Like central banks in previous recessions, the Swiss National Bank has termed “the StabFund” its $60 billion bucket for bad debt held by UBS AG.
With that transfer of debt nearly complete, the question remains the degree to which the StabFund will cut any holes in its UBS”™ Stamford complex, as the bank gets its balance sheet in line with the terms of its Swiss stabilization fund.
UBS AG sliced nearly 1,800 jobs worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2008, primarily in its investment banking operations, even as it carved out its wealth management business in the Americas as one of three stand-alone divisions, with Marten Hoekstra continuing to lead the business.
UBS lost $7 billion in the fourth quarter, and $17 billion for all 2008. In October the Swiss government agreed to bail out UBS by purchasing up to $60 billion in illiquid securities, paying $16.4 billion in December and promising the balance by the close of the current quarter.
As if the bank”™s problems were not severe enough, UBS disclosed that it had invested money in funds managed by the indicted financier Bernard Madoff, saying the funds face “severe” losses.
Fairfield County officials are counting on the modern trading floors and ideal location of the UBS buildings to minimize any local job impact, holding out similar hope for Royal Bank of Scotland”™s new trading operation across the street. RBS announced plans this month to cut 2,300 jobs in the United Kingdom even as it prepares to consolidate U.S. operations in the Stamford building this summer, which is designed for roughly 2,000 workers.
UBS has yet to disclose any job cuts as part of a formal filing with city officials, according to Mike Freimuth, Stamford”™s director of economic development. Through mid-February, UBS has advertised to fill more than 25 open job categories in Stamford, primarily in the area of information technology, but also covering financial control, compliance and operations.
By comparison, UBS had advertised for just over a dozen positions in New York City ”“ a possible indication of the company”™s emphasis on Stamford for any growth in the short term. Freimuth noted Stamford could benefit from any consolidation of UBS offices in the tri-state region, though UBS also has significant finance and trading operations in Jersey City and nearby Weehawken, N.J., where it has double the job openings of Stamford.
UBS actually added 550 positions to its U.S. wealth management division in the fourth quarter, with its full-time equivalents at just under 19,000 employees at year-end, including a gain of nearly 300 financial advisors. UBS has wealth-management offices in Stamford, Greenwich and Westport.
The Stamford home office houses UBS Securities L.L.C.; UBS Financial Services Inc.; UBS Alternative & Quantitative Investments L.L.C.; and Private Wealth Management. At the peak of the last economic cycle, UBS was the third-largest corporate employer in Fairfield County with some 4,500 workers.
