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**Acalsenunse** · 02-11-2009, 07:19 AM

Swiss bank UBS Chief Executive Officer Marcel Rohner speaks at a news conference of the bank's results Zurich February 10, 2009. UBS is axing 2,000 more jobs as it pushes ahead with a tough restructuring after posting the biggest annual loss ever for a Swiss firm, although it said client withdrawals had stopped in January.
REUTERS/Christian Hartmann

Swiss bank UBS Chief Financial Officer John Cryan speaks at a news conference of the bank's results in Zurich February 10, 2009. UBS is axing 2,000 more jobs as it pushes ahead with a tough restructuring after posting the biggest annual loss ever for a Swiss firm, although it said client withdrawals had stopped in January.
UBS also announced structural changes to refocus the bank on its core wealth management business. It is creating two new business divisions: Wealth Management & Swiss Bank under the leadership of Franco Morra and Juerg Zeltner, and Wealth Management Americas, led by Marten Hoekstra.

The bank suffered net new money outflows of 58.2 billion francs from its prized wealth management unit in the fourth quarter, compared with 49 billion the previous quarter.

It said it saw outflows in all regions, except the United States, where it hired nearly 400 financial advisers in the quarter. Source have told Reuters UBS is aggressively poaching advisers from rivals including Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch & Co and Citigroup Inc's Smith Barney.

Outflows also continued from its global asset management business in the fourth quarter, but slowed to 27.6 billion francs from 34.4 billion the previous quarter.

UBS said the pace of client outflows slowed in both wealth and asset management from October through to December and turned slightly positive in January, but would give no figures.

Asked if an unlabelled graph in a presentation indicated wealth management inflows of about 2 to 3 billion Swiss francs in January, Rohner signaled the figure may be slightly higher.

UBS said it was working with U.S. authorities on a U.S. tax probe, but gave no details. It is accused of helping rich Americans hide untaxed money in Swiss accounts and it stopped offshore services to U.S. citizens last year.

UBS said its Tier 1 capital ratio, a key measure of a bank's financial strength, rose to 11.5 percent at the end of 2008 from 10.8 percent at the end of the third quarter.

Separately, the Swiss National Bank said it cut the value of toxic assets eligible for transfer to a special central-bank run fund announced in October to help prop up UBS to $39.1 billion from $60 billion.

($1=1.159 Swiss Franc)

(Additional reporting by Emma Thomasson, Sam Cage, Jason Rhodes, Albert Schmieder; editing by Simon Jessop and David Cowell)

02-11-2009, 07:19 AM	#2
Acalsenunse Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 483 Senior Member	Swiss bank UBS Chief Executive Officer Marcel Rohner speaks at a news conference of the bank's results Zurich February 10, 2009. UBS is axing 2,000 more jobs as it pushes ahead with a tough restructuring after posting the biggest annual loss ever for a Swiss firm, although it said client withdrawals had stopped in January. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann Swiss bank UBS Chief Financial Officer John Cryan speaks at a news conference of the bank's results in Zurich February 10, 2009. UBS is axing 2,000 more jobs as it pushes ahead with a tough restructuring after posting the biggest annual loss ever for a Swiss firm, although it said client withdrawals had stopped in January. UBS also announced structural changes to refocus the bank on its core wealth management business. It is creating two new business divisions: Wealth Management & Swiss Bank under the leadership of Franco Morra and Juerg Zeltner, and Wealth Management Americas, led by Marten Hoekstra. The bank suffered net new money outflows of 58.2 billion francs from its prized wealth management unit in the fourth quarter, compared with 49 billion the previous quarter. It said it saw outflows in all regions, except the United States, where it hired nearly 400 financial advisers in the quarter. Source have told Reuters UBS is aggressively poaching advisers from rivals including Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch & Co and Citigroup Inc's Smith Barney. Outflows also continued from its global asset management business in the fourth quarter, but slowed to 27.6 billion francs from 34.4 billion the previous quarter. UBS said the pace of client outflows slowed in both wealth and asset management from October through to December and turned slightly positive in January, but would give no figures. Asked if an unlabelled graph in a presentation indicated wealth management inflows of about 2 to 3 billion Swiss francs in January, Rohner signaled the figure may be slightly higher. UBS said it was working with U.S. authorities on a U.S. tax probe, but gave no details. It is accused of helping rich Americans hide untaxed money in Swiss accounts and it stopped offshore services to U.S. citizens last year. UBS said its Tier 1 capital ratio, a key measure of a bank's financial strength, rose to 11.5 percent at the end of 2008 from 10.8 percent at the end of the third quarter. Separately, the Swiss National Bank said it cut the value of toxic assets eligible for transfer to a special central-bank run fund announced in October to help prop up UBS to $39.1 billion from $60 billion. ($1=1.159 Swiss Franc) (Additional reporting by Emma Thomasson, Sam Cage, Jason Rhodes, Albert Schmieder; editing by Simon Jessop and David Cowell)
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