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28 March 2024

Swiss watchdog hopes UBS will stabilise

Published
By Agencies


Switzerland's banking commission head expressed hopes in comments published on Sunday that the situation at UBS may now be stabilising after the bank's recent substantial writedowns.

 

However, head Eugen Haltiner said market conditions will remain tough through the coming quarters and there are no indications the worst is over in the US property market.

 

UBS, Switzerland's biggest bank, is now the world's biggest sub-prime loser after fresh writedowns five days ago drove its total damage to $37.4 billion (Dh137bn).

 

Haltiner told Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag that the dimension of UBS' latest losses "is extraordinary".

 

"But these can be absorbed through a timely recapitalisation. The bank will again be well capitalised, and has been written down [to] an extent that we may hope for a stabilisation," he said.

 

However, Haltiner warned the US property market has not found a bottom.

 

"There are also no early indications of an improvement. We expect market conditions to remain difficult in the next quarters," he said. (AFP)