UBS doubles sub-prime writedowns
Sign outside UBS office
UBS had warned that 2008 would be a tough year.
Swiss financial giant UBS has re****ted that its write downs as a
result
of the sub-prime crisis have more than doubled to about $37bn
(=A318.5bn).
It is the largest write down by any bank since the credit crunch
began.
UBS also announced that its chairman and former chief executive Marcel
Ospel would not be seeking re-appointment.
The bank has announced $19bn of fresh asset write downs on top of the
$18.4bn it wrote off in 2007, as the value of its assets has
plummeted.
UBS added that it was seeking to raise 15bn Swiss francs ($15bn;
=A37.5bn) in capital by issuing new shares.
Today's announcement will alarm both UBS shareholders and the markets
Robert Peston
BBC Business editor
Read Robert's blog
Swiss worry as bank giants fall
Its losses dwarf those declared by US banks such as Citigroup
($21.1bn) and Merrill Lynch ($22bn).
Widespread damage
The UBS announcements came as it said it expected to post a first-
quarter net loss of $12.1bn.
The firm said that the next chapter of the firm's history would be one
of "discipline and determination".
"There will be other chapters which will not be perfect but none will
be like the ones we have just written".
The US sub-prime problems have hit the balance sheets of banks
worldwide and have cost several leading bankers their jobs.
Mr Ospel had previously said that he wanted to stay at the company for
another year.
MAIN CREDIT CRUNCH LOSSES
UBS: $37.4bn
Merrill Lynch: $22bn
Citigroup: $21.1bn
HSBC: $17.2bn
Morgan Stanley: $9.4bn
Deutsche Bank: $7.1bn
Bank of America: $5.3bn
Bear Stearns: $3.2bn
JP Morgan Chase: $3.2bn
BayernLB $3.2bn
Barclays: $2.6bn
IKB: $2.6bn
Royal Bank of Scotland: $2.6bn
Credit Suisse:$2bn
Source: Company re****ts
Timeline: Sub-prime crisis
