UBS decides no legal action
By Colleen Barry |
October 15, 2010, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
UBS, Switzerland's largest bank, said yesterday it will not take legal action against former executives and board members for the huge losses suffered during the United States subprime crisis that forced a bailout.
The bank, long the star of the Swiss banking industry, has faced intense public pressure from taxpayers enraged by having to pay for its rescue. UBS lost billions of dollars during the global economic crisis and the confidence of investors during a lengthy tax dispute with the US.
Kaspar Villiger, who took over as chairman 19 months ago, apologized "for all the difficult times that have been created," as he presented a transparency report on mistakes made by previous management.
However, he told a presentation that trying to recover losses through legal action would be costly, bring the bank negative publicity and distract from moving forward. He also argued it would reflect negatively in class-action lawsuits pending in the US against UBS and previous management, because US lawyers see such legal action as an admission of guilt.
Villiger said that none of UBS's major shareholders have said they intend to pursue legal action of their own, and this step would weaken the bank's share price.
The report said UBS had recovered 70 million Swiss francs (US$73.5 million) from ex-directors or managers.
The bank, long the star of the Swiss banking industry, has faced intense public pressure from taxpayers enraged by having to pay for its rescue. UBS lost billions of dollars during the global economic crisis and the confidence of investors during a lengthy tax dispute with the US.
Kaspar Villiger, who took over as chairman 19 months ago, apologized "for all the difficult times that have been created," as he presented a transparency report on mistakes made by previous management.
However, he told a presentation that trying to recover losses through legal action would be costly, bring the bank negative publicity and distract from moving forward. He also argued it would reflect negatively in class-action lawsuits pending in the US against UBS and previous management, because US lawyers see such legal action as an admission of guilt.
Villiger said that none of UBS's major shareholders have said they intend to pursue legal action of their own, and this step would weaken the bank's share price.
The report said UBS had recovered 70 million Swiss francs (US$73.5 million) from ex-directors or managers.
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