UBS AG is a Swiss global financial services company headquartered in Basel and Zürich, Switzerland, which provides investment banking, asset management, and wealth management services for private, corporate, and institutional clients worldwide, as well as retail clients in Switzerland. It operates in more than 40 countries and considered as the world's second largest manager of private wealth assets, with over CHF 2.2 trillion in invested assets. UBS operates in all of the major financial centers worldwide with offices in over 50 countries and 64,000 employees around the world. UBS traces its heritage to 1854 and it is the largest bank in Switzerland.UBS was originally an abbreviation for the Union Bank of Switzerland, one of its predecessors; however, UBS ceased to be considered a representational abbreviation after its 1998 merger with Swiss Bank Corporation.UBS is present in all major financial centers worldwide, with about 37% of its 64,617 employees working in the Americas, 37% in Switzerland, 16% in the rest of Europe and 10% in Asia Pacific. UBS has a major presence in the United States, with its American headquarters located in New York City (Investment banking); Weehawken, New Jersey (Private Wealth Management); and Stamford, Connecticut (Sales & Trading).On June 9, 2003, all UBS business groups rebranded under the UBS name as the company began operating as a unified global entity.UBS Investment Bank, a bulge bracket bank, provides securities, other financial products, and research in equities, fixed income, rates, foreign exchange, precious metals and derivatives. Its 15,000 people across over 30 countriesalso advise and provide access to capital markets for corporate and institutional clients, governments, financial intermediaries, alternative asset managers and private investors.The Investment Banking Department (IBD) provides a range of advisory and underwriting services including mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, equity offerings, investment grade and high yield debt offerings, leveraged finance and leveraged loan structuring, and the private placement of equity, debt,UBS Global Asset Management offers investment products in equities, fixed income, global diversified portfolios, alternative investments, quantitative investments, real estate, infrastructure and funds of funds for private clients, financial intermediaries, institutional investors and itself via proprietary tradingThe 1998 UBS-SBC merger and subsequent restructuring resulted in the combination of three major asset management operations: UBS Asset Management, Phillips & Drew (owned by Union Bank of Switzerland) and Brinson Partners (owned by SBC). The investment teams were merged in 2000 and in 2002 the brands were consolidated as UBS Global Asset Management.UBS is the second-largest asset management firm in the world with over CHF 2.2 trillion in invested assets.With over 3,500 employees in 25 countries, UBS Global Asset Management is the largest mutual fund manager in Switzerland and the largest fund of hedge funds manager in the world. UBS Global Asset Management has major offices in London, Chicago, Frankfurt, Hartford, Hong Kong, New York, Paris, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto and Zurich.UBS Wealth Management offers high net worth individuals a range of advisory and investment products and services supported by the firm'sunderwriting and research. Until 2009, UBS was considered the largest wealth manager globally.UBS Wealth Management in the U.S. is an outgrowth of the former Paine Webber brokerage business. The business changed its name first to UBS Paine Webber in March 2001 after it was acquired by UBS. The subsidiary further changed its name to UBS Wealth Management USA in June 2003.UBS Wealth Management employs more than 27,500 personnel in 44 countries. In the United States, UBS Wealth Management employs more than 8,000 financial advisors. UBS also offers traditional Swiss bank services to its non-U.S. clients.In Switzerland, UBS Swiss Bank provides a complete set of retail banking services that include checking, savings, credit card and mortgage products for individuals and cash management and commercial banking services for small businesses and corporate clients.During the mid 1990s, Union Bank of Switzerland came under fire from dissident shareholders critical of its conservative management and lower return on equity.Martin Ebner, through his investment trust, BK Vision became the largest shareholder in Union Bank of Switzerland and attempted to force a major restructuring of the bank’s operations.Looking to take advantage of the situation, Credit Suisse approached Union Bank of Switzerland about a merger that would have created the second largest bank in the world in 1996. Union Bank of Switzerland's management and board unanimously rebuffed the proposed merger. Ebner, who supported the idea of a merger, led a shareholder revolt that resulted in the replacement of Union Bank of Switzerland's chairman, Robert Studer with Mathis Cabiallavetta, one of the key architects of the merger with Swiss Bank Corporation.On December 8, 1997, Union Bank of Switzerland and Swiss Bank Corporation announced an all-stock merger. At the time of the merger, Union Bank of Switzerland and Swiss Bank Corporation were the second and third largest banks in Switzerland, respectively. Discussions between the two banks had begun several months earlier, less than a year after rebuffing Credit Suisse's merger overtures.The merger resulted in the creation UBS AG, a huge new bank with total assets of more than $590 billion. Also referred to as the "New UBS" to distinguish itself from the former Union Bank of Switzerland, the combined bank became the second largest in the world, at that time, behind only the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.Additionally, the merger pulled together the banks' various asset management businesses to create the world's largest money manager, with approximately $910 billion in assets under management. The combined entity was originally to be called United Bank of Switzerland, but foreseeing a problem with United Bank Switzerland, opted for UBS.The merger, which was billed as a merger of equals, resulted in the Union Bank of Switzerland's shareholders receiving 60% of the combined company and Swiss Bank's shareholders receiving the remaining 40% of the bank's common shares. Union Bank of Switzerland's Mathis Cabiallavetta became chairman of the new bank while Swiss Bank's Marcel Ospel was named chief executive officer. Nearly 80% of the top management positions were filled by legacy Swiss Bank professionals. Prior to the merger, Swiss Bank Corporation was considered to be further along than Union Bank of Switzerland in developing its international investment banking business, particularly in the higher margin advisory businesses where Warburg Dillon Read was considered to be the more established platform. Union Bank of Switzerland had a stronger retail and commercial banking business in Switzerland and both banks had strong asset management capabilities.
Total assets $1.400 trillion
Total equity $49.765 billlion