenth year Sales ninth year running and Equity Trading and Execution up from second place in 2009 UBS was also named as the number one leading pan European brokerage firm for economics and strategy research 257 On 31 October 2013 UBS Wealth Management was voted the Best Global Private Bank by Professional Wealth Management 258 retaining the title in 2014 while also being recognized as the Best Private Bank for Philanthropy Services and Best Global Brand in Private Banking 259 On 27 October 2016 for the 4th consecutive year UBS Wealth Management won the Best Global Private Bank title as well as the Best Private Bank in Asia award for the 5th consecutive year 260 UBS won the top prize again in 2018 261 In 2014 the Group received Euromoney s Awards for Excellence 2014 as the Best global bank 262 263 and as the Best Bank in Switzerland 264 In 2017 UBS not only retained its leading position taken in 2016 in the main category best private banking services overall at the Euromoney s Private Banking Awards 265 but also received recognition as Western Europe s best bank for advisory 2017 266 In 2018 for the third consecutive year RobecoSAM an organization specialized exclusively on Sustainability Investing and conducting extensive research 267 named UBS in its Industry group leader report 2018 for each of the industry groups represented in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index the group leader 268 in Diversified Financials 269 The report highlighted Group s sustainability efforts directed through its UBS and Society program a cross divisional platform involving activities and capabilities in sustainable investing and philanthropy environmental and human rights policies UBS s own environmental footprint as well as the community investment 270 The Group also received recognition from Global Finance which rates financial services providers that best meet the specialized needs of corporations on a global level The selection criteria are focused less on the size but rather on qualities that companies look for when choosing a provider 271 272 UBS was named in the category Global Winners as Best Private Bank in the World 2017 273 and in the list of global best banks 2017 the Group received the award as Global Winner in the category World s Best Investment Banks 2017 272 274 In 2019 UBS was listed as one of the Top 50 World s Most Attractive Employers Global Business Ranking 2019 by Universum Global Survey 275 Sponsorship EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed March 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Sports Edit UBS is particularly active in sponsoring various golf tournaments cross country skiing in Switzerland ice hockey and a range of other events around the world UBS was the sponsor of the Alinghi sailing ship winner of the Americas Cup in 2003 UBS has been or currently is a sponsor of the following sporting events and organizations Alinghi Arnold Palmer Invitational Athletissima Automobile Club de Monaco Faldo Series Asia Formula One Greifenseelauf Hahnenkamm Races Hong Kong Rugby Football Union New York Islanders Olympic Museum Lausanne The Players Championship Sierre Zinal Mountain Race Spengler Cup Davos Swiss Athletics Federation UBS Arena Elmont NY UBS Hong Kong Open UBS Japan Golf Tour Championship UBS Kids Cup Weltklasse Zurich Culture EditUBS s cultural sponsorships are typically related to classical music and contemporary art although the company also sponsors a range of film festivals music festivals and other cultural events and organizations UBS supported the Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative in which the Solomon R Guggenheim Foundation identified and worked with artists curators and educators from South and Southeast Asia Latin America and the Middle East and North Africa to expand their reach in the international art world and challenge the Western centric view of art history 276 UBS has previously been or currently is a sponsor of the following cultural events and organizations Art Basel Art Basel Miami Beach Art Gallery NSW Ballett Zurich Basel Sinfonietta Beijing Music Festival Boston Symphony Orchestra Bregenz Festival Casals Festival Cy Twombly exhibition Deichtorhallen Fondation Beyeler Fondation Pierre Gianadda Fresh Paint Contemporary Art Fair Tel Aviv Galleria d Arte Moderna Milan Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative International Mozarteum Foundation Locarno International Film Festival London Symphony Orchestra Louisiana Museum of Modern Art Lucerne Festival Lucerne Symphony Orchestra Lugano Festival Montreux Jazz Festival New National Museum of Monaco Ravinia Festival Rheingau Musik Festival Sydney Theatre Company Singapore Sun Festival Swiss Institute Contemporary Art New York Thunerseespiele Utah Symphony Verbier Music Festival WOMEN New Portraits by Annie Leibovitz Zurich Opera Naming rights Edit UBS currently holds the naming rights to UBS Arena which is the home of the New York Islanders See also Edit Banks portalBanking in Switzerland Systemically important financial institution Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority UBS 100 Index UBS Securities China branchNotes Edit The name UBS is derived from Union Bank of Switzerland 4 Although Union Bank of Switzerland was discontinued in 1998 the name UBS remained as the company s legal and trade name going forward 5 During the 1998 merger UBS chairman Marcel Ospel originally wanted to call the company United Bank of Switzerland but settled on simply using UBS following the acquisition of American brokerage firm Paine Webber 6 As of November 1998 the bank is only known as UBS or UBS Group AG with derivative titles such as UBS Investment Bank UBS Financial Services UBS Asset Management among others being common 7 UBS maintains global client confidentiality standards across its wealth management investment banking asset management and private banking services In Switzerland UBS operations are regulated by Swiss banking secrecy laws which legally prohibit it from disclosing client information to third parties subject to terms and conditions 8 Outside of Switzerland UBS complies with foreign market mandates on banking secrecy and client privacy In its third largest market the United States UBS complies with FINRA privacy laws which prohibits the unauthorized distribution of client information or data subject to terms and conditions 9 UBS imposes a basic standard of banking discretion to all of its operations regardless legal directives 10 11 The bank s global compliance policies ensures that it 12 13 never acknowledges the existence of an account or client activity without consent or an accepted criminal complaint maintains banking discretion through client relationship agreements e g bank client confidentiality agreements limits the disclosure and retention of client activity all of which is stored off site or encrypted online for security after one calendar year ensures full or partial deposit insurance on all accounts offers the usage of bank vaults as well as dormant and numbered bank accounts to select pre approved clients The three keys symbol was taken from the Swiss Bank Corporation s logo and are meant to represent the following from left to right 23 Confidence i e consumer confidence Security i e economic and physical security Discretion i e banking secrecy UBS is the largest wealth manager in the world 37 38 References Edit Group Executive Board a b c d e f UBS Annual Report 2021 Key figures UBS Retrieved 9 May 2022 Our employees UBS Union Bank of Switzerland Bloomberg Retrieved 16 June 2018 UBS Corporate Information What does UBS stand for www ubs com Retrieved 16 June 2018 The name UBS came from one of our predecessor firms the Union Bank of Switzerland However just like other prominent brands which used to be an abbreviation of a company name UBS is no longer considered an acronym O Donnell John 28 April 2008 UBS architect Ospel leaves battered bank Reuters Retrieved 8 August 2018 The three times married banker was the architect of what was originally meant to be called United Bank of Switzerland the fusion of Swiss Bank Corporation and Union Bank of Switzerland in 1998 He later masterminded the acquisition of U S based PaineWebber UBS Organizational Structure How we are organized www ubs com Retrieved 8 August 2018 Neghaiwi Brenna Hughes 31 October 2017 Exclusive Swiss prosecutors seek widening of secrecy law to Reuters Retrieved 16 June 2018 FINRA org Customer Information Protection www finra org Retrieved 22 July 2018 Obringer Lee Ann 6 November 2007 How Swiss Bank Accounts Work HowStuffWorks Retrieved 5 April 2018 Moscovici Pierre 27 May 2015 Fighting tax evasion EU and Switzerland sign historic tax transparency agreement europa eu European Commission Retrieved 5 April 2018 Pickert Kate 26 February 2009 A Brief History Of Swiss Banks Time ISSN 0040 781X Retrieved 3 April 2018 Phung Albert 31 March 2018 How do I open a Swiss bank account and what makes them so special Investopedia Retrieved 5 April 2018 Leading banks in Europe as of May 2022 by total assets ADV Ratings Retrieved 9 August 2022 Neghaiwi Brenna Hughes 21 April 2017 Wealth management boosts UBS profit but future uncertain Reuters Retrieved 5 April 2018 Trainer David 21 December 2017 Betting On The Future Of Wealth Management With UBS Forbes Retrieved 5 April 2018 Friedersdorf Conor 31 July 2015 Hillary Helps a Bank and Then It Funnels Millions to the Clintons The Atlantic Retrieved 27 November 2018 The Swiss bank UBS is one of the biggest most powerful financial institutions in the world Ballhaus Rebecca 21 July 2015 UBS Deal Shows Clinton s Complicated Ties The Wall Street Journal Retrieved 27 November 2018 a b Kumar Rajesh 2014 Strategies of Banks and Other Financial Institutions Theories and Cases Amsterdam Elsevier p 380 ISBN 978 0 12 416997 5 Pohl Manfred 1994 Handbook on the History of European Banks Hants UK Edward Elgar Publishing p 1016 ISBN 1 85278 919 0 UBS Philadelphia PA WETFEET INC 2009 p 14 ISBN 978 1 58207 892 2 Odekon Mehmet 2010 Booms and Busts An Encyclopedia of Economic History from the First Stock Market Crash of 1792 to the Current Global Economic Crisis An Encyclopedia of Economic History from the First Stock Market Crash of 1792 to the Current Global Economic Crisis Routledge p 849 ISBN 978 0 7656 8224 6 Odekon Mehmet 2015 Booms and Busts An Encyclopedia of Economic History from the First Stock Market Crash of 1792 to the Current Global Economic Crisis Routledge p 850 ISBN 9781317475767 A logo of three keys standing for confidence security and discretion was taken over from Swiss Bank Corporation Girling Philippa X 2013 Operational Risk Management A Complete Guide to a Successful Operational Risk Framework Hoboken NJ John Wiley amp Sons p 301 ISBN 978 1 118 53245 4 Les fonds americains rachetent la Suisse Mary Varkadis in French Bilan 9 December 2015 Retrieved 10 February 2020 a b c d e f g h i Our employees UBS Retrieved 9 May 2021 a b Our clients amp businesses UBS Global topics UBS ubs com Retrieved 4 February 2018 Investor release UBS ubs com 14 January 2015 Retrieved 4 February 2018 Significant shareholders Retrieved 3 January 2020 Shareholder distribution Global topics Retrieved 1 August 2018 UBS in a few words UBS ubs com January 2017 Retrieved 4 February 2018 Neghaiwi Brenna Hughes 1 June 2018 UBS begins global wealth management shift by merging teams U S Retrieved 1 June 2018 Dunne Helen 13 November 2002 UBS means RIP for Warburg The Daily Telegraph Archived from the original on 11 January 2022 Retrieved 4 February 2018 a b c d e f g h i j k UBS Annual Report 2016 PDF UBS ubs com 10 March 2017 Retrieved 4 February 2018 a b UBS E Paper www ubs com Retrieved 4 February 2018 SCORPIO PARTNERSHIP GLOBAL PRIVATE BANKING BENCHMARK 2016 Scorpio Partnership Scorpio Partnership Archived from the original on 31 July 2016 Retrieved 4 February 2018 Neghaiwi Brenna Hughes UBS retains positions as world s biggest private bank study Reuters Retrieved 5 April 2018 Avery Helen 14 December 2017 Zeltner leaves UBS Wealth as the clear global leader Euromoney Retrieved 5 April 2018 Our financial results for the third quarter of 2014 PDF UBS ubs com Retrieved 4 February 2018 About Us Create the life you want UBS ubs com Retrieved 4 February 2018 UBS at a glance UBS factsheet PDF UBS ubs com 22 April 2016 Retrieved 4 February 2018 a b c d UBS About us Our Businesses UBS ubs com Retrieved 4 February 2018 UBS Wealth Managements Americas About us UBS ubs com Retrieved 4 February 2018 UBS About us Our Businesses UBS ubs com Retrieved 4 February 2018 North America s best bank for wealth management 2017 UBS www euromoney com 6 July 2017 Retrieved 4 February 2018 America s Top 40 Wealth Management Firms www barrons com Retrieved 4 February 2018 UBS Private Clients Private clients Tailored money solutions UBS ubs com Retrieved 4 February 2018 UBS Companies Corporate customers The right solution for every need UBS ubs com Retrieved 4 February 2018 UBS gewinnt Euromoney Award Best Cash Manager Switzerland 2017 UBS ubs com Retrieved 4 February 2018 a b c UBS quarterly reporting 2018 UBS ubs com 22 January 2019 Retrieved 18 March 2019 UBS Annual Report 2013 PDF UBS ubs com 14 March 2014 Retrieved 4 February 2018 a b c d e UBS About us UBS in the world UBS ubs com Retrieved 27 July 2016 UBS Annual Report 2015 PDF UBS ubs com 18 March 2016 Retrieved 27 July 2016 Asset Management ubs com ubs Retrieved 1 May 2018 UBS Asset Management in Hong Kong UBS Asset Management Retrieved 13 January 2020 Asset Management in the UK Asset Management UK Retrieved 13 January 2020 UBS Asset Management in Singapore UBS Asset Management Retrieved 13 January 2020 About us Asset Management Australia Retrieved 13 January 2020 Asset Management Why invest with us Helping you solve your global investment challenges UBS ubs com 31 March 2016 Retrieved 4 February 2018 Northern Trust Completes Strategic Acquisition of UBS Asset Management s Fund Services Units in Luxembourg and Switzerland www northerntrust com Retrieved 4 February 2018 Northern Trust to acquire Fund Services Units of UBS in Luxembourg and Switzerland UBS com Archived from the original on 5 July 2018 Retrieved 4 February 2018 Top Asset Management Firms www relbanks com Retrieved 4 February 2018 Monument to Wall Street Glory Becomes Just Another Mortgage Loss Bloomberg com 19 April 2017 Retrieved 4 February 2018 UBS Investment Bank UBS ubs com Retrieved 4 February 2018 UBS Warburg Expansion Creates World s Largest Trading Floor UBS Press Release Media Releases Americas ubs com 14 May 2002 Archived from the original on 5 September 2014 Retrieved 4 February 2018 Bagli Charles V 8 June 2011 Regretting Move Bank May Return to Manhattan A version of this article appears in print on June 9 2011 on page A1 of the New York edition with the headline After Leaving City Big Bank Mulls a Return The New York Times Retrieved 4 February 2018 Star Marlene 29 March 2017 Battling The Bulge Boutique Banks Gaining Ground Forbes Retrieved 10 August 2018 The World s Top 10 Investment Banks www investopedia com 11 November 2014 Retrieved 4 February 2018 a b What is Bulge Bracket Investment Bank Definition from Divestopedia Divestopedia com Retrieved 10 August 2018 UBS credit and debit cards a b Morgan Stephen 3 October 2016 The Battle of the Bulge Bracket whartonmagazine com Retrieved 11 November 2013 Staff Investopedia 25 November 2003 Bulge Bracket Investopedia Retrieved 10 August 2018 FINMA details TBTF decrees FINMA finma ch 7 May 2014 Retrieved 4 February 2018 These Are the Best Paying Investment Banks Institutional Investor 11 August 2017 Retrieved 31 October 2018 Investment Banking UBS and CS Remain Among Top 10 Just finews com Retrieved 4 February 2018 Stadtgeschichte Der Landbote Retrieved 23 October 2015 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p History of UBS global Retrieved 23 January 2017 a b c d e f g h UBS AG History Funding Universe Retrieved 21 March 2015 Bankers Magazine 1872 Basler Bankverein investor prospectus Bradford Rhodes amp Co 1920 Swiss Bank of Basle to Open Branch Here Huge Vaults a Haven for European Capital The New York Times 28 July 1939 Swiss Agency will Open Bank to Occupy Quarters in the Equitable Building The New York Times 15 October 1939 a b Swiss Bank Buys O Connor The New York Times 10 January 1992 Retrieved 21 March 2015 a b SBC Warburg Company History Funding Universe Retrieved 21 March 2015 UBS SBC WOULD BE LARGEST MANAGER YET GARY BRINSON MAY LEAD INSTITUTIONAL SIDE PIOnline 8 December 1997 Retrieved 29 March 2015 Outsider who changed the City Management Today 1 November 1998 Jilted Morgan Stanley and S G Warburg The Economist December 1994 Archived from the original on 2 April 2015 Retrieved 21 March 2015 Stevenson Richard W 11 May 1995 Swiss Bank in deal to buy S G Warburg The New York Times Retrieved 21 March 2015 a b Truell Peter 16 May 1997 Swiss Bank Steps Up to Buy Dillon Read on Rebound The New York Times Retrieved 21 March 2015 New York Media LLC 17 November 1997 Sell Division New York Swiss banking An Analytical History Palgrave Macmillan 1998 pp 132 136 ISBN 9780312212834 a b c d Handbook on the History of European Banks Edward Elgar Publishing 1994 ISBN 9781781954218 Bankers Magazine December 1920 794 Retrieved 29 March 2015 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Swiss Were Part of Nazi Economic Lifeline Historians Find The New York Times 2 December 2001 Switzerland A Painful History Time 24 February 1997 Swiss Envoy in U S in Midst of a Squall The New York Times 20 January 1997 Ulrich Jost Swiss historian Bank Secrecy Was Bern s Wartime Weapon The New York Times 1 August 1997 Probe lays bare Swiss wartime role SwissInfo ch 22 March 2002 How Swiss Strategy on Holocaust Fund Unraveled The New York Times 26 January 1997 More Blundering by Swiss Banks The New York Times 3 August 1997 New York Punishes Swiss Bank Over Nazi Gold The New York Times 10 October 1997 Argor Heraeus Argor com Retrieved 29 March 2015 a b Offer Made to Create Largest Swiss Bank Group The New York Times 6 January 1993 Swiss Bank to Acquire Chase Investment Unit The New York Times 22 February 1991 UBS Banks on Conservative Strategies Industry Leader Avoids Troubles That Have Snared Main Swiss Rivals Wall Street Journal 1 June 1993 UBS AG Britannica Britannica 15 December 2008 UBS buys Lloyds TSB s stake in SMH for pounds 100m The Independent London 27 August 1997 Swiss Battle For Big Bank Proves Costly The New York Times 9 January 1995 Financier Who Shook Up the Swiss Is Himself Shaken Up The New York Times 1 August 2002 Swiss Banks Considering Giant Merger The New York Times 10 April 1996 Big Swiss Bank Rejects Merger Appeal by Rival The New York Times 12 April 1996 Switzerland s Top Bank Spurns Merger Bid From Arch Rival The New York Times 12 April 1996 Finance and Financiers in European History 1880 1960 Cambridge University Press 2002 ISBN 9780521893732 Retrieved 29 March 2015 Embattled UBS poised for merger with SBC The Independent 6 December 1997 a b c d e 2 of the Big 3 Swiss Banks To Join to Seek Global Heft The New York Times 9 December 1997 O Donnell John 28 April 2008 UBS architect Ospel leaves battered bank Reuters Retrieved 8 August 2018 The three times married banker was the architect of what was originally meant to be called United Bank of Switzerland the fusion of Swiss Bank Corporation and Union Bank of Switzerland in 1998 He later masterminded the acquisition of U S based PaineWebber Performance Of New Bank Relies on U S 9 December 1997 Has UBS Found Its Way out of the Woods BusinessWeek 29 March 1999 Four leave after UBS suffers big trading loss The Independent London 20 November 1997 A Swiss Bank Raises Loss on Derivatives The New York Times 31 January 1998 PaineWebber Merger Vote The New York Times 24 October 2000 Swiss Bank Is Acquiring PaineWebber The New York Times 12 July 2000 Advertising Introducing UBS PaineWebber Post Merger The New York Times 5 March 2001 a b c Costas Sees UBS Eclipsing Goldman Citigroup as Top Fee Earner Bloomberg L P 1 March 2004 Archived from the original on 13 August 2011 Retrieved 21 March 2015 Costas Seeks to Seize Middle Ground Financial News 3 May 2010 Archived 5 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine Swiss Banks Calling Wall St Home The New York Times 31 August 2000 Atlas Riva D 26 May 2002 How Banks Chased a Mirage The New York Times Retrieved 21 March 2015 a b Moelis Is Leaving UBS The New York Times 19 March 2007 Retrieved 21 March 2015 Higher Fees And Trading Help Double UBS Income The New York Times 5 May 2004 Retrieved 21 March 2015 a b Health Scare Calculating UBS s Loss of Banker Benjamin Lorello The Wall Street Journal 26 June 2009 Retrieved 21 March 2015 Top UBS banker founds private equity firm Financial News 29 June 2007 Retrieved 21 March 2015 Prominent UBS Executive to Leave The New York Times 19 March 2007 Retrieved 21 March 2015 Anderson Jenny 9 September 2005 From UBS s Suite of Power to the Sweat of a Hedge Fund The New York Times Retrieved 21 March 2015 Boutique Bank That s Riding Out the Storm The New York Times 29 February 2008 Retrieved 21 March 2015 a b Cimilluca Dana 21 March 2007 Out They Go Moelis s Troops at UBS Begin to Disperse The Wall Street Journal Retrieved 21 March 2015 Prominent UBS Executive to Leave The New York Times 19 March 2007 Ex UBS executive Moelis opens firm LA Times 20 July 2007 Retrieved 21 March 2015 Petruno Tom 20 March 2007 Ken Moelis parts ways with UBS Some wonder if the high profile investment banker will launch his own firm in L A LA Times Retrieved 21 March 2015 Future of UBS Executive Part of Wall Street Chatter The New York Times 16 March 2007 Retrieved 21 March 2015 UBS Fined 100 Million over Trading of Dollars The New York Times 11 May 2004 Bumbacher Beat 1 October 2007 UBS leidet unter der Kreditkrise Neue Zurcher Zeitung nzz ch in German Retrieved 10 March 2019 Clark Andrew 3 May 2007 UBS shuts hedge fund after big sub prime losses The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 29 December 2017 Simonian Haig 21 April 2008 UBS details subprime losses Financial Times Retrieved 10 March 2019 UBS 100 Billion Wager Prompted 24 billion Loss in Nine Months Bloomberg 18 May 2008 Retrieved 29 March 2015 After Losses UBS Ousts Its Chief The New York Times 6 July 2007 access date 29 March 2015 Spate Offenbarung Neue Zurcher Zeitung nzz ch in German 1 October 2007 Retrieved 10 March 2019 Lehmann Andre 14 February 2008 Swiss bank UBS reports huge loss after subprime debacle The Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved 10 March 2019 Mortgage Woes Push UBS to Its First Loss in 5 Years The New York Times 31 October 2007 UBS Writes Down 10 Billion Singapore Injects Capital Reuters 10 December 2007 Retrieved 10 March 2019 UBS Records a Big Write Down and Sells a Stake The New York Times 11 December 2007 Absturz der UBS im Subprime Geschaft Neue Zurcher Zeitung nzz ch in German 1 October 2007 Retrieved 10 March 2019 Subprime Crisis SFBC Investigation into the Causes of the Write downs of UBS AG PDF Swiss Federal Banking Commission the SFBC 30 September 2008 Retrieved 10 March 2019 UBS to Write Down Another 19 billion The New York Times 2 April 2008 access date 29 March 2015 Downturn hits banks fixed income trading from The Daily Telegraph date 5 October 2007 UBS plans 19 bln write down capital injection from www marketwatch com date 1 April 2008 Mombelli Armando 16 October 2008 2008 crisis The day UBS the biggest Swiss bank was saved swissinfo ch Retrieved 10 March 2019 Costello Miles 17 October 2008 UBS and Credit Suisse secure 70bn The Times London Retrieved 21 March 2015 The Swiss authorities under the pressure of the financial crisis and the disclosure of UBS customer data to the USA Report of the Control Committees of the Federal Assembly PDF 31 May 2010 Retrieved 10 March 2019 Bad Assets Don t Just Disappear The New York Times 25 November 2008 Retrieved 21 March 2015 UBS expected to post biggest Swiss loss ever Taipei Times 9 February 2009 Retrieved 21 March 2015 Werdigier Julia 15 April 2009 UBS to Cut 7 500 More Jobs After 1 8 Billion Loss The New York Times Retrieved 21 March 2015 Craig Susanne Protess Ben Saltmarsh Matthew 16 September 2011 UBS Faces Questions on Oversight After a Trader Lost 2 Billion The New York Times Retrieved 21 March 2015 UBS replaces head of investment banking Risk net 27 April 2009 Retrieved 14 October 2017 Swiss Bank UBS To Cut 8700 Jobs To Return To Profitability stockozone com 15 April 2009 Retrieved 21 March 2015 Bart Katharina 21 April 2009 UBS in Asset Dump to Sell Brazilian Bank The Wall Street Journal Retrieved 21 March 2015 Switzerland Selling UBS Stake After U S Tax Accord Stockwatch 20 August 2009 Rhodes Jason Egenter Sven 26 June 2009 UBS problems to remain after 3 5 billion capital hike Reuters Retrieved 21 March 2015 Werdigiernov Julia 17 November 2009 UBS Plans to Be Making Nearly 15 Billion a Year in Profit by 2014 The New York Times Retrieved 10 March 2019 UBS sets out ambitious plans for return to growth Financial Times 17 November 2009 Retrieved 21 March 2015 UBS in new brand campaign and Formula 1 tie up Retrieved 29 December 2017 Wilson Harry 24 August 2010 UBS sticks by you amp us in Formula 1 sponsorship deal Daily Telegraph ISSN 0307 1235 Archived from the original on 11 January 2022 Retrieved 29 December 2017 UBS Stanches Outflow of Funds Wall Street Journal 26 October 2010 UBS announces 3 500 jobs to go Financial Times 23 August 2011 Retrieved 29 March 2015 Werdigier Julia 23 August 2011 UBS to Cut 3 500 Jobs Half in Investment Banking The New York Times Retrieved 21 March 2015 Robert Peston 16 September 2011 UBS trader Kweku Adoboli charged with fraud BBC Retrieved 29 March 2015 UBS rogue trader Loss estimate raised to 2 3bn BBC News 18 September 2011 Retrieved 29 March 2015 UBS trader Kweku Adoboli gambled away 1 4bn BBC News 14 September 2012 Retrieved 29 March 2015 Jenkins Patrick 20 September 2011 Singapore fund hits at UBS lapses Financial Times UBS press release UBS Retrieved 29 March 2015 Elliott Dominic New UBS is starting to work Reuters Blog Archived from the original on 3 May 2013 Retrieved 21 March 2015 UBS cuts 10 000 jobs as it slims down investment bank arm BBC 30 October 2012 Retrieved 29 March 2015 UBS fined 1 5bn for Libor rigging BBC 19 December 2012 Retrieved 21 March 2015 UBS Agrees to Pay 1 54 Billion to Settle Libor Investigations CNBC 19 December 2012 Retrieved 21 March 2015 HANDS SLAPPED 5 Banks Get Hit with Fines for Currency Manipulation Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute Retrieved 8 January 2021 Touryalai Halah 6 January 2014 A tale of two bankers Forbes Retrieved 29 March 2015 Katharina Bart 25 May 2015 UBS seeks to offload Australian wealth unit to management Reuters Retrieved 26 May 2015 Irrera Anna 2 May 2016 UBS to Open Blockchain Research Lab in London The Wall Street Journal Retrieved 14 May 2018 Kelly Jemima 24 August 2016 UBS leads team of banks working on blockchain settlement system Reuters Retrieved 14 May 2018 Plender John 13 May 2014 Welcome to the new era of bank downsizing Financial Times Retrieved 7 October 2018 Winters Patrick 3 April 2018 Top UBS Banker Has Very Aggressive Plan for U S www bloomberg com Retrieved 7 September 2018 Fiat is like the bulge bracket banks that are active on all the business segments and they go for volume UBS is like Ferrari We are much smaller and focused Lacqua Francine 24 January 2018 UBS Chairman Says a Massive Bitcoin Correction Is Possible Bloomberg com Retrieved 14 May 2018 We fear that in the future if these investments implode and the market corrects then investors will be looking at who sold us this Irrera Anna 4 October 2017 Commerzbank other banks join UBS and IBM trade finance blockchain Reuters Retrieved 14 May 2018 UBS Nomura push global banks Archegos losses over 10 bln Reuters 27 April 2021 Retrieved 28 April 2021 Forman Laura 21 June 2021 Work Flexibility Popular With Employees Is Hardly a Holy Grail The Wall Street Journal ISSN 0099 9660 Patrick Margot 28 June 2021 UBS Says Hybrid Work Is Here to Stay The Wall Street Journal ISSN 0099 9660 Retrieved 14 July 2021 Morgan Stanley Bank of America CEOs break relative silence on office returns Banking Dive Retrieved 14 July 2021 a b Shields Michael 26 January 2022 UBS steps up U S push with 1 4 bln Wealthfront purchase Reuters Balezou Myriam 5 September 2022 UBS Growth Plans in US Dented After Wealthfront Deal Fails Bloomberg News a b Snel Ross 2 September 2022 UBS Planned to Buy Robo Advisor Wealthfront Now the Deal s off Barron s a b Chau Candice 2 November 2022 Don t bet against China and Hong Kong and don t read too much foreign news top Chinese regulator tells banking summit Hong Kong Free Press HKFP Retrieved 2 November 2022 Global bankers very pro China says UBS chair Financial Times 2 November 2022 Retrieved 2 November 2022 Sorkin Andrew Ross Mattu Ravi Warner Bernhard Kessler Sarah Gandel Stephen Merced Michael J de la Hirsch Lauren Livni Ephrat 2 November 2022 Investors Await the Fed s Next Move The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 2 November 2022 UBS 2009 Annual report PDF Retrieved 21 March 2015 UBS CEO Ermotti to step down in November Retrieved 4 May 2020 Significant shareholders global Retrieved 29 December 2017 UBS Annual Report 2016 UBS ubs com 10 March 2017 Retrieved 29 May 2017 Significant shareholders ubs com Retrieved 29 December 2017 Shareholder distribution ubs com Retrieved 12 September 2019 a b c d e f Schutz Dirk 2000 The Fall of UBS The Forces that Brought Down Switzerland s Biggest Bank Pyramid Media Group ISBN 9780944188200 a b Juliette Garside HSBC files how a 1934 Swiss law enshrined secrecy The Guardian Sunday 8 February 2015 Retrieved 10 February 2015 a b Swiss Federal Law on Banks and Savings Banks PDF KPMG Retrieved 16 October 2013 a b c Mueller Kurt 1969 The Swiss Banking Secret From a Legal View The International and Comparative Law Quarterly 18 2 361 362 doi 10 1093 iclqaj 18 2 360 JSTOR 757529 a b c Financial Secrecy Index 2018 Results www financialsecrecyindex com 1 May 2018 Retrieved 15 May 2018 a b Ely Bert Financial Regulation The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics Library of Economics and Liberty www econlib org Retrieved 16 May 2018 a b Hill Catey 23 July 2017 These are the 10 biggest tax havens on the planet MarketWatch Retrieved 16 May 2018 a b c Werdigier Lynnley Browning and Julia 29 May 2013 Switzerland to Allow Its Banks to Disclose Hidden Client Accounts DealBook Retrieved 18 May 2018 a b Identification Rules for Swiss Banks UBS PDF 29 November 2011 Archived from the original PDF on 28 September 2011 Retrieved 16 May 2018 Bundesgesetz uber die Banken und Sparkassen Bankengesetz BankG Swiss Law Article 47 in German Accessed 21 March 2015 Von Romina Lenzlinger aus Los Angeles und Beat Kraushaar 19 January 2012 Nach elf Jahren hat Christoph Meili genug von den USA Ich komme heim in die Schweiz fur immer blick ch Retrieved 29 March 2015 Meier Barry 29 November 1998 Jewish Groups Fight for Spoils of Swiss Case The New York Times Retrieved 29 March 2015 a b Keefe Patrick Radden 30 May 2016 The Great Swiss Bank Heist The New Yorker ISSN 0028 792X Retrieved 15 May 2018 Kroft Steve 30 December 2009 Banking A Crack in the Swiss Vault CBC News 60 Minutes Retrieved 16 May 2018 The subterranean vaults of Geneva and Zurich have served as sanctuaries for the wealth of dictators and despots mobsters and arms dealers corrupt officials and tax cheats of all kinds a b c Baker Stephanie 30 September 2016 Secret Alpine Gold Vaults Are the New Swiss Bank Accounts Bloomberg com Retrieved 18 May 2018 The Sinister Face Of Neutrality Frontline PBS www pbs org 1996 Retrieved 17 May 2018 Before the Second World War with the rise of Nazism many Jews in Central and East Europe sought to protect a part of their assets by depositing money in Swiss accounts and their valuables in Swiss safe deposit boxes To encourage such transfers in 1934 the Swiss even strengthened special banking secrecy laws which facilitated preservation of the anonymity of depositors a b Bloomberg News 17 August 2013 Got gold Switzerland has an underground bunker just for you The Mercury News Retrieved 14 May 2018 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a first has generic name help Evan Thomas 13 August 2009 UBS A Swiss Bank s Shadowy Operations Newsweek Retrieved 18 May 2018 Feds Sue UBS for All American Customer Names Yahoo News Associated Press 19 February 2009 Archived from the original on 22 February 2009 Retrieved 20 February 2009 Grimaldi James V 30 July 2015 UBS Deal Shows Clinton s Complicated Ties The Wall Street Journal Retrieved 21 March 2016 Pfeifer Stuart 26 October 2009 He put a dent in tax evasion The Los Angeles Times Retrieved 21 March 2015 Banking A Crack in the Swiss Vault Retrieved 31 January 2017 Statement on Indictment of UBS Executive BusinessWire 12 November 2008 Retrieved 21 March 2015 a b Crawford David 8 November 2012 Germany Probes UBS Staff on Tax Evasion Allegations The Wall Street Journal Retrieved 1 April 2015 Wood Robert W 4 June 2013 French Criminal Tax Probe of UBS Talk About Deja Vu Forbes Retrieved 29 March 2015 Godoy Julio 19 April 2012 Europe Loses Billions to Tax Evasion Inter Press Service News Agency Retrieved 29 March 2015 Franklin Angelika Gruber Chine Labbe Joshua European court rejects UBS appeal against bail in French tax case Reuters Retuers Retrieved 27 January 2017 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Benedetti Valentini Fabio and Jeffrey Voegeli 17 February 2015 Three Ex UBS Officials Said to Face Arrest in French Tax Probe Bloomberg Retrieved 29 March 2015 UBS fails to overturn guilty verdict in French tax evasion case UBS Penalties Slashed by Around 3 Billion in French Tax Case The Wall Street Journal 13 December 2021 Shields Michael 20 December 2021 Swiss bank UBS appeals against French money laundering verdict Reuters Reuters UBS introduces new code of business conduct swissinfo 12 January 2010 Retrieved 16 March 2016 Bart Katharina 12 January 2010 UBS Lays Out Employee Ethics Code The Wall Street Journal Retrieved 29 March 2015 Wie die UBS ihre Reputation schutzen will Finews ch 8 February 2012 Retrieved 16 March 2016 RepRisk GISR Global Initiative for Sustainability Ratings Retrieved 16 March 2016 Jacquemart Charlotte 13 June 2010 Viele Investoren wollen keine Umwelt und Sozialrisiken mehr BP und UBS zeigen wie schnell es abwartsgehen kann Neue Zurcher Zeitung Retrieved 16 March 2016 Rizzi Elisabeth UBS hat im Ausland ein gutes Image 20min ch Retrieved 16 March 2016 Adams John 3 February 2012 UBS Taps Big Data to Shrink Reputational Risk American Banker Retrieved 29 March 2015 杭州海康威视数字技术股份有限公司 2018 年度报告 HiKVision PDF dfcfw com Retrieved 1 June 2022 Xinjiang Backlash is Hitting Chinese Firms Hard a b UBS Allianz Aviva and Pimco join UN to rev up sustainable development investments www internationalinvestment net 29 October 2019 Retrieved 30 November 2019 UBS Level39 Archived from the original on 9 August 2020 Retrieved 11 March 2019 UBS leads team of banks working on blockchain settlement system Reuters 24 August 2016 Retrieved 11 March 2019 UBS Explores Offering Crypto Investments to Rich Clients Bloomberg com 10 May 2021 UBS Digitally Cloned Its Chief Economist So He Wouldn t Miss His Meetings Fortune Retrieved 11 March 2019 UBS Companion ubs com Retrieved 11 March 2019 UBS Named a 2006 Working Mother 100 Best Company by Working Mother Magazine 25 September 2006 Retrieved 29 March 2015 a b Diversity Champions members Stonewall 10 August 2015 Retrieved 29 December 2017 2015 All Europe Research Team Institutional Investor 2 February 2010 Retrieved 29 March 2015 UBS Tops Thomson Reuters Extel Survey For 10th Year hereisthecity com 16 June 2010 Retrieved 29 March 2015 Global Private Banking Awards 2013 Winners and Highly Commended Professional Wealth Management 31 October 2013 Retrieved 29 March 2015 Global Private Banking Awards 2014 Winners and highly commended Professional Wealth Management 29 October 2014 Retrieved 29 March 2015 PWM Global Private Banking Awards 2016 Winners and highly commended www pwmnet com Retrieved 9 January 2017 Awards for Distinction 2018 Best Private Bank Asia Pacific Asian Private Banker Retrieved 4 December 2019 Awards for Excellence 2014 Best global bank euromoney com 10 July 2014 Retrieved 28 January 2018 Darum gilt die UBS als die beste Bank der Welt finews ch 11 July 2014 Retrieved 28 January 2018 UBS wins Best Global Bank and Best Bank in Switzerland euromoney com 10 July 2014 Retrieved 28 January 2018 Euromoney UBS erneut als beste globale Privatbank ausgezeichnet moneycab com 2 February 2017 Retrieved 28 January 2018 Western Europe s best bank for advisory 2017 UBS euromoney com 6 July 2017 Retrieved 28 January 2018 Results Announced for 2017 Dow Jones Sustainability Indices Review PDF robecosam com Retrieved 28 January 2018 UBS ist zum dritten Mal Branchenleader im Dow Jones Sustainability Index Retrieved 28 January 2018 Industry Group Leader Report 2018 PDF robecosam com Retrieved 31 October 2018 Das Chief Investment Office CIO von UBS Wealth Management lanciert ein White Paper Business with Impact zu neuen Modellen unternehmerischer Nachhaltigkeit Retrieved 28 January 2018 25th Annual World s Best Bank Awards 2018 PDF gfmag com Retrieved 28 January 2018 a b World s Best Banks 2017 Enhancing The Customer Experience gfmag com Retrieved 28 January 2018 World s Best Private Banks 2017 gfmag com Retrieved 28 January 2018 Global Winners Tacking into The Wind gfmag com Retrieved 28 January 2018 WMAE 2019 Universum Retrieved 30 November 2019 Vogel Carol 11 April 2012 Guggenheim and UBS Project Plan Cross Cultural Program The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 3 February 2019 Further reading EditSchutz Dirk The Fall of the UBS The Reasons Behind the Decline of the Union Bank of Switzerland 1st ed Pyramid Media Group 2000 ISBN 978 1 57441 308 3 Fox Guy How the World Really Works Investment Banking Guy Fox Publishing 2009 ISBN 978 1 90471 111 7 Suter Martin Montecristo Roman Diogenes Verlag Zurich 2015 320 S ISBN 978 3 257 06920 4 Blum Georges Societe de Banque Suisse Union de Banques Suisses La verite et le pourquoi de cette fusion Favre Lausanne 2015 ISBN 978 2 8289 1548 3 French Temkin Ann Contemporary Voices Works from the UBS Art Collection Museum of Modern Art First Paperback edition 2005 ISBN 978 0 870 70087 3External links EditOfficial website Business data for UBS BloombergGoogleReutersSEC filingsYahoo Documents and clippings about UBS in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW Wikimedia Commons has media related to UBS Portals Companies Switzerland Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title UBS amp oldid 1131668030, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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