UBS Said To Have Tried To Sell PaineWebber To Raise Cash
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The story goes that UBS hawked PaineWebber to a number of rivals, including Barclays, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, but there were no takers. As some feel that UBS is likely to have to writedown up to a further $15bn in assets this year too, many feel that a sale of the US unit may still be on the cards. UBS spokesperson Karina Byrne said, however, that 'this business is not for sale. Wealth Management US continues to be a part of our leading global wealth management business'.
The Financial Times reports that UBS climbed down Friday and agreed to accede to the demand of investor activist group Ethos that the bank publish a summary of the findings of the report being compiled by the Swiss Federal Banking Commission into how the firm managed to wreck its balance sheet by incurring all those subprime lending-related writedowns last year. Ethos said that it 'welcomes UBS's desire to engage in transparent communication, which will help win back the shareholders' trust'.
Finally, Reuters reports that UBS has been sued by a US investor who alleges that the firm encouraged clients to invest funds in auction-rate notes without disclosing the true nature of the risks. The lawsuit seeks class-action status. A spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal that the bank 'is committed to addressing our clients' concerns about the market events that caused the breakdown of liquidity for auction-rate securities'.
