- 24 Sep 11, 17:36#276865
I was surprised to see there wasn't a thread dedicated to the discussion of sponsors for the sport. I wanted to discuss the financial situation and scandals surrounding UBS, it's very possible that the sport may lose one of it's more visible financiers and as I see it more of an opportunity for non European influence in the sport.
For those not keeping an eye on things in the finance world, here are a couple of articles.
For those not keeping an eye on things in the finance world, here are a couple of articles.
GENEVA -- UBS chief executive Oswald Gruebel has resigned over a $2.3 billion rogue trading loss, the bank said Saturday. The move ends days of speculation about whether Gruebel could retain his position following the latest scandal to hit Switzerland's biggest bank.
UBS Europe chief Sergio P. Ermotti will take over immediately as interim chief executive until Gruebel's replacement is appointed, the bank said in a statement.UBS's president Kaspar Villiger said the board regretted Gruebel's decision to resign but had decided to accept it. "Oswald Gruebel feels that it is his duty to assume responsibility for the recent unauthorized trading incident," Villiger was quoted as saying in the statement. "It is testimony to his uncompromising principles and integrity."
London-based UBS trader Kweku Adoboli was arrested last week and charged with fraud and false accounting for the $2.3 billion loss. A judge ordered him Thursday to be held in jail until a hearing next month.
Villiger said Gruebel, who was brought in more than two years ago to help revive the fortunes of the Zurich-based bank, had achieved "an impressive turnaround and strengthened UBS fundamentally." "He steps down having helped make UBS one of the world's best capitalized banks," Villiger added.
The announcement also noted that the board, which met in Singapore this week, would seek to put in place measures to prevent a similar rogue trading loss from recurring.
UBS, Switzerland's largest bank, is one of the biggest financial institutions in the world. It was also one of the European banks hit hardest in the subprime market crisis in 2008, posting a record loss of $17 billion, and received government help to cope with its illiquid assets. UBS has also battled unsuccessfully with the United States government over the bank’s secret offshore accounts.
In November 2010, UBS cemented a deal with the American authorities under which the Swiss government would turn over the names of about 4,500 American clients suspected of evading taxes. The deal allowed the bank to avoid further action by the Justice Department in a long-running case that had already cost it $780 million in fines to avoid criminal prosecution.
In February 2011, UBS announced that its business had turned around in 2010 as it posted its first annual profit since before the financial crisis. The bank reported a profit of 7.2 billion Swiss francs ($7.5 billion) for the year in contrast to a 2009 loss of 2.7 billion francs.
But six months later, in August 2011, UBS announced it would cut 3,500 jobs over the next two and a half years to reduce costs. The bank said that about 45 percent of the 3,500 job cuts would come from its investment banking unit, which had repeatedly reported dismal figures and failed to fully recover from huge losses during the subprime mortgage crisis.
UBS said in September 2011 that a rogue trader in its investment bank, Kweku Adoboli, had lost $2 billion, delivering a fresh blow to the beleaguered bank. In an internal memo, the bank said the unauthorized trading could drag down earnings in the third quarter to a loss.
"I don't want to be part of a forum where everyone has differing opinions." Boom...
