Can UBS Leadership Experience Spark Positive Results?

UBS (UBS) is coming under scrutiny this week, and faces investigation by Swiss banking regulators over the company’s recent multi-billion dollar write-downs. One of the financial institutions hardest hit by the recent credit crises, UBS is estimated to have experienced write-downs of about $10 billion just this month, with regulators wanting to know how this happened and who is to blame (see article from The New York Times DealBook).

In order to take a closer look at the connections and experience of UBS’s senior leadership team, NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map of the international finance giant’s Board of Directors and Senior Executives. Though in bad shape from its recent losses, the company may be able to take advantage of its corporate network and leadership experience in bringing about more positive results by this time next year.

As illustrated in this IntellectSpace Knowledge Map, many of the members of UBS’s board and executive teams have secondary experience as senior leaders with other companies, a number of which are very well-known and at the top of their industries, such as UBS Director Helmut Panke’s connection to Microsoft (MSFT), where he serves as a Director.

Past experience as Directors and Senior Executives at entities like Unisys, Fiat Group, Shell and other noteworthy financial institutions should add a substantial amount of value to the team as it attempts to pull the company out of its negative state. As in most cases, corporate connections and extensive experience weren’t enough to prevent the devastating effects of this latest credit crisis, though hopefully such assets will go far in finding solutions to bring about a turnaround.

(Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).

Comments

[Keithpirelli:]

Letter to UBS bank.
Dear Thomas,
So the inevitable finally transpired and those dumb, contrived financial inventions, UBS so likes to sell to its investors, have come back to haunt the bank and big time. I should be happy that you finally became trapped in your own greed and gullibility, yet in reality, I feel nauseated that so many deluded people, allowed themselves to be swamped in a sea of CDO junk. I have stated on numerous occasions, the excesses of the property market asset explosion, would eventually implode.
How stupid to offer loans to people with limited financial credibility, against an inflated asset value, with near mythically low interest rates as the initial carrot. Then bundle the loan into tranches of semi-securities to be marketed to other instituitions.The property market starts to contract a little and already the party is over. There is no incentive for anyone to struggle to service an increasing home loan on a decreasing asset, and this will become increasingly painfully apparent in the months to come.Decieved potential homeowners will just walk, or perhaps in many instances, run away. Now the problem is the banks and it did not need a rocket scientist to anticipate the sad outcome. It all happened exactly the same in the UK in 1989/90.It will happen again. Remember discussing Long Term Capital's implosion with me Thomas. How checks and balances were now in place to stop it happening again? How long did Dillon Read last under UBS banks jurisdiction? Longer than a Marks and Spencer prawn sandwich almost? Yet your bank trys to market itself as a leader in wealth management, yet in reality your funds underperform, your forex team lose money for years, and different sections of your bank do not even know each others prognosis for the financial future.
Well you will pleased to know that Gam V US Trading nearly equaled base rates after five years of sucking up commissions and expenses, so only the administrators made money and I lost.. But now UBS has lost a great deal more, including much of its credibility. Will you learn? Next time you try and earn a commission on one of your dumb financial products, will you even try and consider the client, or even try and understand the toxic waste you are selling? I doubt it and you will inevitably pay again. So eventually, I suppose, there really is some natural justice in the sordid financial world, and UBS bank got what it so richly deserved.
You all have a Happy Christmas now, from your favorite ex client.
Sincerely,
Keith Pirelli
PS They are on to you....business.timesonline.c...

2007 Dec 26 09:22 AM