Top Boss To Go After $12bn Q1 Loss - More Jobs Losses Likely

The Swiss bank announced that chairman Marcel Ospel will step down, as it revealed that further asset write-downs of around $19bn would push the firm into a first-quarter loss of some $12bn. UBS is now seeking a $15bn cash injection from shareholders to beef up its balance sheet. Ospel said in a statement that 'I have always said that I ultimately take responsibility for the bank's situation'.

UBS, which also sustained a $12bn loss in the fourth-quarter (the largest-ever loss posted by a bank in a quarter), has seen its shares fall some 45% this year. The bank has said that it will create a new division to work-through its poor-performing assets, and has confirmed that it has reduced its subprime positions from $27.6bn to $15bn over the last 3 months. Alt-A positions were also reduced over the period - from $26.6bn to $16bn.

Ospel has confirmed that the bank's board did consider splitting up the company, but that it is convinced that a fully integrated organisation comprised of wealth management and investment banking is the way forward. He also told a group of journalists Tuesday that there would be more job losses over at the investment bank as the restructure in the unit continues. Ospel said: 'Clearly the industry is in a very difficult environment and we have to review the capacity with which we operate......That's something you'd usually do in a difficult environment. We will expect to be more specific with respect to all these measures in due course over the weeks to come'.