Risk Management
USB shuffles investment bank, beefs up risk management
Auteur : Katharina Bart
Du : 15/05/2008
Wednesday disclosed senior appointments at its investment bank alongside plans to beef up risk management, part of a series of measures aimed at restructuring the bank after more than $37 billion in subprime write-downs.
USB AG Wednesday disclosed senior appointments at its investment bank alongside plans to beef up risk management, part of a series of measures aimed at restructuring the bank after more than $37 billion in subprime write-downs.
The Zurich-based bank said Andre Esteves will step down from running its fixed-income arm. Mr. Esteves is a former Banco Pactual partner who was charged with cleaning up after the subprime losses, which began at in-house hedge fund Dillon Read Capital Management but quickly spread to the rest of UBS's investment bank.
Jerker Johansson, who took over as UBS's investment bank chief two months ago, will head the fixed-income arm temporarily as UBS, which sold $15 billion in mortgage assets to U.S.-based fund manager Blackrock Inc., continues to unwind troubled mortgage positions.
"Assuming responsibility for fixed income, currencies and commodities will allow me ... to review and further reposition our platform around our core client-facing product capabilities," Mr. Johansson said in a statement.
Mr. Esteves, who held the post for 10 months, will serve as chairman and chief executive of Latin America, the bank said.
UBS has pledged to restructure its investment bank after the subprime spill by shrinking its balance sheet, reining in proprietary trading and focusing on less risky areas, such as equities and mergers-and-acquisitions advice.
Mr. Johansson appears to be making good on UBS's promise to bulk up risk management with two new appointments in the wake of the massive write-downs, which have led UBS to two consecutive quarterly losses.
Thomas Duala, like Mr. Johansson a former Morgan Stanley executive, will join UBS in June as risk chief for the investment bank, while credit officer Philip Lofts will serve as chief operating officer for risk.
The bank also unveiled plans to merge market and credit risk into one unit.
"The creation of an integrated portfolio and concentration risk group will help break down any remaining information silos between the different risk functions," UBS's overall risk chief Joe Scoby said in the statement.
The changes mark the second major set of measures from Mr. Johansson, who UBS hired mid-March after ousting the former investment banking head late last year.
Mr. Johansson last week disclosed the investment bank will cut 2,600 jobs as part of an overall staff reduction of 5,500 by next year.
UBS also said its equities business, currently run by Daniel Coleman and John Wall, will be headed solely by Mr. Coleman. Mr. Wall, meanwhile, will oversee what is left of the bank's proprietary trading desk in equities and fixed-income.
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USB AG Wednesday disclosed senior appointments at its investment bank alongside plans to beef up risk management, part of a series of measures aimed at restructuring the bank after more than $37 billion in subprime write-downs.
The Zurich-based bank said Andre Esteves will step down from running its fixed-income arm. Mr. Esteves is a former Banco Pactual partner who was charged with cleaning up after the subprime losses, which began at in-house hedge fund Dillon Read Capital Management but quickly spread to the rest of UBS's investment bank.
Jerker Johansson, who took over as UBS's investment bank chief two months ago, will head the fixed-income arm temporarily as UBS, which sold $15 billion in mortgage assets to U.S.-based fund manager Blackrock Inc., continues to unwind troubled mortgage positions.
"Assuming responsibility for fixed income, currencies and commodities will allow me ... to review and further reposition our platform around our core client-facing product capabilities," Mr. Johansson said in a statement.
Mr. Esteves, who held the post for 10 months, will serve as chairman and chief executive of Latin America, the bank said.
UBS has pledged to restructure its investment bank after the subprime spill by shrinking its balance sheet, reining in proprietary trading and focusing on less risky areas, such as equities and mergers-and-acquisitions advice.
Mr. Johansson appears to be making good on UBS's promise to bulk up risk management with two new appointments in the wake of the massive write-downs, which have led UBS to two consecutive quarterly losses.
Thomas Duala, like Mr. Johansson a former Morgan Stanley executive, will join UBS in June as risk chief for the investment bank, while credit officer Philip Lofts will serve as chief operating officer for risk.
The bank also unveiled plans to merge market and credit risk into one unit.
"The creation of an integrated portfolio and concentration risk group will help break down any remaining information silos between the different risk functions," UBS's overall risk chief Joe Scoby said in the statement.
The changes mark the second major set of measures from Mr. Johansson, who UBS hired mid-March after ousting the former investment banking head late last year.
Mr. Johansson last week disclosed the investment bank will cut 2,600 jobs as part of an overall staff reduction of 5,500 by next year.
UBS also said its equities business, currently run by Daniel Coleman and John Wall, will be headed solely by Mr. Coleman. Mr. Wall, meanwhile, will oversee what is left of the bank's proprietary trading desk in equities and fixed-income.
Related Articles
[15/05/2008] USB shuffles investment bank, beefs up risk management
[31/05/2007] Bally Total Fitness Reaches Agreement in Principle on Proposed Terms of a Consensual Restructuring With Holders of Senior Subordinated Notes
[08/05/2006] Changes at ISM, IGDA, THQ, ELSPA & More