UBS Chairman Kaspar Villiger said on Wednesday that the bank is not under major pressure from investors, after unauthorized trading caused a US$2.3 billion ($2.9 billion) loss.
Speaking in French to television reporters outside the Swiss bank’s Singapore office, he said no when asked if the bank was feeling the pressure from its shareholders, adding that it is very solid.
He is in Singapore for a meeting of the Swiss bank’s board.
UBS is under pressure to scale down, ringfence or even split off its risky investment banking business from its core wealth management unit in order to shield private clients.
But a source at the bank said it would be “business as usual” at the meeting and the board would not be rushed into dumping the investment bank.
The trading loss is a heavy blow to the reputation of Switzerland’s biggest bank, which had just started to recover after its near collapse during the financial crisis and a damaging U.S. investigation into its aiding wealthy Americans to dodge taxes.
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