The Wall Street Journal reports that Jerker Johansson, the new chairman and CEO of UBS Investment Bank, has insisted that the pain felt by staff from the latest round of job cuts, where possible, should cut across all levels of seniority. As a result, no-one should consider themselves safe, from analysts to Managing Directors, as the firm moves to cull another 2,600 heads.

Johansson has confirmed that the latest headcount reduction will take the total number of job losses in his unit to 4,100, or over 18% of total staff. By the end of the year, 9% of staff will have been axed in equities and investment banking, and some 26% of employees in fixed income will have lost their jobs. Johansson said that 'in some areas in fixed income, headcount will be reduced by more than 50%'. The bank also plans to sell its New York-based municipal securities unit, which employs around 300 people.

The firm's new boss has also made two key appointments. Daniel Coleman has been named Global Head of Equities, and John Wall is to become Global Head of Prop Trading. Andreas Esteves is stepping down from his fixed income oversight role after 10 months, and will focus on running UBS Latin America.

Credit and Market risk are now being merged into one unit as the firm tightens its risk controls. And Thomas Daula, who was Chief Risk Officer over at Morgan Stanley, is joining next month to undertake the same role at the investment bank.

Finally, The Financial Times reports that two bankers, including Bradley Birkenfeld, who worked at UBS in private banking, have been charged in the US with tax fraud. The indictment was unsealed Tuesday, and the two men, together with 'others known and unknown' have been charged with conspiring to defraud the US since at least 2001 by engaging in a scheme that allegedly includes falsifying documents, establishing shell companies and destroying bank records. And The Wall Street Journal reports that UBS is facing the prospect of being served with a broad subpoena by US prosectors, which will require the bank to give up the names of those clients who may have used its services to evade personal taxes.

A spokesperson for UBS said: 'The bank is continuing to co-operate with this investigation. In light of the pending investigation, it is not appropriate to comment on charges brought against a former UBS employee'.

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