Today’s press coverage of the continuing drama at UBS suggests the saga is playing out in predictable fashion, as rivals seek to poach UBS deal-makers, whose bonuses are likely to shrivel following the bank’s losses. And speculation is mounting that CEO Oswald Gruebel will have to step aside. The situation has been made worse by […]
In light of the startling $2 billion trading loss that UBS reported this week, my Friday Risk Reading selection is a speech from 1996 by New York Fed President William J. McDonough. As president of the New York Fed from 1993 to 2003, when he was succeeded by Tim Geithner, McDononugh spoke often about bank […]
UBS has remained oddly silent since its brief press release announcing a $2 billion loss from unauthorized trades in London. The announcement chopped some $5 billion from the bank’s market cap, and neither CEO Oswald Grübel nor any other senior executive has addressed the matter. It’s instructive to compare UBS’s public response to that of […]
Today’s stunning announcement by UBS that a rogue trader lost $2 billion presents big communications challenges for the Swiss bank. It will need to be forthcoming with regulators about the reasons for the loss and the breakdown in the bank’s internal controls. It must reassure private clients that their assets are safe, keep valued employees […]