UBS said it is still committed to its United States brokerage business, after media reports said the chief executive now favoured a management shake up instead of a sale.
UBS has repeatedly considered a sale of its US wealth management business, which consists mainly of the Paine Webber unit acquired in 2000, and held unsuccessful talks with Morgan Stanley, among others, late last year, reported the Financial Times.
A spokeswoman at UBS in New York said the bank does not plan to sell its US wealth management business and remains "committed to it".
She declined to comment on the report of the management shake-up. UBS has lost billions of dollars in the global financial crisis and also faces a high-profile US tax case, in which authorities are trying to force the bank to identify some 52,000 Americans suspected of using secret foreign accounts to hide nearly $15 billion (Dh55.1bn) in assets. The bank has resisted the request because it says it would violate Swiss bank secrecy laws.
UBS considered the sale of Paine Webber, which it bought for about $10bn as a bridgehead into North America, last year as it sought to overhaul its business and raise capital.
After taking over at the Swiss bank in February, new CEO Oswald Gruebel also looked at offloading the business, which sells financial products to wealthy clients, said FT.
Keep up with the latest business news from the region with the daily Emirates Business 24|7 newsletter. To subscribe to the newsletter, please click here.