Swiss bank plans to return to profitability
(19 November 2009 – Europe) The chief executive officer for the Swiss bank UBS has put forward a plan to return the bank to profitability.
Oswald J. Grubel, CEO, UBS has presented a plan with the overall expectation for the bank to be earning nearly 15 billion Swiss Francs (A$15.9 billion) a year by no later than 2014.
In the presentation to investors the bank mapped out a return to equity of 15 to 20 percent some time from 2012 to 2014.
The bank also plans to stick to its current business model providing wealth management, investment and asset management services.
Mr Grubel said that they are building a new UBS, one that performs to the highest standards and behaves with integrity and honesty, a bank that distinguishes itself not only through the clarity and reliability of the advice and services it provides but in how it manages and executes.
The bank had to seek government aid after losses hit the 50 billion Swiss Francs mark; the losses were linked to the exposure the bank had to the subprime mortgage market.
Mr Grubel was hired in February and is tagged with the responsibility of restoring confidence among investors, clients and employees.
Some of Mr Grubel’s first steps were to shrink the business size and eliminate some positions.
Last month, UBS hired Robert J. McCann, a former Merrill Lynch executive, to stem outflows of client money at its wealth management unit in the Americas.
The transformation UBS is undertaking is a fundamental one, and it will not happen quickly, however the bank is determined to build a firm for sustainable profit and not one to focus only on short-term expectations, Mr Grubel concluded.
In the presentation to investors the bank mapped out a return to equity of 15 to 20 percent some time from 2012 to 2014.
The bank also plans to stick to its current business model providing wealth management, investment and asset management services.
Mr Grubel said that they are building a new UBS, one that performs to the highest standards and behaves with integrity and honesty, a bank that distinguishes itself not only through the clarity and reliability of the advice and services it provides but in how it manages and executes.
The bank had to seek government aid after losses hit the 50 billion Swiss Francs mark; the losses were linked to the exposure the bank had to the subprime mortgage market.
Mr Grubel was hired in February and is tagged with the responsibility of restoring confidence among investors, clients and employees.
Some of Mr Grubel’s first steps were to shrink the business size and eliminate some positions.
Last month, UBS hired Robert J. McCann, a former Merrill Lynch executive, to stem outflows of client money at its wealth management unit in the Americas.
The transformation UBS is undertaking is a fundamental one, and it will not happen quickly, however the bank is determined to build a firm for sustainable profit and not one to focus only on short-term expectations, Mr Grubel concluded.
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