UBS AG , is a financial firm. It is headquartered in Basel and Zürich, Switzerland. It is a wealth management, investment banking and securities firm. It is also a global asset manager and does retail and commercial banking in Switzerland. UBS has invested assets of 2.231 trillion Swiss francs, shareholders' equity of 35.310 billion Swiss francs and market capitalization of 95.401 billion Swiss francs.

History

UBS (Union des banques suisses) was formed through a merger of the Union Bank of Switzerland and the Swiss Bank Corporation in 1998, following the LTCM crisis, which effected the Union Bank of Switzerland. In 2000 it aquired Paine Webber Wealth management to become the world's largest wealth management firm for private clients. Invested assets in all wealth management businesses, including the US, total CHF 1.3 trillion.

The bank is present in all major financial centers worldwide, with offices in 50 countries. According to the UBS website, the bank had 66,894 employees on September 30, 2004, but the full-time equivalent headcount was only 65,929 on December 31, 2004. The 2004 Q4 report breaks these Financial Business permenant staff down by region as: 26,662 in Switzerland, 25,511 in the Americas, 3,850 in Asia & Australasia, with 9,906 elsewhere.

Management

The Group Executive Board is the executive body of the company. Its members are:

• Group CEO: Peter A. Wuffli ([1])
• Chairman and CEO Investment Bank: John P. Costas ([2])
• John A. Fraser (Chairman and CEO Global Asset management), George Gagnebin (Chairman Wealth Management and Business Banking), Peter Kurer (Group General Counsel), Marcel Rohner (CEO Wealth Management and Business Banking), Clive Standish (Group CFO), Mark B. Sutton (Chairman and CEO Wealth Management USA).

Marcel Ospel is the Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Businesses

UBS is organized in five business groups: Wealth Management & Business Banking, Investment Bank, Global Asset Management, Wealth Management USA, and Corporate Center.

Competition

Main competitors are Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Credit Suisse and others.

Diversity

UBS was named one of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers living in the US in 2004 by US based Working Mothers magazine. It is a member of the Stonewall Diversity Champions scheme and has active Gay and Lesbian, ethnic minority, and women's networking groups.

Financials

For the year ended December 31, 2004

• Net profit CHF 8,089 million (8.089 billion swiss francs).
• Moody's long-term credit rating: Aa2
• Employees: 65,929

External links

• UBS - UBS Homepage
• Latest quarterly financial summaries

Data

• Yahoo! - UBS AG Company Profile