Troubled Swiss bank UBS picks new chairman
Beleaguered Swiss bank UBS on Wednesday saw the departure of another top management figure, disclosing that chairman Peter Kurer will not seek re-election and that former Swiss finance minister Kaspar Villiger has been picked as a replacement.
The latest change comes barely a week after the bank's chief executive Marcel Rohner resigned and was replaced by former Credit Suisse chief executive Oswald Gruebel.
It gave a boost to the share price, which opened up 3.34 percent at 10.22 Swiss francs. At mid-day it was trading up 5.06 percent at 10.39 francs, outperforming the overall market which was up 0.87 percent.
UBS has been struggling to recover after losing billions in the US subprime home loan crisis and the ensuing financial meltdown. It is also caught up in a legal dispute with the United States over a tax evasion probe.
UBS vice-chairman Sergio Marchionne said the "extent and speed of deterioration of market conditions" could not have been forecast, and credited Kurer for helping to put UBS "back on track."
Kurer, formerly the bank's chief legal officer, became chairman a year ago after Marcel Ospel stepped down amid the bank's mounting losses.
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