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UBS AG

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Industry Banks - Diversified
Employees 10,000+
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FY2009 Annual Report · UBS AG
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annual report

2009

1 | Strategy, performance and responsibility
2 | UBS business divisions and Corporate Center
3 | Risk and treasury management
4 | Corporate governance and compensation
5 | Financial information

Contents

Letter to shareholders
2
5 UBS reporting at a glance
6 Other sources of information
7 Contacts

 1. Strategy, performance  

and responsibility

Financial performance

12 Strategy and structure
16 UBS corporate governance
20 The making of UBS
22 Current market climate and industry drivers
25 Risk factors
30
31 Measurement and analysis of performance
35 Accounting and reporting structure changes
37 UBS results
44 Balance sheet
47 Off-balance sheet
52 Cash flows
53 Our employees
58 Corporate responsibility

 2. UBS business divisions and  

Corporate Center

74 Wealth Management & Swiss Bank
80 Wealth Management Americas
86 Global Asset Management
Investment Bank
95
103 Corporate Center

 3. Risk and treasury  

management

112 Risk management and control
116 Credit risk
130 Market risk
137 Operational risk
139 Risk concentrations
142 Treasury management
143

150
152 Capital management
158 Shares and capital instruments
161 UBS shares in 2009
164 Basel II Pillar 3

Liquidity and funding management
Interest rate and currency management

 4. Corporate governance  

and compensation

186 Corporate governance
187 Group structure and shareholders
189 Capital structure
191 Board of Directors
198 Group Executive Board
203 Shareholders’ participation rights
205 Change of control and defense measures
206 Auditors
208
210 Regulation and supervision
213 Compliance with New York Stock Exchange    
listing standards on corporate governance

Information policy

215 Compensation and shareholdings
216 Compensation governance
227 2009 compensation for the Board of Directors  

and Group Executive Board

231 Shares and options held by the Board of Directors and 

Group Executive Board (at end of 2009)

 5. Financial  

information

Introduction and accounting principles

244
245 Critical accounting policies
249 Consolidated financial statements
263 Notes to the consolidated financial statements
371 UBS AG (Parent Bank)
371 Parent Bank review
372 Parent Bank financial statements
374 Notes to the Parent Bank financial statements
399 Additional disclosure required 

under SEC regulations

399 A – Introduction
400 B – Selected financial data
404 C – Information on the company
405 D – Information required by industry guide 3

1

Annual Report 2009

Letter to shareholders

Dear Shareholders,

At our Annual General Meeting in April 2009, we laid out 
our priorities for the bank: strengthening our capital  base, 
reducing risk and costs and returning UBS to profitability. By 
the  end  of  2009  we  delivered  on  each  of  these  objectives 
and, importantly, we reported a net profit in the fourth quar-
ter. In November 2009, we set out a clear strategic direction 
and  redefined  what  UBS  stands  for.  The  achievements  of 
2009 and our renewed strategic focus have created a firm 
basis on which to build a stronger, more profitable UBS and 
to regain your trust.

The  net  loss  attributable  to  UBS  shareholders  for  2009 
was CHF 2.7 billion, a considerable reduction from the CHF 
21.3 billion loss recorded in the prior year. This improvement 
was due to much lower losses on residual risk positions in 
the  Investment  Bank  and  reduced  operating  expenses  for 
the Group. The result for 2009 included a number of signifi-
cant  items,  namely  an  own  credit  loss  of  CHF  2.0  billion 
which occurred as a result of the markets’ perception of our 
improved  creditworthiness,  charges  relating  to  the  sale  of 
UBS Pactual of CHF 1.4 billion, restructuring charges of CHF 
0.8 billion, and a CHF 0.3 billion gain on the mandatory con-
vertible  notes  converted  in  August  2009.  Excluding  these 
significant  items,  the  underlying  pre-tax  result  for  the  year 
was a profit of CHF 1.4 billion. The Group’s net profit attrib-
utable to shareholders for the fourth quarter was CHF 1.2 
billion,  including  a  positive  contribution  from  each  of  our 
business divisions.

The global economy experienced one of its most difficult 
years in 2009, with the financial crisis evolving into one of 
the  worst  post-war  recessions.  Governments  and  central 
banks took further action to stabilize markets and stimulate 
the economy, helping to restore investor confidence world-
wide.  As  the  economic  outlook  gradually  improved,  stock 
prices began to recover, starting at the end of the first quar-
ter of 2009 and continuing into the second half of 2009. 

At  the  end  of  2009  our  invested  asset  base  was  CHF 
2,233  billion,  broadly  in  line  with  the  figure  for  year-
end 2008. This result reflects the strong investment perfor-
mance  we  delivered  to  our  clients  across  our  three  asset 
gathering  business  divisions,  which  more  than  offset  unac-
ceptably high outflows. However, the Group’s average invest-
ed  asset  base  for  the  year  was  down  significantly,  and  this 
was the primary driver of reduced profits in these businesses. 
In Wealth Management & Swiss Bank, average invested as-
sets were 20% below the 2008 average and together with 

interest  margin  pressure  and  lower  client  activity,  led  to  a 
25% decline in revenues. Although this was partly offset by 
over CHF 1.5 billion of cost reductions, profits for 2009 fell by 
35% to CHF 3.9 billion compared with 2008.  Global Asset 
Management reported a profit of CHF 438 million in 2009, 
67% lower than in 2008 due to lower revenues on a lower 
average invested asset base and a CHF 191 million net good-
will impairment charge associated with the sale of UBS Pac-
tual. Wealth Management Americas revenues fell 12% in the 
year, compared with an 11% decline in average invested as-
sets. The pre-tax profit for 2009 was CHF 32 million. 

In our Investment Bank, the pre-tax result for 2009 was a 
loss of CHF 6.1 billion compared with a pre-tax loss of CHF 
34.3 billion for 2008. The improvement reflects a significant 
reduction in losses on residual risk positions. 

During 2009, we laid out the steps necessary to rebuild 
the bank, and reached a number of important milestones 
on the bank’s road to recovery. In April, we set headcount 
and cost reduction targets for 2010. By the end of 2009, we 
had largely achieved these targets.  Headcount was reduced 
by 12,500 to reach our 65,000 target, and fixed costs were 
reduced by over CHF 3 billion compared with the prior year. 
We continued to reduce our risks and balance sheet, and by 
the end of 2009 both were more than 30% lower than the 
year  before.  In  June,  we  further  strengthened  our  capital 
base through the issuance and placement of CHF 293 mil-
lion  shares  from  authorized  capital.  Combined  with  lower 
risk  weighted  assets,  this  resulted  in  a  BIS  tier  1  ratio  of 
15.4% at the end of 2009 compared with 11.0% one year 
earlier.  Our  FINMA  leverage  ratio  also  improved  to  3.9% 
from 2.5% one year ago. In the third quarter, we reached 
two significant milestones: The Swiss government exited its 
investment in UBS with a profit of CHF 1.2 billion; and we 
agreed to a settlement with the US tax authorities in relation 
to the John Doe summons. 

During  the  fourth  quarter  we  set  a  clear  strategic 
 direction  to  rebuild  the  firm.  At  our  Investor  Day  in 
 November,  we  outlined  our  new  strategy  and  the  targets 
we have established for ourselves. Our goals are to strength-
en  our  position  as  a  leading  global  wealth  management 
business,  to  be  a  leading  client-focused  investment  bank 
and to be economically profitable in every segment, market 
and business in which we operate. We aim to improve our 
operating  performance  substantially,  building  toward  our 
medium-term target of CHF 15 billion of annual profit be-
fore tax.

2

3

Annual Report 2009

Our  efforts  to  reposition  the  firm  are  taking  place 
alongside ongoing regulatory changes. Proposed chang-
es  relating  to  capital  adequacy  and  liquidity  requirements, 
efforts to mitigate the “too big to fail” risk, financial prod-
ucts regulation, compensation guidelines, or the US “Volck-
er” proposals may have profound consequences for the in-
dustry as a whole. In preparation for dealing with a future 
financial  crisis,  relevant  financial  authorities  will  meet  and 
share  information  to  ensure  that  adequate  contingency 
plans have been put into place to prevent serious domestic 
or international financial instability that would have an ad-
verse impact on the real economy. We will maintain flexibil-
ity  in  our  business  model  to  adjust  to  future  regulatory 
change.

We are continuing to meet our obligations under the 
settlement with the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 
relating to the John Doe summons proceeding. Based upon 
our compliance with the terms of the settlement, the IRS has 
withdrawn the summons with respect to all accounts other 
than  the  approximately  4,450  accounts  for  which  the  IRS 
requested  information  under  the  US/Swiss  tax  treaty.    The 
recent  decision  by  the  Swiss  Federal  Administrative  Court, 
under which certain account information cannot be provid-
ed to the IRS, is a matter to be resolved by the Swiss and US 
Governments  as  contemplated  by  the  terms  of  the  settle-
ment.  We will continue to comply fully with our obligations, 
including providing information to the Swiss Federal Tax Ad-
ministration and completing the exit of the US cross-border 

business out of non-SEC registered entities.  Further, we con-
tinue to recommend to our current and former US clients, to 
the extent applicable to their circumstances, the disclosure 
of their offshore assets to the IRS.

Outlook – In 2010, we expect to see the full effects of the 
progress  we  have  made  in  improving  operating  efficiency, 
reducing risk and rebuilding and re-focusing our businesses.  
We  are  confident  the  steps  we  are  taking  to  reduce  client 
outflows in our wealth and asset management business divi-
sions will be effective, but in the immediate future we still 
expect to report net outflows with some pressure on mar-
gins. We expect that the Investment Bank’s performance for 
the year as a whole will improve, in part because its residual 
risk positions will have a much reduced effect on results. Our 
Group results are heavily dependent on market vitality, and 
more  favorable  market  conditions  in  January  and  February 
2010 have benefited most of our businesses. 

15 March 2010

UBS

Kaspar Villiger 
Chairman of the BoD 

Oswald J. Grübel
Group Chief Executive Officer

4

UBS reporting at a glance

Annual publications

Quarterly publications

Annual report (SAP no. 80531)
Published  in  both  German  and  English,  this  single  volume 
report provides a description of:
–  UBS’s strategy, performance and responsibility
–  the  strategy  and  performance  of  the  business  divisions 

Letter to shareholders
The letter provides a quarterly update from executive manage-
ment on our strategy and performance. The letter is published 
in English, German, French and Italian. 

and the Corporate Center
–  risk and treasury management 
–  corporate governance and executive compensation
–  financial information, including the financial statements

Financial report (SAP no. 80834)
This  report  provides  a  detailed  description  of  our  strategy 
and performance for the respective quarter. It is published in 
English. 

Review (SAP no. 80530)
The  booklet  contains  key  information  on  UBS’s  strategy 
and financials. It is published in English, German, French and 
Italian.

Compensation Report (SAP no. 82307)
Compensation  for  senior  management  and  the  Board  of 
 Directors  (executive  and  non-executive  members)  is  dis-
cussed here. It is published in English and German.

How to order reports

These  reports  are  available  in  PDF  format  on  the  internet 
at  www.ubs.com/investors/topics  in  the  Financial  informa-
tion section. Printed  copies can be ordered from the same 
website by accessing the order / subscribe panel on the left-
hand side of the screen. Alternatively, they can be  ordered 
by  quoting  the  SAP  number  and  the  language  prefer-
ence  where  applicable,  from  UBS  AG,  Information  Center, 
P.O. Box, CH-8098 Zurich, Switzerland.

5

Annual Report 2009

Other sources of information

Website

The “Analysts & Investors” section at www.ubs.com/inves-
tors provides the following information on UBS: financial in-
formation  (including  SEC  results  related  filings);  corporate 
information; UBS share price charts and data and dividend 
information; the UBS event calendar and dividend informa-
tion; and the latest presentations by management for inves-
tors  and  financial  analysts.  Information  on  the  internet  is 
available  in  English  and  German,  with  some  sections  in 
French and Italian.

Result presentations

Our quarterly results presen tations are webcast live. A play-
back  of  the  most  recent  presentation  is  downloadable  at 
www.ubs.com/presentations.

Messaging service / UBS news alert

On  the  www.ubs.com/newsalerts  website,  it  is  possible  to 
subscribe to receive news alerts about UBS via SMS or e-mail. 
Messages are sent in English, German, French or Italian and it 
is possible to state theme preferences for the alerts received.

Form 20-F and other submissions to the US Securities 
and Exchange Commission

We file periodic reports and submit other information about 
UBS to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 
Principal  among  these  filings  is  the  annual  report  on  Form 
20-F,  filed  pursuant  to  the  US  Securities  Exchange  Act  of 
1934.

The filing of Form 20-F is structured as a “wrap-around” 
document.  Most  sections  of  the  filing  can  be  satisfied  by 
 referring to parts of the annual report. However, there is a 
small amount of additional information in Form 20-F which 
is  not  presented  elsewhere,  and  is  particularly  targeted  at 
readers  in  the  US.  Readers  are  encouraged  to  refer  to  this 
additional disclosure.

Any  document  that  we  file  with  the  SEC  is  available  to 
read and copy on the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov, or at the 
SEC’s  public  reference  room  at  100  F  Street,  N.E.,  Room 
1580, Washington, DC, 20549. Please call the SEC by dialing 
1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the operation of its 
public reference room. Much of this additional information may 
also be found on the UBS website at www.ubs.com/investors, 
and copies of documents filed with the SEC may be obtained 
from our Investor Relations team at www.ubs.com/investors.

Corporate information

The legal and commercial name of 
the company is UBS AG. The com-
pany was formed on 29 June 1998, 
when Union Bank of Switzerland 
(founded 1862) and Swiss Bank 
Corporation (founded 1872) merged 
to form UBS.
UBS AG is incorporated and domi-
ciled in Switzerland and operates 

under Swiss Company Law and Swiss 
Federal Banking Law as an Aktien-
gesellschaft, a corporation that has 
issued shares of common stock to 
investors.
The addresses and telephone numbers 
of our two registered offices are: 
Bahnhofstrasse 45, CH-8001 Zurich, 
Switzerland, phone +41-44-234 11 11; 

and Aeschenvorstadt 1,  
CH-4051 Basel, Switzerland,  
phone +41-61-288 50 50.
UBS AG shares are currently listed 
on the SIX Swiss Exchange, the 
New York Stock Exchange and the 
Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). We 
expect to de-list our shares from the 
TSE in the near future.

6

Contacts

Switchboards
For all general queries.

Investor Relations
UBS’s Investor Relations team supports 
institutional, professional and retail 
investors from our offices in Zurich  
and New York.
www.ubs.com/investors

Zurich

London

New York

Hong Kong

Hotline

New York

Fax (Zurich)

Media Relations
UBS’s Media Relations team  supports  
global media and journalists from   
offices in Zurich, London, New York  
and Hong Kong.
www.ubs.com/media

Zurich

London

New York

Hong Kong

Shareholder Services
UBS Shareholder Services, a unit of the 
Company Secretary, is  responsible for  
the registration of the global registered 
shares.

Hotline

Fax

+41-44-234 1111

+44-20-7568 0000

+1-212-821 3000

+852-2971 8888

+41-44-234 4100

+1-212-882 5734

+41-44-234 3415

+41-44-234 8500

+44-20-7567 4714

+1-212-882 5857

+852-2971 8200

+41-44-235 6202

+41-44-235 3154

US Transfer Agent
For all global registered share-related 
queries in the US.
www.melloninvestor.com

Calls from the US

Calls outside the US

Fax

+866-541 9689

+1-201-680 6578

+1-201-680 4675

UBS AG

Investor Relations

P.O. Box

CH-8098 Zurich, Switzerland

sh-investorrelations@ubs.com

mediarelations@ubs.com

ubs-media-relations@ubs.com

mediarelations-ny@ubs.com

sh-mediarelations-ap@ubs.com

UBS AG

Shareholder Services

P.O. Box

CH-8098 Zurich, Switzerland

sh-shareholder-services@ubs.com

BNY Mellon Shareowner Services

480 Washington Boulevard

Jersey City, NJ 07310, USA

sh-relations@melloninvestor.com

7

Strategy, performance and responsibility

Information assured according to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

Content of the sections “Our employees” and “Corporate responsibility” has been assured by SGS Société Générale de 
Surveillance  SA  (SGS)  using  the  Global   Reporting  Initiative  Sustainability  Reporting  Guidelines,  as  evidenced  in  the  SGS 
 Assurance Statement on page 69. The scope of the assurance also includes text and data on the website of UBS. Both the 
relevant texts in the 2009 annual report and on the website are referenced in the GRI index published on www.ubs.com/gri.

Strategy, performance and responsibility

Strategy and performance

– UBS is a client-focused financial services firm that offers a strong combina-
tion of wealth management, asset management and investment banking 
services on a global and regional basis.

– We aim to generate sustainable earnings, create value for our shareholders 
and be economically profitable in every segment, market and business in 
which we operate.

UBS key figures

CHF million, except where indicated

Group results

Operating income

Operating expenses

Operating profit before tax (from continuing and discontinued operations)

Net profit attributable to UBS shareholders
Diluted earnings per share (CHF) 1

Key performance indicators, balance sheet and capital management 2
Performance

Return on equity (RoE) (%)

Return on risk-weighted assets, gross (%)

Return on assets, gross (%)

Growth
Net profit growth (%) 3
Net new money (CHF billion) 4
Efficiency

Cost / income ratio (%)

Capital strength
BIS tier 1 ratio (%) 5
FINMA leverage ratio (%) 5
Balance sheet and capital management

Total assets

Equity attributable to UBS shareholders
BIS total ratio (%) 5
BIS risk-weighted assets 5
BIS tier 1 capital 5

Additional information

Invested assets (CHF billion)

Personnel (full-time equivalents)
Market capitalization 6
Long-term ratings

Fitch, London

Moody’s, New York

Standard & Poor’s, New York

As of or for the year ended

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

22,601

25,162

(2,569)

(2,736)

(0.75)

(7.8)

9.9

1.5

N/A

(147.3)

796

28,555

(27,560)

(21,292)

(7.63)

(58.7)

1.2

0.2

N/A

(226.0)

103.0

753.0

15.4

3.93

11.0

2.45

1,340,538

2,014,815

41,013

19.8

206,525

31,798

2,233

65,233

57,108

A+

Aa3

A+

32,531

15.0

302,273

33,154

2,174

77,783

43,519

A+

Aa2

A+

31,721

35,463

(3,597)

(5,247)

(2.41)

(10.5)

8.6

1.3

N/A

140.6

111.0

2,274,891

36,875

3,189

83,560

108,654

AA

Aaa

AA

1 Refer to “Note 8 Earnings per share (EPS) and shares outstanding” in the “Financial information” section of this report.    2 For the definitions of our key performance indicators refer to the “Measure-
ment and analysis performance” section of this report.    3 Not meaningful if either the current period or the comparison period is a loss period.    4 Excludes interest and dividend income.    5 Refer to 
the “Capital management” section of this report.    6 Refer to the “UBS shares in 2009” section of this report.

10

 
Our strategic priorities

Measures taken in 2009

We are concentrating on:
–  further strengthening our position as a leading client-
focused bank for high net worth and ultra high net 
worth clients around the world;

In addition to stabilizing our financial condition, we have 
already undertaken several adjustments to governance and 
structures during the last few months to initiate and drive 
our transformation.

–  continuing to be a leading firm across all client segments 

in Switzerland; and

Establishment of Investment Products & Services

–  being a top tier bank in growth regions where we choose 

to operate.

Re-focusing the business portfolio

We will further integrate our wealth management, asset 
management and investment banking businesses to generate 
more value, reflecting our commitment to comprehensively 
serve our clients across all segments. The Investment Bank 
will be more client focused building on its strong, less capital 
intensive flow and fee businesses. We will continue to build 
our onshore operations in our wealth management business, 
and continue to further grow our ultra high net worth 
business. Our managers within Global Asset Management are 
concentrating on driving a sustained improvement in 
investment performance and increasing overall efficiency.

Transforming the way we operate

Our transformation is geared towards exercising the full 
potential of our strengths based on three strategic guide-
lines: reputation, integration and execution.

Our reputation is our most valuable asset and is ultimately 
defined by the actions and decisions we make every  
day. To restore and safeguard our reputation, we have 
introduced more disciplined and effective governance 
processes.

Further integration is a key factor in delivering on our 
financial targets, serving our clients in a comprehensive 
manner, and driving efficiencies across our businesses. This 
will be achieved through a series of measures, including 
new management processes, upgrading client coverage  
and enhancing structures and processes for further cost and 
capital efficiency.

We are committed to execution at the highest standards, 
ensuring consistent high-quality delivery, and to building  
a performance-oriented culture that will help to retain, 
develop and attract the best talent at all levels.

On 21 January 2010, we announced the establishment of the 
new Investment Products & Services (IPS) unit. IPS brings 
together product specialists from various business divisions 
involved in product development, coverage / sales support and 
execution for Wealth Management & Swiss Bank clients under 
one roof. 

Formation of UBS Switzerland

We are the leading bank for retail and corporate clients and 
a leading asset management business in Switzerland. In 
2009, we have further adjusted the governance structure to 
include a new executive committee: UBS Switzerland. The 
integrated management team of UBS Switzerland comprises 
all businesses active in Switzerland including retail, wealth 
management, corporate and institutional, investment 
banking and the asset management business. 

Corporate Center

In 2009, we integrated our Group-wide shared service and 
control functions into the Corporate Center. Our goal is 
to improve effectiveness and efficiency on a sustainable 
basis, provide simple service delivery models and strengthen 
cost management by creating global and Group-wide 
cost-cutting measures. These shared services are overseen by 
the Group Chief Operating Officer. In parallel, the control 
functions were centralized under the Group Chief Financial 
Officer, Group Chief Risk Officer and Group General 
Counsel. This new centralized organizational structure 
provides a platform from which we can increase efficiency 
and enhance shareholder value.

Risk management and control

Risk reduction remained a priority in 2009. As a result of our 
risk reduction initiatives, we ended the year with risk 
exposures commensurate with our risk capacity, although 
legacy risks remain significant and are targeted for contin-
ued reduction. Effective risk management and control are 
essential to our success and we have made further progress 
in implementing the risk renewal program we initiated in 
2008. In addition, the implementation of the settlement 
agreement relating to the cross-border investigation remains 
a focus of management attention.

11

Strategy, performance and responsibility
Strategy and structure

Strategy and structure

UBS is a client-focused financial services firm that offers a strong combination of wealth management, asset 
management and investment banking services on a global and regional basis. By delivering a full range of 
advice, products and services to our private, corporate and institutional clients, we aim to generate sustainable 
earnings, create value for our shareholders and be economically profitable in every segment, market and 
business in which we operate.

UBS business model and aspiration

UBS AG is the parent company of the UBS Group (Group). 
The operational structure of the Group comprises the Cor-
porate Center and four business divisions: Wealth Manage-
ment & Swiss Bank, Wealth Management Americas, Global 
Asset Management and the Investment Bank.

In  aspiring  to  be  a  leading  client-focused  bank,  we  are 

concentrating on:
–  further strengthening our position as a leading bank for 
high net worth and ultra high net worth clients around 
the world;

–  continuing to be a leading firm across all client segments 

in Switzerland; and

–  being a top tier bank in growth regions where we choose 

to operate.
We aim to have a leading investment bank with a client-
centric business model that focuses on flow and advice ac-
tivities, leveraging our traditional strengths and maximizing 
the creation of shareholder value by working closely in con-
junction  with  our  wealth  management  and  asset  manage-
ment businesses.

Wealth Management & Swiss Bank
Wealth  Management  &  Swiss  Bank  focuses  on  delivering 
comprehensive financial services to high net worth and ultra 

high net worth individuals around the world – except to those 
served by Wealth Management Americas – as well as private 
and  corporate  clients  in  Switzerland.  We  provide  clients  in 
over  40  countries,  including  Switzerland,  with  financial  ad-
vice, products and tools to fit their individual needs. UBS has 
a leading position across all client segments in Switzerland.

Wealth Management Americas
Wealth Management Americas provides advice-based relation-
ships through financial advisors who deliver a fully integrated 
set  of  products  and  services  specifically  designed  to  address 
the needs of ultra high net worth, high net worth and core af-
fluent indivi duals and families. It includes the former Wealth 
Management US business unit, as well as the domestic Cana-
dian  business  and  the  international  business  booked  in  the 
United States.

Global Asset Management
Global  Asset  Management  is  a  large-scale  asset  manager 
with  well  diversified  businesses  across  regions,  capabilities 
and  distribution  channels.  It  offers  investment  capabilities 
and investment styles across all major traditional and alter-
native  asset  classes.  These  include  equities,  fixed  income, 
currency, hedge fund, real estate, infrastructure and private 
equity investment capabilities that can also be combined in 
multi-asset stra tegies.

12

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Investment Bank
The Investment Bank provides securities and other financial 
products  and  research  in  equities,  fixed  income,  rates,  for-
eign exchange and precious metals. It also provides advisory 
services and access to the world’s capital markets for corpo-
rate,  institutional,  intermediary  and  alternative  asset  man-
agement clients.

Corporate Center
The Corporate Center seeks to ensure that the business divi-
sions operate as a coherent and effective whole by providing 
and  managing  support  and  control  functions  for  the  busi-
ness  divisions  and  the  Group  in  such  areas  as  risk  control, 
finance, legal and compliance, funding, capital and balance 
sheet  management,  management  of  foreign  currencies, 
communication  and  branding,  human  resources,  informa-
tion technology, real estate, procurement, corporate devel-
opment and service centres.

➔	Refer to the “Reporting structure” and “UBS business 

divisions and Corporate Center” sections of this report for 

more information on our businesses

UBS competitive profile

Our  business  mix  reflects  decades  of  continuous  develop-
ment,  organic  growth  and  acquisitions.  As  a  leader  in  the 
wealth management industry in terms of total invested as-
sets, we offer a combination of asset gathering (i.e. wealth 
management and asset management) and investment bank-
ing services in local and regional markets. Speci fically, we are 
a leading wealth manager in Switzerland,  Europe, and Asia 
Pacific, and also in main growth markets such as the Middle 
East and Latin America. In the US, we are a leading wealth 

management  service  provider  and  are  the  biggest  foreign-
owned  wealth  manager.  Furthermore,  we  have  the  largest 
ultra high net worth business globally in terms of invested 
assets. Our investment bank is a strong corporate and insti-
tutional clients business, and holds leading positions in busi-
nesses such as equities, foreign exchange and money mar-
kets and advisory, adding to the attractiveness of our overall 
business portfolio.

In the Asia Pacific region, we operate leading investment 
banking, wealth management and asset management busi-
nesses, with CHF 214 billion of invested assets making us the 
biggest foreign asset gatherer at the end of 2009.

UBS strategy

At our Investor Day in November 2009, we outlined strategic 
objectives to improve financial performance and  reposition 
the  firm for sustainable profitability  in  earnings  and share-
holder value. We aim to achieve this by re-focusing our busi-
ness  portfolio  to  fully  capitalize  on  our  strengths,  and  by 
substantially transforming the way we operate. 

Re-focusing the business portfolio
We  will  further  integrate  our  wealth  management,  asset 
management and investment banking businesses to gener-
ate more value, reflecting our commitment to comprehen-
sively serve our clients across all segments. The  Investment 
Bank will be more client focused building on its strong, less 
capital intensive flow and fee businesses (e.g. cash equities, 
foreign  exchange  and  money  markets,  and  advisory).  This 
will  also  strengthen  additional  com ponents,  including  the 
rates  and  credit  business  in  fixed  income,  currencies  and 
commodities. We will continue to build our onshore opera-

13

 
 
 
Strategy, performance and responsibility
Strategy and structure

tions in our wealth management business, and continue to 
further grow our ultra high net worth business. Our manag-
ers within Global Asset Management are concentrating on 
driving a sustained improvement in investment performance 
and increasing overall efficiency.

➔	Refer to the “UBS business divisions and Corporate Center” 
section of this report for more information on the business 

division strategies

Establishment of Investment Products & Services
On 21 January 2010, we announced the establishment of the 
new Investment Products & Services (IPS) unit. IPS brings to-
gether product specialists from various business divisions in-
volved in product development, coverage / sales support and 
execution for Wealth Management & Swiss Bank clients un-
der one roof. By making this change, we are making product 
specialists and expertise more accessible to our  clients.

Transforming the way we operate
Our transformation is geared towards exercising the full po-
tential of our strengths based on three strategic guidelines: 
reputation, integration and execution.

Our reputation is our most valuable asset and is ultima-
tely  defined  by  the  actions  and  decisions  we  make  every 
day. To restore and safeguard our reputation, we have intro-
duced more disciplined and effective governance processes. 
Further integration is a key factor in delivering on our fi-
nancial targets, serving our clients in a comprehensive man-
ner, and driving efficiencies across our businesses. This will 
be  achieved  through  a  series  of  measures,  including  new 
management processes, upgrading client coverage and en-
hancing structures and processes for further cost and capital 
efficiency.

We are committed to execution at the highest standards, 
ensuring consistent high-quality delivery externally and inter-
nally, and to building a performance-oriented culture that will 
help to retain, develop and attract the best talent at all levels. 

Measures taken

In addition to stabilizing our financial condition, we have al-
ready  undertaken  several  adjustments  towards  improved 
governance and structures during the last few months that 
facilitate our transformation process. 

Formation of UBS Switzerland
We are the leading bank for retail and corporate clients and 
a  leading  asset  management  business  in  Switzerland.  In 
2009, we have further adjusted the governance structure to 
include  a  new  executive  committee:  UBS  Switzerland.  The 
integrated management team of UBS Switzerland comprises 
all  businesses  active  in  Switzerland  including  retail,  wealth 
management, corporate and institutional, investment bank-
ing and the asset management business. The integration of 
these businesses defines our commitment to the Swiss mar-
ket  and  will  help  deliver  comprehensive  financial  advice, 
products and tools to our clients.

Corporate Center
In  2009,  we  integrated  our  Group-wide  shared  service  and 
control  functions  into  the  Corporate  Center.  Our  goal  is  to 
improve  effectiveness  and  efficiency  on  a  sustainable  basis, 
provide  simple  service  delivery  models  and  strengthen  cost 
management by creating global and Group-wide cost-cutting 
measures.  These  shared  services  are  overseen  by  the  Group 
Chief Operating Officer (COO). In parallel, the control func-
tions were centralized under the Group Chief Financial Officer 
(CFO),  Group  Chief  Risk  Officer  (CRO)  and  Group  General 
Counsel  (GC).  This  new  centralized  organizational  structure 
provides  a  platform  from  which  we  can  increase  efficiency 
and enhance shareholder value.

➔	Refer to the “Corporate Center” section of this report for 

more information

14

Risk management and control 
Risk reduction remained a priority in 2009. As a result of our 
risk reduction initiatives, we ended the year with risk expo-
sures commensurate with our risk capacity, although legacy 
risks remain significant and are targeted for continued reduc-
tion. Effective risk management and control are essential to 
our  success  and  we  have  made  further  progress  in  imple-
menting  the  risk  renewal  program  we  initiated  in  2008.  In 
addition,  the  implementation  of  the  settlement  agreement 
relating to the cross-border investigation remains a focus of 
management attention 

Performance measures and management
We  manage  our  businesses  based  on  our  new  key  perfor-
mance indicators (KPI) framework introduced in 2009, which 
is  used  to  monitor  our  risk-adjusted  performance  and  the 
delivery  of  returns  to  shareholders.  Senior  management 
compensation was adjusted accordingly to ensure that man-
agement accountability and consistency is in alignment with 
long-term economic profitability.

➔	Refer to the “Measurement and analysis of performance” 

section of this report for more information on key 

performance indicators

➔	Refer to the “Compensation and shareholdings” section of 
this report for more information on senior management 

compensation

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15

 
 
 
Strategy, performance and responsibility
Strategy and structure

UBS corporate governance

As mandated by Swiss banking law, UBS operates 
under a strict dual board structure comprising 
the Board of Directors and the Group Executive Board. 
The competencies of these two bodies and other 
relevant roles have been reviewed by the Board of 
Directors through out 2009, resulting in a revised 
version of the  “Organization Regulations of UBS AG” 
which came into effect on 1 November 2009.

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors (BoD) is our most senior body. Under 
the leadership of the Chairman, it decides on the strategy of 
the Group upon recommendation of the Group Chief Exe­
cutive Officer (CEO), exercises the ultimate supervision over 
management  and  is  responsible  for  the  appointment  and 
dismissal of all Group Executive Board (GEB) members, the 
Company  Secretary  and  the  Head  of  Group  Internal  Audit 
as well as supervises and sets appropriate risk management 
and control principles for the firm. With the exception of its 
current  Chairman,  Kaspar  Villiger,  all  members  of  the  BoD 
are independent.

➔	Refer to the “Corporate governance” section of this report 

for more information about the BoD

From left: Rainer-Marc Frey Member Risk Committee Sally Bott Chair­
man Human Resources and Compensation Committee and Member Cor­
porate Responsibility Committee Ann F. Godbehere Member Audit Com­
mittee and Corporate Responsibility Committee Bruno Gehrig Member 
Governance and Nominating Committee and Human Resources and Com­
pensation Committee Michel Demaré Member Audit Committee Helmut 
Panke  Member  Human  Resources  and  Compensation  Committee  and 
Risk  Committee  Sergio  Marchionne  Senior  Independent  Director  and 
Member Governance and Nominating Committee Kaspar Villiger Chair­
man  of  the  Board  of  Directors,  Chairman  Governance  and  Nominating 
Committee  and  Corporate  Responsibility  Committee  David  Sidwell 
Chairman Risk Committee William G. Parrett Chairman Audit Commit­
tee Axel P. Lehmann Member Risk Committee Peter R. Voser Member 
Governance and Nominating Committee

16

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17

 
 
 
Strategy, performance and responsibility
Strategy and structure

Group Executive Board

Management of the firm is delegated by the BoD to the GEB. 
Under the leadership of the Group CEO, the GEB has exe­
cutive management responsibility for the Group and its busi­
nesses. It assumes overall responsibility for the development 
of the Group and business division strategies and the imple­
mentation of approved strategies. 

➔	Refer to the “Corporate governance” section of this report 

for more information about the GEB

From left: Philip J. Lofts Group Chief Risk Officer Ulrich Körner Group 
Chief  Operat ing  Officer  and  CEO  Corporate  Center  John  A.  Fraser 
 Chairman  and  CEO  Global  Asset  Management  Markus  U.  Diethelm 
Group  General  Counsel  Robert  Wolf  Chairman  and  CEO,  UBS  Group 
Americas / President Investment Bank Alexander Wilmot-Sitwell co­CEO 
Investment Bank Francesco Morra CEO UBS Switzerland, Wealth Manage­
ment  &  Swiss  Bank  Jürg  Zeltner  CEO  Wealth  Management,  Wealth 
 Management & Swiss Bank Chi-Won Yoon Chairman and CEO Asia Pa­
cific Carsten Kengeter co­CEO Investment Bank Robert J. McCann CEO 
Wealth Management Americas Oswald J. Grübel Group Chief Executive 
Officer John Cryan Group Chief Financial Officer

18

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19

 
 
 
Strategy, performance and responsibility
The making of UBS

The making of UBS

The firms that have come to make up today’s UBS look back 
on a long and diverse history. Both the two Swiss predeces-
sor banks and PaineWebber Group Inc. (PaineWebber) came 
into being in the second half of the 19th century, while S.G. 
Warburg’s roots go back to 1934. But it was in the 1990s 
when our current identity began to form.

In  the  early  1990s,  the  two  Swiss  banks  that  came  to 
form  the  current  UBS,  Swiss  Bank  Corporation  (SBC)  and 
Union Bank of Switzerland, were commercial banks operat-
ing mainly out of Switzerland. The two banks shared a simi-
lar vision: to become a world leader in wealth management 
and a  global bulge-bracket investment bank  with a strong 
position  in  global  asset  management,  while  remaining  an 
important commercial and retail bank in Switzerland.

Union Bank of Switzerland, the largest and best-capital-
ized  Swiss  bank  of  its  time,  opted  to  pursue  a  strategy  of 
organic growth, or expansion by internal means. In contrast, 
SBC,  then  the  third-largest  Swiss  bank,  decided  to  take 
 another route by starting a joint venture with O’Connor, a 
leading  US  derivatives  firm  that  was  fully  acquired  by  SBC 
in  1992.  O’Connor  was  noted  for  its  young,  dynamic  and 
innovative  culture,  meritocracy  and  team  orientation.  It 
brought  state-of-the-art  risk  management  and  derivatives 
technology to SBC. In 1994, SBC acquired Brinson Partners, 
one of the leading US-based institutional asset management 

firms.  Both  the  O’Connor  and  Brinson  transactions  repre-
sented fundamental steps in the development of the firm.

The next major move was in 1995, when SBC acquired S.G. 
Warburg, the British merchant bank. The deal helped fill SBC’s 
strategic  gaps  in  corporate  finance,  brokerage  and  research 
and, most importantly, brought with it an institutional client 
franchise, which is still crucial to today’s equities business.

The 1998 merger of SBC and Union Bank of Switzerland 
brought together these two leading Swiss financial institu-
tions, creating a leading global wealth manager and improv-
ing  the  new  firm’s  chances  of  becoming  a  global  bulge 
bracket  investment  bank  and  a  leading  global  institutional 
asset manager.

Still,  in  order  to  become  a  truly  global  player  in  invest-
ment banking and wealth management, UBS needed to es-
tablish a significant presence in the key US market. UBS ad-
vanced toward this objective when it acquired PaineWebber 
in 2000.

Since the acquisition of PaineWebber, UBS’s main priority 
has been to develop and grow organically. Smaller acquisi-
tions have helped to accelerate and complement the firm’s 
growth. Today, UBS has significant scale in its areas of focus, 
with strong positions in large, mature markets as well as a 
growing presence in emerging markets.

➔	Refer to www.ubs.com/history for more information

20

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(cid:19)(cid:27)(cid:25)(cid:22)(cid:3)(cid:50)(cid:67)(cid:75)(cid:80)(cid:71)(cid:57)(cid:71)(cid:68)(cid:68)(cid:71)(cid:84)(cid:14)(cid:2)(cid:43)(cid:80)(cid:69)(cid:16)

(cid:20)(cid:18)(cid:18)(cid:18)

(cid:19)(cid:26)(cid:26)(cid:18)
(cid:51)(cid:68)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:9)(cid:3)(cid:58)(cid:72)(cid:69)(cid:69)(cid:72)(cid:85)

(cid:19)(cid:26)(cid:25)(cid:27)
(cid:45)(cid:68)(cid:70)(cid:78)(cid:86)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:9)(cid:3)(cid:38)(cid:88)(cid:85)(cid:87)(cid:76)(cid:86)

(cid:19)(cid:53)(cid:53)(cid:18)(cid:18)(cid:26)(cid:65)(cid:71)

21

 
 
 
Strategy, performance and responsibility
Current market climate and industry drivers

Current market climate and industry drivers

The recent crisis and its aftermath will have enduring effects on the financial services industry.

Financial crisis and global recession

The  global  economy  experienced  one  of  its  most  difficult 
years in 2009. The financial crisis originated with the sub-
prime  crisis  in  2007-2008,  and  evolved  into  one  of  the 
worst  recessions  in  the  post-war  era.  For  the  first  time  in 
many  decades,  the  world’s  gross  domestic  product  (GDP) 
deflated  in  real  terms,  as  both  developed  and  emerging 
economies  suffered  from  falling  international  trade  vol-
umes and  shrinking industrial production. The  sharp  con-
traction in growth of the global economy resulted in a fur-
ther correction in asset prices in the early part of the year as 
global stock prices plummeted to historical lows. The crisis 
spread from the financial sector to other industries, leading 
to a rapid rise in the unemployment rate as businesses re-
duced their employment levels to adjust to the changes in 
global demand.

The  adverse  macroeconomic  scenarios  triggered  by  the 
financial  crisis  pushed  governments  and  central  banks 
around the world to further step up their fiscal policy efforts 
during 2009. In addition to maintaining interest rates at re-
cord lows, and further enlarging the scope of so-called “un-
conventional monetary measures” such as the purchase of 
distressed assets from financial institutions, the policy focus 
shifted to fiscal stimulus packages to provide support to the 
goods  and  services  sector.  The  increase  in  public  expendi-
ture, coupled with a drop in tax revenues as a result of the 
economic  decline,  led  to  greatly  increased  public  deficits, 
particularly in the US and Europe.

In the course of the second quarter, global growth reached 
record lows, and only during the summer did signs of stabili-
zation  in  the  global  economy  begin  to  emerge,  particularly 
within the industrial production sector. As the economic out-
look  gradually  began  to  improve  there  was  a  recovery  in 
stock prices, which started by the end of first quarter of 2009 
and continued in the second half of 2009, taking the yearly 
gains in the global stock indexes to more than 20%. Emerg-
ing  markets’  stocks  –  particularly  in  Asia  –  experienced  the 
strongest rebound as they were leading the unfolding recov-
ery. The rebound in asset prices that occurred during the year 
was not restricted to stocks but also extended to the credit 
security markets. Overall, the recovery in asset prices provid-
ed private and institutional investors with very good returns 
compared with the losses experienced in 2008. 

As the global outlook improved, the financial services in-
dustry benefited from the recovery in asset prices. Improved 

22

liquidity conditions in capital markets allowed financial insti-
tutions to raise capital in order to bolster funds, reinforcing 
their capital positions. However, despite the overall improve-
ment observed during the year, the financial sector remained 
under  pressure  as  the  lasting  effects  of  the  financial  crisis 
were  further  exacerbated  by  the  growing  impact  of  the 
global recession on banks’ balance sheets.

Macroeconomic perspectives

The overall economic outlook of most economists for 2010 is 
cautiously optimistic, as global growth returned in the second 
half of 2009 and is expected to improve throughout the year. 
However, caution has been expressed as this recovery appears 
“abnormal” when compared with previous economic cycles. 
The economic recovery seen so far remains weak when com-
pared  with  previous  recoveries  following  recessions  of  the 
magnitude experienced in 2009. In “normal” recoveries, glo-
bal growth sharply increases following the downturn, often 
surpassing the pre-crisis growth rate, and then eventually falls 
back to its long-term growth rate. In the current market envi-
ronment, the return to pre-crisis growth rates appears to be 
taking longer to materialize, mostly as a result of deleverag-
ing in the private and corporate sectors. Secondly, the ongo-
ing economic recovery also appears to be uneven from a geo-
graphical point of view. While emerging markets are expect-
ed to show the strongest performance, growth in advanced 
economies is predicted to remain low as the household and 

(cid:53)(cid:86)(cid:81)(cid:69)(cid:77)(cid:2)(cid:79)(cid:67)(cid:84)(cid:77)(cid:71)(cid:86)(cid:2)(cid:75)(cid:80)(cid:70)(cid:75)(cid:69)(cid:71)(cid:85)(cid:2)(cid:70)(cid:71)(cid:88)(cid:71)(cid:78)(cid:81)(cid:82)(cid:79)(cid:71)(cid:80)(cid:86)
(cid:43)(cid:80)(cid:2)(cid:7)(cid:2)(cid:10)(cid:55)(cid:53)(cid:38)(cid:11)

(cid:3) (cid:20)(cid:52)(cid:19)(cid:26)(cid:3) (cid:21)(cid:52)(cid:19)(cid:26)(cid:3) (cid:22)(cid:52)(cid:19)(cid:26)(cid:3) (cid:23)(cid:52)(cid:19)(cid:26)(cid:3) (cid:20)(cid:52)(cid:19)(cid:27)(cid:3) (cid:21)(cid:52)(cid:19)(cid:27)(cid:3) (cid:22)(cid:52)(cid:19)(cid:27)(cid:3) (cid:23)(cid:52)(cid:19)(cid:27)(cid:3) (cid:20)(cid:52)(cid:19)(cid:28)(cid:3) (cid:21)(cid:52)(cid:19)(cid:28)(cid:3) (cid:22)(cid:52)(cid:19)(cid:28)(cid:3) (cid:23)(cid:52)(cid:19)(cid:28)

(cid:20)(cid:25)(cid:19)

(cid:20)(cid:21)(cid:19)

(cid:3)(cid:3)(cid:3)

(cid:3)(cid:3)(cid:27)(cid:19)

(cid:3)(cid:3)(cid:23)(cid:19)

(cid:3)(cid:3)(cid:3)

(cid:3)(cid:3)(cid:3)(cid:3)(cid:19)

(cid:48)(cid:54)(cid:38)(cid:44)(cid:3)(cid:58)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:79)(cid:71)

(cid:54)(cid:9)(cid:51)(cid:3)(cid:24)(cid:19)(cid:19)

(cid:39)(cid:82)(cid:90)(cid:3)(cid:45)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:72)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:37)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:78)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:55)(cid:76)(cid:87)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:22)(cid:19)(cid:3)(cid:44)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:72)(cid:91)

(cid:53)(cid:81)(cid:87)(cid:84)(cid:69)(cid:71)(cid:28)(cid:2)(cid:36)(cid:78)(cid:81)(cid:81)(cid:79)(cid:68)(cid:71)(cid:84)(cid:73)

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Market capitalization of the components of the Dow Jones Banks Titans 30 Index, 2009 versus 2008
USD billion

200

150

100

  50

    0

31.12.08

31.12.09

UBS

1SS022_e

Source: Thomson Reuters

corporate sectors continue to repair their balance sheets. Un-
employment  rates  are  expected  to  remain  high  and  only 
 begin declining later during the year, as global economic re-
covery is firmly established in advanced economies.

Industry drivers

A number of drivers are expected to have a significant im-
pact  on  banks’  earnings  and  the  structure  of  the  financial 
services industry in the short- to medium-term. The most rel-
evant factors are described below.

Deleveraging
The financial services industry experienced massive delever-
aging  in  2009.  Banks  in  the  US  and  Europe  continued  to 
decrease their balance sheets and raise capital to reinforce 
their financial position. While the deleveraging process with-
in the banking sector is likely to continue for some time, and 
further  capital  might  be  raised  in  the  future  as  a  result  of 
ongoing regulatory changes, it appears that financial sector 
leverage level has fallen substantially from the levels reached 
just  before  the  crisis  erupted.  On  the  other  hand,  delever-
aging  in  the  overall  economy  has  only  just  begun.  The  re-
duction  in  household  sector  debt,  which  has  already  com-
menced  in  some  countries,  has  been  partly  offset  by  an 
increase in government debt, leaving the overall debt level 
mostly unchanged. Most of the financial crises experienced 
in the last few decades have typically been followed by pro-
longed deleveraging episodes involving a substantial reduc-
tion in the debt-to-GDP ratio in the private sector, the public 
sector or simultaneously in both sectors. 

Most past episodes of deleveraging have had a negative 
impact on growth, and lower real economy returns will neg-
atively impact the profitability of the financial services indus-
try in the next few years. 

Emerging markets
Emerging markets were also impacted by the global reces-
sion in 2009. Exporters of manufactured goods were hit by 
falling  global  trade  volumes  and  reduced  imports  in  ad-
vanced  economies.  Commodity  producers  and  exporters 
were hit by falling prices as the boom in commodity prices in 
the early 2000s suddenly came to an end. Economic growth 
slowed  markedly,  and  governments  intervened  to  support 
domestic  demand  through  public  expenditures  and  in-
creased credit supply to state-controlled and private corpo-
rations. However, due to the better shape of household and 
corporation balance sheets when compared with most ad-
vanced economies as well as the fiscal and monetary policy 
stimulus, emerging markets – particularly Brazil, Asia and the 
Middle  East  –  performed  relatively  well  during  the  crisis. 
Thanks  to  solid  macro  fundamentals,  most  emerging  eco-
nomies  were  the  first  to  emerge  from  the  slump  in  the 
course of the year. This performance is expected to continue 
throughout 2010, with a return to sustained growth speci-
fically in Asia and other emerging markets. 

Therefore, the economic crisis over the last year has been 
a driving force in the economic and geographic power shift 
from  advanced  to  emerging  economies  which  was  already 
well under way before the financial crisis hit the global econ-
omy. Banks that have built a significant presence in emerg-
ing markets, and serve a wide range of institutional and pri-
vate clients in those economies, may benefit if the emerging 
markets’ share of global profits for the financial services in-
dustry continues to grow. 

Re-regulation of the financial services industry 
International organizations and national regulators have in-
creased their focus on revising the regulatory framework of 
the financial services industry as conditions within the indus-
try continue to improve and short-term governmental finan-

23

200

150

100

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Strategy, performance and responsibility
Current market climate and industry drivers

cial support is gradually withdrawn. The G-20 has stipulated 
broad guidelines of re-regulation which are being specified 
by the Financial Stability Board, the International Monetary 
Fund and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. As 
some countries are starting to implement regulatory chang-
es, others are still debating on what is the best way forward. 
For instance, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Author-
ity (FINMA) has already introduced increased capital require-
ments and liquidity constraints for the largest Swiss banks. 
While  the  international  organizations  are  trying  to  achieve 
an  international  level  playing  field,  there  is  a  growing  risk 
that  jurisdictions  will  implement  regulations  at  different 
times and levels of intensity. This could lead to fragmenta-
tion  of  the  regulatory  framework  and  disparities  of  condi-
tions between countries, with a risk of national ring-fencing 
tendencies.

The expected significant tightening of regulatory require-
ments pertaining to the financial services industry, whether 
globally coordinated or not, will likely reduce the profitability 
of certain businesses. This will eventually lead to changes in 
the competitive landscape of the financial services industry. 
Financial institutions and advisory businesses with low capi-
tal intensity that will be faster and more efficient in adapting 
themselves to the new regulatory environment are likely to 
outperform in the medium-term.

Rising taxation as public deficits soar
One of the legacies of the global crisis is higher public debt 
in most of the developed world. As a result of the financial 
crisis, there has been a substantial transfer of private debt to 
the public sector. Higher public debts are most likely to be-
come a dominant policy issue over the medium-term as gov-
ernments will have to deal with the fiscal structural adjust-
ments required to reduce the debt. The fiscal challenges that 
have emerged from the financial crisis are further aggravat-

ed by the impact of demographic changes in public finance, 
which is expected to grow in most advanced economies and 
in some emerging markets.

Fiscal restructuring will likely be a long process. It may be 
many years before public sector debt is brought back to pre-
crisis levels. Governments will utilize a mix of measures, in-
cluding structural reforms to pension and healthcare eligibil-
ity  as  well  as  a  revision  of  tax  rates  and  coverage.  In  the 
coming years, the pre-crisis trend of falling tax rates on indi-
viduals’  income  will  probably  reverse,  reducing  the  dispos-
able income of individuals. If this occurs, clients can be ex-
pected to become more focused on effective tax planning in 
hopes of reducing their tax burden. Banks and financial insti-
tutions  capable  of  providing  this  type  of  expertise  may  be 
able to retain or attract more clients. 

Global capital flows and offshore centers 
In the pre-crisis period, offshore centers benefited from soar-
ing cross-border capital flows as they have been the financial 
platforms often used by investors for global investments. One 
implication  of  the  global  crisis  has  been  a  dramatic  drop  in 
global capital flows, as investors were more averse to taking 
risks  and  were  more  domestically  oriented.  Financial  institu-
tions reduced their exposure to foreign markets proportionally 
more than to their domestic markets. In the course of 2009, 
global  capital  flows  began  to  recover  as  investors  gradually 
increased their risk appetite, particularly in relation to assets 
located  in  emerging  markets.  However,  it  could  take  many 
years for global capital flows to return to pre-crisis levels. 

Offshore  centers  are  also  under  increasing  policy  pres-
sure, as governments around the world are urging for more 
transparency concerning income produced on assets held by 
investors abroad. Banks with an established broad presence 
in onshore markets are likely to be impacted less than other 
banks relying exclusively on offshore business. 

24

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Risk factors

Certain  risks,  including  those  described  below,  can  impact 
our  ability  to  carry  out  our  business  strategies  and  directly 
affect  our  business  activities,  financial  condition,  results  of 
operations and prospects. Because the business of a broad-
based international financial services firm such as UBS is in-
herently  exposed  to  risks  that  only  become  apparent  with 
the benefit of hindsight, risks of which we are not presently 
aware could also materially affect our business activities, fi-
nancial  condition,  results  of  operations  and  prospects.  The 
sequence in which the risk factors are presented below is not 
indicative of their likelihood of occurrence or the potential 
magnitude of their financial consequences.

Our reputation is key to the success of our business 

Our reputation has been severely damaged by our very large 
losses during the financial crisis and by the US cross-border 
matter. This has resulted in client attrition in different parts of 
our business and has negatively affected our financial perfor-
mance. Restoring our reputation is essential to maintaining 
our  relationships  with  clients,  investors,  regulators  and  the 
general public, as well as with our employees. Accordingly, it 
is critical to the success of our strategic plans. Reputational 
damage is difficult to reverse. The process is slow and success 
can be difficult to measure. We have taken what we believe 
are very important steps to restore our reputation, but it is 
possible that it will take longer to repair than we expect, par-
ticularly if further events were to occur that cause additional 
damage to our reputation. Any failure to restore or further 
damage to our reputation could have a material adverse ef-
fect on our operational results and financial condition. Even 
if  our  reputation  is  restored,  we  may  not  progress  quickly 
enough to achieve our medium-term goals.

Regulatory changes may adversely affect our business 
and ability to execute our strategic plans

In the wake of the recent financial crisis, regulators and leg-
islators  are  actively  considering  a  wide  range  of  measures 
designed to address the perceived causes of the crisis and to 
limit the systemic risks posed by major financial institutions. 
Potential changes include:
–  significantly higher regulatory capital requirements 
–  changes in the capital treatment of certain capital instru-

ments issued by UBS and other banks 

–  changes in the calculation of risk-weighted assets 
–  new or significantly enhanced liquidity requirements 
–  requirements to maintain liquidity and capital in multiple 

jurisdictions where activities are conducted

–  limitations on principal trading activities 
–  taxes  and  government  fees  that  would  effectively  limit 

balance sheet growth 

–  a variety of measures constraining, taxing or imposing ad-

ditional requirements relating to compensation

–  requirements to adopt structural and other changes de-
signed to make major financial institutions easier to wind 
down or disassemble
–  outright size limitations

Notwithstanding  attempts  by  regulators  to  coordinate 
their  efforts,  the  proposals  differ  by  jurisdiction,  and  en-
hanced regulation may be imposed in a manner that makes 
it more difficult to manage global institutions. Swiss author-
ities have expressed concern about the systemic risks posed 
by its two largest banks, particularly in relation to the size of 
the  Swiss  economy  and  governmental  resources.  This  may 
lead to more stringent regulations applicable to major banks 
headquartered  in  Switzerland  in  comparison  with  those 
based elsewhere. The potential regulatory and legislative de-
velopments in Switzerland and in other jurisdictions in which 
we have operations may have a material adverse effect on 
our ability to execute our strategic plans, on the profitability 
or viability of certain business lines globally or in particular 
locations, and on our ability to compete with other financial 
institutions.  They  could  also  have  an  impact  on  our  legal 
structure or our business model.

We are exposed to possible further reduction in client 
assets in our wealth management and asset manage-
ment businesses

In 2008 and 2009, we experienced substantial net outflows 
of client assets in our wealth management and asset man-
agement businesses. This resulted from a number of differ-
ent factors, including our substantial losses, the damage to 
our reputation, the loss of client advisors and developments 
concerning  our  cross-border  private  banking  business.  As 
some of these factors can only be addressed over an extend-
ed period of time, we may continue to experience net out-
flows of client assets. This may adversely affect the results of 
our wealth management and asset management businesses.

We hold proprietary risk positions that may be 
adversely affected by conditions in the financial 
markets

UBS, like many other financial market participants, was se-
verely affected by the financial crisis that began in 2007. The 
deterioration of financial markets since the beginning of the 

25

 
 
 
Strategy, performance and responsibility
Risk factors

crisis  was  extremely  severe  by  historical  standards,  and  we 
recorded  substantial  losses  on  fixed  income  trading  posi-
tions, particularly in 2008 and to a lesser extent in 2009. We 
have  drastically  reduced  our  risk  exposures,  in  part  due  to 
transfers to a fund controlled by the SNB. We do, however, 
continue  to  hold  sizeable  legacy  risk  positions  that  are  ex-
posed  to  the  general  systemic  and  counterparty  risks  that 
were  exacerbated  by  the  financial  crisis.  The  illiquidity  of 
most of these legacy risk positions is likely to make it increas-
ingly difficult to reduce our exposures to them.

During the market crisis, we incurred large losses (realized 
and mark to market) on our holdings of securities related to 
the US residential mortgage market. Although our exposure 
to that market was reduced dramatically in 2008 and 2009, 
we remain exposed to a smaller degree to such losses, most 
notably  through  monoline-insured  positions.  Monoline  in-
surers have been adversely affected by their exposure to US 
residential mortgage-linked products, and we have recorded 
large  credit  valuation  adjustments  on  our  claims  against 
them. If the financial condition of monoline insurers or their 
perceived  creditworthiness  deteriorates  further,  we  would 
have to record further material credit valuation adjustments 
on the CDSs bought from them.

The market dislocation also affected other asset classes. 
In 2008 and 2009, we recorded markdowns on other assets 
carried at fair value, including auction rate securities (ARS), 
leveraged  finance  commitments,  commercial  mortgages  in 
the  US  and  non-US  mortgage-backed  and  asset-backed 
 securities  (ABSs).  We  have  a  very  large  inventory  of  ARS, 
which is likely to increase as a result of our partially satisfied 
commitment to repurchase client-owned ARS. We hold posi-
tions  related  to  real  estate  in  countries   other  than  the  US, 
including  a  very  substantial  Swiss   mortgage  portfolio,  and 
we could suffer losses on these positions. In addition, further 
market  dislocation  or  con tinued  weak  financial  conditions 
could result in further writedowns on our assets carried at 
fair value or in the impairment of assets classified as or re-
classified to loans or receivables. We are also exposed to risk 
in our prime brokerage, reverse repo and lombard lending 
activities, as the value or liquidity of the assets against which 
we provide financing may decline rapidly. 

Performance in the financial services industry  depends 
on the economic climate 

The financial services industry prospers in conditions of eco-
nomic  growth,  stable  geopolitical  conditions,  capital  mar-
kets  that  are  transparent,  liquid  and  buoyant  and  positive 
investor  sentiment.  An  economic  downturn,  inflation  or  a 
severe financial crisis (as seen in 2008 and to a lesser extent 
in  2009)  can  negatively  affect  our  revenues  and  ultimately 
our capital base. 

A market downturn can be precipitated by a number of 
factors, including geopolitical events, changes in monetary 

or fiscal policy, trade imbalances, natural disasters, pandem-
ics, civil unrest, war or terrorism. Because financial markets 
are global and highly interconnected, even local and region-
al events can have widespread impact well beyond the coun-
tries in which they occur. A crisis could develop, regionally or 
globally, as a result of disruptions in emerging markets which 
are susceptible to macroeconomic and geopolitical develop-
ments, or as a result of the failure of a major market partici-
pant. As our presence and business in emerging markets in-
creases,  we  become  more  exposed  to  these  risks.  Adverse 
developments of this kind have affected our businesses in a 
number of ways, and may continue to have further adverse 
effects on our businesses as follows: 
–  a  general  reduction  in  business  activity  and  market  vol-
umes would affect fees, commissions and margins from 
market-making and customer-driven transactions and ac-
tivities; 

–  a  market  downturn  is  likely  to  reduce  the  volume  and 
valuations of assets we manage on behalf of clients, re-
ducing our asset- and performance-based fees; 

–  reduced market liquidity limits trading and arbitrage op-
portunities and impedes our ability to manage risks, im-
pacting  both  trading  income  and  performance-based 
fees; 

–  assets we own and account for as investments or trading 

positions could continue to fall in value; 

–  impairments  and  defaults  on  credit  exposures  and  on 
trading and investment positions could increase, and loss-
es may be exacerbated by falling collateral values; and 
–  if individual countries impose restrictions on cross-border 
payments or other exchange or capital controls, we could 
suffer losses from enforced default by counterparties, be 
unable to access our own assets, or be impeded in – or 
prevented from – managing our risks. 
The developments mentioned above can affect the per-
formance of both our business units and of UBS as a whole. 
There is also a risk that the carrying value of goodwill of a 
business unit might suffer impairments and deferred tax as-
sets levels may need to be adjusted.

In  addition,  interest  rate  increases  triggered  by  central 
banks  may  adversely  affect  the  economy  and  our  business 
and funding costs.

We are dependent upon our risk management and 
control processes to avoid or limit potential losses in 
our trading and counterparty credit businesses

Controlled risk-taking is a major part of the business of a fi-
nancial services firm. Credit is an integral part of many of our 
retail,  wealth  management  and  Investment  Bank  activities. 
This includes lending, underwriting and derivatives business-
es and positions. Changes in interest rates, equity prices, for-
eign exchange levels and other market fluctuations can ad-
versely  affect  our  earnings.  Some  losses  from  risk-taking 

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activities are inevitable, but to be successful over time, we 
must balance the risks we take against the returns we gener-
ate.  We  must  therefore  diligently  identify,  assess,  manage 
and control our risks, not only in normal market conditions 
but  also  as  they  might  develop  under  more  extreme 
(“stressed”)  conditions,  when  concentrations  of  exposures 
can lead to severe losses. 

As seen during the recent market crisis, we are not always 
able to prevent serious losses arising from extreme or sudden 
market events that are not anticipated by our risk measures 
and  systems.  Value-at-Risk  (VaR),  a  statistical  measure  for 
market risk, is derived from historical market data, and thus 
by definition could not have predicted the losses seen in the 
stressed  conditions  in  the  past  few  years.  Moreover,  stress 
loss and concentration controls and the dimensions in which 
we aggregate risk to identify potentially highly correlated ex-
posures proved to be inadequate. Notwithstanding the steps 
we have taken to strengthen our risk management and con-
trol framework, we could suffer further losses in the future 
if, for example: 
–  we do not fully identify the risks in our portfolio, in par-

ticular risk concentrations and correlated risks; 

–  our assessment of the risks identified or our response to 
negative trends proves to be inadequate or incorrect;
–  markets move in ways that are unexpected – in terms of 
their  speed,  direction,  severity  or  correlation  –  and  our 
ability  to  manage  risks  in  the  resultant  environment  is 
therefore affected; 

–  third parties to whom we have credit exposure or whose 
securities  we  hold  for  our  own  account  are  severely  af-
fected by events not anticipated by our models, and we 
accordingly suffer defaults and impairments beyond the 
level implied by our risk assessment; or 

–  collateral or other security provided by our counterparties 
proves inadequate to cover their obligations at the time 
of their default. 
We also manage risk on behalf of our clients in our asset 
and  wealth  management  businesses.  Our  performance  in 
these activities could be harmed by the same factors. If cli-
ents  suffer  losses  or  the  performance  of  their  assets  held 
with us is not in line with relevant benchmarks against which 
clients  assess  investment  performance,  we  may  suffer  re-
duced  fee  income  and  a  decline  in  assets  under  manage-
ment or withdrawal of mandates. 

If we decide to support a fund or another investment that 
we  sponsor  in  our  asset  or  wealth  management  business 
(such as the property fund to which Wealth Management & 
Swiss Bank has exposure) we might, depending on the facts 
and circumstances, incur charges that could increase to ma-
terial levels. 

Investment positions, such as equity holdings made as a 
part of strategic initiatives and seed investments made at the 
inception of funds we manage, may also be affected by mar-
ket risk factors. These investments are often not liquid and 

are generally intended or required to be held beyond a nor-
mal  trading  horizon.  They  are  subject  to  a  distinct  control 
framework. Deteriorations in the fair value of these positions 
would have a negative impact on our earnings. 

Valuations of certain assets rely on models. For some 
of the inputs to these models there is no observable 
source

Where possible, we mark our trading book assets at their 
quoted  market  price  in  an  active  market.  In  the  current 
 environment,  such  price  information  is  not  available  for 
 certain  instruments  and  we  apply  valuation  techniques 
to  measure  such  instruments.  Valuation  techniques  use 
“market observable inputs” where available, derived from 
similar  assets  in  similar  and  active  markets,  from  recent 
transaction  prices  for  comparable  items  or  from  other 
 observable  market  data.  For  positions  of  which  some  or 
all  of  the  reference  data  are  not  observable  or  have  lim-
ited  observability,  we  use  valuation  models  with  non- 
market observable inputs. There is no single market stan-
dard  for  valuation  models  in  this  area.  Such  models  have 
inherent  limitations;  different  assumptions  and  inputs 
would  generate  different  results,  and  these  differences 
could  have  a  significant  impact  on  our  financial  results. 
We  regularly  review  and  update  our  valuation  models  to 
incorporate  all  factors  that  market  participants  would 
 consider  in  setting  a  price,  including  factoring  in  current 
market  conditions.  Judgment  is  an  important  component 
of this process. Changes in model inputs or in the models 
themselves  could  have  a  material  adverse  effect  on  our 
 financial results. 

Credit ratings and liquidity and funding management 
are critical to our ongoing performance 

Moody’s  Investors  Service,  Fitch  Ratings  and  Standard  & 
Poor’s  lowered  our  long-term  credit  rating  several  times  in 
2008 and 2009. Further reductions in our credit rating could 
increase our funding costs, in particular with regard to fund-
ing from wholesale unsecured sources. Some of these down-
grades have required us to make additional cash payments 
or post additional collateral, and additional reductions in the 
credit  ratings  could  have  similar  effects.  Our  credit  ratings 
also have an impact on the performance of our businesses. 
Along  with  our  capital  strength  and  reputation,  our  credit 
ratings  contribute  to  maintaining  client  and  counterparty 
confidence in us. 

A substantial part of our liquidity and funding require-
ments is met using short-term unsecured funding sources, 
including wholesale and retail deposits and the regular issu-
ance  of  money  market  securities.  The  volume  of  these 
funding sources has generally been stable, but may change 
in the future due, among other things, to general market 

27

 
 
 
Strategy, performance and responsibility
Risk factors

disruptions.  Any  such  change  could  occur  quickly  and 
 without  notice.  We  may  be  required  to  maintain  sub-
stantially higher levels of liquidity than has been our usual 
practice  due  to  possible  changes  in  regulatory  require-
ments. This could have an adverse impact on the attractive-
ness of certain lines of business, particularly in the Invest-
ment Bank, and may reduce our overall ability to generate 
profits. 

➔	Refer to the “Risk and treasury management” section of 
this report for more information on our approach to 

liquidity and funding management

diverse markets in different currencies, and to comply with 
the requirements of the many different legal and regulatory 
regimes. Our operational risk management and control sys-
tems  and  processes  are  designed  to  help  ensure  that  the 
risks  associated  with  our  activities,  including  those  arising 
from  process  error,  failed  execution,  unauthorized  trading, 
fraud,  systems  failure  and  failure  of  security  and  physical 
protection, are appropriately controlled. If our internal con-
trols  fail  or  prove  ineffective  in  identifying  and  remedying 
such  risks,  we  could  suffer  operational  failures  that  might 
result in material losses. 

Our capital strength is important in supporting our 
client franchise 

Legal claims and regulatory risks and restrictions arise 
in the conduct of our business 

Our capital position, as measured by the BIS tier 1 and total 
capital  ratios,  is  determined  by  (i)  risk-weighted  assets 
(RWAs) (balance sheet, off-balance sheet and other market 
and operational risk positions, measured and risk-weighted 
according to regulatory criteria) and (ii) eligible capital. Both 
RWAs and eligible capital are subject to change. Eligible cap-
ital, for example, could experience a reduction resulting from 
financial losses, acquired goodwill or as a result of foreign 
exchange  movements.  RWAs,  on  the  other  hand,  will  be 
driven by our business activities and by changes in the risk 
profile of these assets. They could furthermore be subject to 
a  change  in  regulatory  requirements  or  the  interpretation 
thereof. For instance, substantial market volatility, a widen-
ing of credit spreads (the major driver of our VaR), a change 
in regulatory treatment of certain positions, stronger foreign 
currencies, increased counterparty risk or a deterioration in 
the economic environment could result in a rise in RWAs or 
a change in capital requirements, thereby potentially reduc-
ing  our  capital  ratios.  We  are  subject  to  regulatory  capital 
requirements imposed by the Swiss Financial Market Super-
visory Authority (FINMA), under which we have higher RWA 
than would be the case under BIS guidelines. Forthcoming 
changes  in  the  calculation  of  RWAs  under  FINMA  require-
ments are expected to increase the level of our RWAs and 
therefore have an adverse effect on our capital ratios. In ad-
dition,  FINMA  has  introduced  a  minimum  leverage  ratio 
which  is  being  progressively  implemented  and  will  be  fully 
applicable in 2013. Changes by FINMA in the tier 1 and total 
capital  requirements  or  in  the  leverage  ratio  requirement, 
whether pertaining to the minimum levels required for large 
Swiss banks or to the calculation thereof (including changes 
made to implement the proposed Basel III standards), could 
have a material adverse effect on our business and ability to 
execute our strategic plans or pay dividends in the future.

Operational risks may affect our business 

All of our businesses are dependent on our ability to process 
a large number of complex transactions across multiple and 

In  the  ordinary  course  of  our  business,  we  are  subject  to 
regulatory  oversight  and  liability  risk.  We  are  involved  in  a 
variety  of  claims,  disputes,  legal  proceedings  and  govern-
ment  investigations  in  jurisdictions  where  we  are  active. 
These types of proceedings expose us to substantial mone-
tary damages and legal defense costs, injunctive relief and 
criminal  and  civil  penalties,  in  addition  to  potential  regula-
tory  restrictions  on  our  businesses.  The  outcome  of  these 
matters cannot be predicted and they could adversely affect 
our future business. We continue to be subject to govern-
ment inquiries and investigations, and are involved in a num-
ber of litigations and disputes related to the financial crisis. 
These matters concern, among other things, our valuations, 
accounting classifications, disclosures, investment suitability, 
writedowns,  underwriting  and  contractual  obligations,  as 
well as our role as an underwriter in securities offerings for 
other issuers. 

We  have  been  in  active  dialogue  with  our  regulators 
 concerning  remedial  actions  that  we  are  taking  to  address 
deficiencies  in  our  risk  management  and  control,  funding 
and certain other processes and systems. We will for some 
time  be  subject  to  increased  scrutiny  by  FINMA  and  our 
 other  major  regulators,  and  accordingly  will  be  subject  to 
regulatory measures that might affect the implementation of 
our strategic plans.

In February 2009, we entered into a Deferred Prosecution 
Agreement (DPA) with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) 
and a Consent Order with the US Securities and Exchange 
Commission  in  connection  with  our  cross-border  private 
banking services provided to US private clients. In addition, a 
petition for enforcement of a civil summons issued by the US 
Internal Revenue Service (IRS), seeking information concern-
ing  our  cross-border  business,  including  records  located  in 
Switzerland,  was  filed  by  the  civil  division  of  the  DOJ.  In 
 August 2009, we entered into a settlement agreement with 
the IRS and the DOJ. Pursuant to this agreement and a re-
lated agreement between the US and Switzerland, the sum-
mons  enforcement  proceeding  will  be  dismissed  if  certain 
requirements are satisfied. It is not yet clear what effect, if 

28

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any, the recent Swiss court decision prohibiting the provision 
of certain UBS client data to the IRS may have on our 2009 
settlements with US authorities and our businesses. 

Tax and regulatory authorities in a number of other juris-
dictions  have  also  requested  information  relating  to  the 
cross-border wealth management services provided by UBS 
and other financial institutions. These governmental actions, 
and our responses to them, could adversely affect the future 
profitability  of  our  international  wealth  management  busi-
nesses. 

➔	Refer to “Note 21 Provisions and litigation” in the 

“Financial information” section of this report for more 

information on legal proceedings in which UBS is involved

able  compensation  granted  in  the  form  of  deferred  shares 
was  much  higher  than  in  the  past,  and  the  percentage  of 
compensation deferred was higher than that of most of our 
competitors. We continue to be subject to the risk that key 
employees  will  be  attracted  by  competitors  and  decide  to 
leave UBS, or that we may be less successful than our com-
petitors in attracting qualified employees. This risk also arises 
in connection with the increasing legislation, regulation and 
regulatory pressure relating to remuneration in general and 
variable  compensation  in  particular.  Although  this  affects 
many if not all of the major banks, the constraints are likely 
to  differ  by  jurisdiction  and  therefore  less  regulated  com-
petitors may tend to have an advantage.

We might be unable to identify or capture revenue 
or competitive opportunities, or retain and attract 
qualified employees 

Our global presence exposes us to risks arising 
from being subject to different regulatory, legal and 
tax regimes, as well as from currency fluctuation

The  financial  services  industry  is  characterized  by  intense 
competition,  continuous  innovation,  detailed  (and  some-
times  fragmented)  regulation  and  ongoing  consolidation. 
We face competition at the level of local markets and indi-
vidual  business  lines,  and  from  global  financial  institutions 
that  are  comparable  in  their  size  and  breadth.  Barriers  to 
entry in individual markets are being eroded by new technol-
ogy. We expect these trends to continue and competition to 
increase in the future. 

Our  competitive  strength  and  market  position  could  be 
eroded if we are unable to identify market trends and devel-
opments,  do  not  respond  to  them  by  devising  and  imple-
menting  adequate  business  strategies  or  are  unable  to  at-
tract or retain the qualified people needed to carry them out. 
The changes recently introduced in our balance sheet man-
agement,  funding  framework  and  risk  management  and 
control, as well as possible new or enhanced regulatory re-
quirements, may constrain the revenue contribution of cer-
tain lines of business. For example, parts of the Investment 
Bank’s  fixed  income,  currencies  and  commodities  (FICC) 
business may be affected as they require substantial funding 
and are capital-intensive. 

Following the losses incurred in 2008, we significantly re-
duced the variable compensation granted to our employees 
for that year. This and other factors adversely affected our 
ability  to  retain  and  attract  key  employees,  which  in  turn 
negatively  affected  our  revenues  in  a  number  of  business 
lines in 2009. The amount of variable compensation granted 
for 2009 was higher than in 2008, but the portion of vari-

We  operate  in  more  than  50  countries,  earn  income  and 
hold  assets  and  liabilities  in  many  different  currencies  and 
are  subject  to  many  different  legal,  tax  and  regulatory  re-
gimes. 

Our  ability  to  execute  our  global  strategy  depends  on 
 obtaining  and  maintaining  local  regulatory  approvals.  This 
includes  the  approval  of  acquisitions  or  other  transactions 
and the ability to obtain and maintain the necessary licenses 
to operate in local markets. Changes in local tax laws or reg-
ulations and their enforcement may affect the ability or the 
willingness  of  our  clients  to  do  business  with  the  bank, 
or the viability of our strategies and business model. In our 
 financial  accounts  we  accrue  taxes,  but  the  final  effect  of 
taxes on earnings is only determined after the completion of 
tax audits (which generally takes a number of years) or the 
expiration of statutes of limitations. In addition, changes in 
tax  laws,  judicial  interpretation  of  tax  laws  or  policies  and 
practices of tax authorities could cause the amount of taxes 
ultimately paid by UBS to differ materially from the amount 
accrued. 

Because we prepare our accounts in Swiss francs and a 
substantial  portion  of  our  assets,  liabilities,  assets  under 
management,  revenues  and  expenses  are  denominated  in 
other  currencies,  changes  in  foreign  exchange  rates,  par-
ticularly between the Swiss franc and the US dollar and to a 
much  lesser  extent  between  the  Swiss  franc  and  the  Euro 
and UK sterning (US dollar income represents the major part 
of  our  non-Swiss-franc   income),  have  an  effect  on  our  re-
ported income and shareholders’ equity.

29

 
 
 
Strategy, performance and responsibility
Financial performance

Financial performance

Our performance is reported in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by 
the International Accounting Standards Board. This section provides a discussion and analysis of our results 
for 2009, commenting on the underlying operational performance of the business, with a focus on continuing 
operations.

UBS key figures

CHF million, except where indicated

Group results

Operating income

Operating expenses

Operating profit before tax (from continuing and discontinued operations)

Net profit attributable to UBS shareholders
Diluted earnings per share (CHF) 1

Key performance indicators, balance sheet and capital management 2
Performance

Return on equity (RoE) (%)

Return on risk-weighted assets, gross (%)

Return on assets, gross (%)

Growth
Net profit growth (%) 3
Net new money (CHF billion) 4
Efficiency

Cost / income ratio (%)

Capital strength
BIS tier 1 ratio (%) 5
FINMA leverage ratio (%) 5
Balance sheet and capital management

Total assets

Equity attributable to UBS shareholders
BIS total ratio (%) 5
BIS risk-weighted assets 5
BIS tier 1 capital 5

Additional information

Invested assets (CHF billion)

Personnel (full-time equivalents)
Market capitalization 6
Long-term ratings

Fitch, London

Moody’s, New York

Standard & Poor’s, New York

As of or for the year ended

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

22,601

25,162

(2,569)

(2,736)

(0.75)

(7.8)

9.9

1.5

N/A

(147.3)

796

28,555

(27,560)

(21,292)

(7.63)

(58.7)

1.2

0.2

N/A

(226.0)

103.0

753.0

15.4

3.93

11.0

2.45

1,340,538

2,014,815

41,013

19.8

206,525

31,798

2,233

65,233

57,108

A+

Aa3

A+

32,531

15.0

302,273

33,154

2,174

77,783

43,519

A+

Aa2

A+

31,721

35,463

(3,597)

(5,247)

(2.41)

(10.5)

8.6

1.3

N/A

140.6

111.0

2,274,891

36,875

3,189

83,560

108,654

AA

Aaa

AA

1 Refer to “Note 8 Earnings per share (EPS) and shares outstanding” in the “Financial information” section of this report.    2 For the definitions of our key performance indicators refer to the “Measure-
ment and analysis of performance” section of this report.    3 Not meaningful if either the current period or the comparison period is a loss period.    4 Excludes interest and dividend income.    5 Refer 
to the “Capital management” section of this report.    6 Refer to the “UBS shares in 2009” section of this report.

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Measurement and analysis of performance

Key factors affecting our financial position and results 
of operations in 2009

–  In 2009, the net loss attributable to UBS shareholders for 
2009 was CHF 2.7 billion, a considerable reduction from 
the CHF 21.3 billion loss recorded in the prior year. This 
improvement  was  due  to  much  lower  losses  on  residual 
risk positions in the Investment Bank and reduced operat-
ing expenses for the Group. The result for 2009 included 
a number of significant items, namely an own credit loss 
of CHF 2.0 billion which occurred as a result of the mar-
kets’ perception of our improved creditworthiness, charg-
es relating to the sale of UBS Pactual of CHF 1.4 billion, 
restructuring  charges  of  CHF  0.8  billion,  and  a  CHF  0.3 
billion gain on the mandatory convertible notes converted 
in August 2009. Excluding these significant items, the un-
derlying pre-tax result for the year was a profit of CHF 1.4 
billion. The Group’s net profit attributable to shareholders 
for  the  fourth  quarter  was  CHF  1.2  billion,  including  a 
positive contribution from each of our business divisions.
–  At  the  end  of  2009  our  invested  asset  base  was  CHF 
2,233 billion, broadly in line with the figure for year-end 
2008. However, the Group’s average invested asset base 
for the year was down significantly, and this was the pri-
mary driver of reduced profits in our asset gathering busi-
ness  divisions.  Net  new  money  outflows  in  2009  were 
CHF 89.8 billion for Wealth Management & Swiss Bank, 
compared with CHF 107.1 billion in 2008; CHF 11.6 bil-
lion  for  Wealth  Management  Americas,  compared  with 
CHF  15.9  billion;  and  CHF  45.8  billion  for  Global  Asset 
Management, compared with CHF 103.0 billion.

–  At year-end 2009, the BIS tier 1 ratio amounted to 15.4% 
and the total capital ratio to 19.8%, up from 11.0% and 
15.0%,  respectively,  on  31  December  2008.  BIS  risk-
weighted  assets  declined  from  CHF  302.3  billion  in  De-
cember  2008  to  CHF  206.5  billion  in  December  2009, 
while eligible tier 1 capital decreased from CHF 33.2 bil-
lion to CHF 31.8 billion over the same period, reflecting 
the  effects  of  losses  incurred  during  2009  and  further 
negative  impacts  on  equity,  only  partially  offset  by  the 
positive effects from issues of capital instruments.

–  Our total assets stood at CHF 1,341 billion on 31 Decem-
ber 2009, down CHF 674 billion (33%) from CHF 2,015 
billion  on  31  December  2008.  This  decline  was  due  to 
significant  market  driven  reductions  in  replacement  val-
ues (RVs) on both sides of the balance sheet.

–  Due to the significant improvement in our credit spreads 
in  2009  compared  with  2008,  the  Investment  Bank  in-
curred an own credit charge to income of CHF 2,023 mil-
lion  compared  with  a  gain  of  CHF  2,032  million  recog-
nized in 2008.

–  In 2009, we experienced a net credit loss expense of CHF 
1,832 million, of which CHF 1,698 million related to the 
Investment Bank and CHF 133 million to Wealth Manage-
ment  &  Swiss  Bank.  Impairment  charges  of  the  Invest-
ment Bank include an impairment of CHF 425 million for 
reclassified securities. In comparison, we recorded a net 
credit loss expense of CHF 2,996 million in 2008. 
➔	Refer to the “Credit risk” section of this report for more 

information

–  We recognized a net income tax benefit of CHF 443 mil-
lion for 2009, which mainly related to an increase in de-
ferred tax assets for tax losses following updated forecast 
profit assumptions over the five-year horizon used for rec-
ognition  purposes.  In  2008,  the  net  income  tax  benefit 
was  CHF  6,837  million,  which  mainly  reflected  an  in-
crease in deferred tax assets for tax losses.

–  On  16  October  2008,  we  reached  an  agreement  with 
the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to transfer, in one or more 
sales,  certain  illiquid  and  other  positions  from  our  bal-
ance  sheet  to  a  separate  fund  entity  owned  and  con-
trolled by the SNB. In December 2008, USD 16.4 billion 
of  positions  were  transferred  to  the  fund  followed  by 
the transfer of the remaining USD 22.2 billion of posi-
tions in March and April 2009. The purchase price was 
determined  by  the  SNB  based  on  valuations  made  by 
independent experts and reflected the value of these po-
sitions  on  30  September  2008.  The  purchase  price  for 
the overall portfolio was, in the aggregate, approximate-
ly USD 1 billion lower than the market value we assigned 
to these positions on 30 September 2008. Of this USD 1 
billion, USD 0.7 billion was accounted for in our results 
for 2008, and the remaining balance was recognized in 
the income statement in first quarter 2009. The impact 
of  the  SNB  transaction  on  the  income  statement  for 
2009 was a charge of CHF 115 million, which comprised 
a  CHF  232  million  charge  due  to  the  price  difference 
recognized in first quarter 2009, and was offset by a net 
valuation gain of CHF 117 million on our option to ac-
quire the fund’s equity.

–  On 18 February 2009, we announced the settlement of 
the US cross-border case with the US Department of Jus-

31

 
 
 
Strategy, performance and responsibility
Financial performance

tice (DOJ) and the US Securities and Exchange Commis-
sion (SEC), by entering into a deferred prosecution agree-
ment with the DOJ and a consent order with the SEC. As 
part of these settlement agreements, we agreed to pay 
CHF 917 million (USD 780 million). This had no impact on 
our 2009 results as the cost for the settlement had been 
fully charged in 2008. Subsequently, on 19 August 2009, 
we  also  announced  the  formal  signing  of  a  settlement 
agreement with the IRS and the DOJ to resolve the “John 
Doe”  summons  litigation.  The  agreement  does  not  call 
for any payment by us. Moreover, it resolves all issues re-
lating to the alleged breaches of our Qualified Intermedi-
ary Agreement with the IRS as set forth in the Notice of 
Default dated 15 May 2008.
➔	Refer to “Note 21 Provisions and litigation” In the 

“Financial Information” section of this report for the 

principal terms of this settlement agreement and the 

related agreement entered into at the same time by  

the governments of Switzerland and the US

–  On 15 April 2009, we announced cost-saving measures 
to  be  executed  throughout  2009.  We  consolidated  all 
Group-wide  infrastructure  and  service  operations  in  the 
Corporate Center and centralized our finance, risk con-
trol, and legal and compliance functions. In addition, we 
reduced  the  number  of  employees  to  65,233  as  of  31 
December 2009 from approximately 76,200 as of the end 
of March 2009. The total restructuring charge incurred in 
2009 was CHF 791 million, including CHF 491 million in 
Personnel expenses, mainly for severance payments, CHF 
256 million in General and administrative expenses, pri-
marily for real-estate-related costs, and CHF 45 million of 
depreciation  and  impairment  losses  on  property  and 
equipment.

–  On 20 April 2009, we announced the agreement to sell 
our  Brazilian  financial  services  business,  UBS  Pactual,  to 
BTG Investments, LP. The transaction was completed on 
18 September 2009. The consideration included a combi-
nation of a cash payment and a transfer of liabilities to 
BTG  Investments.  The  cash  consideration  amounted  to 
USD 620 million, of which USD 420 million was paid at 
closing, and USD 200 million plus accrued interest will be 
paid  12  months  after  the  closing.  The  liabilities  trans-
ferred to BTG Investments consisted primarily of the pres-
ent value of the residual payment obligation of USD 1.6 
billion  owed  to  former  Pactual  partners,  which  was  in-
curred when we acquired Pactual in 2006 and was due in 
2011. In 2009, the overall impact of the transaction on 
our profit before tax was a net charge of CHF 1,403 mil-
lion,  including  a  goodwill  impairment  charge  of  CHF 
1,123 million, a CHF 498 million pre-tax loss on the com-
pletion of the sale, and was partly offset by UBS Pactual’s 
pre-tax operational profits in 2009 of CHF 218 million. In 
addition, a deferred tax benefit of CHF 243 million was 
recognized.

–  On 25 June 2009, we placed 293,258,050 newly issued 
shares  from  authorized  capital  with  a  small  number  of 
large  institutional  investors  at  a  price  of  CHF  13.00  per 
share.  After  deducting  costs  associated  with  the  place-
ment, the amount of new equity capital raised was ap-
proximately CHF 3.8 billion.

–  On 19 August 2009, the Swiss Confederation announced 
the conversion of its CHF 6 billion mandatory convertible 
notes (MCNs). Upon conversion on 25 August 2009, we 
issued 332,225,913 new shares with a nominal value of 
CHF 0.10 each from existing conditional capital. The lia-
bility and the negative replacement value recorded on the 
balance sheet for the principal amount and the embed-
ded derivative component of the MCNs were reclassified 
to  equity.  The  conversion  of  the  MCNs  resulted  in  an 
overall increase in equity of CHF 6,718 million for 2009. 
Prior to the conversion of the MCNs, the embedded de-
rivative component was re-measured to fair value result-
ing in a gain of CHF 341 million for 2009. In addition, the 
Swiss  Confederation  waived  its  right  to  receive  future 
coupon  payments  on  the  converted  MCNs  for  a  cash 
amount of approximately CHF 1.8 billion. The impact on 
our income statement resulting from this waiver was not 
material, but the payment reduced our BIS tier 1 capital 
by CHF 1.4 billion.

Seasonal characteristics

Our main businesses do not generally show significant sea-
sonal  patterns,  although  the  Investment  Bank’s  revenues 
have been affected in some years by the seasonal character-
istics  of  general  financial  market  activity  and  deal  flows  in 
investment banking. Other business divisions are only slightly 
impacted by seasonal components, such as asset withdraw-
als that tend to occur in the fourth quarter and by lower cli-
ent activity levels related to the end-of-year holiday season.

Performance measures

Key performance indicators
In the beginning of 2009, we implemented a new KPI frame-
work.  It  focuses  on  key  drivers  of  total  shareholder  return 
(TSR), which measures the total return of a UBS share, i.e. 
both the dividend yield and the capital appreciation of the 
share  price.  This  performance  measure  also  represents  the 
ultimate measure of performance for shareholders. 

Complementary to the TSR, the economic profit (EP) is an 
internal measure which is calculated broadly by subtracting 
the cost of equity from the annual net profit attributable to 
shareholders. EP is only realized when the return on equity 
achieved is greater than our cost of equity. In order to offset 
accounting entries which distort the economic perspective, 
the  EP  calculation  is  adjusted  for  items  that  do  not  reflect 
business performance.

32

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Group / business division key performance indicators

Key performance indicators

Definition

Net profit growth (%)

Pre-tax profit growth (%)

Cost / income ratio (%)

Return on equity (%)

Return on attributed equity (%)

Return on assets, gross (%)

Change in net profit attributable to UBS shareholders from continuing operations 
between current and comparison periods / net profit attributable to  
UBS shareholders from continuing operations of comparison period

Change in business division performance before tax between current and comparison 
periods / business division performance before tax of comparison period

Operating expenses / operating income before credit loss (expense) or recovery

Net profit attributable to UBS shareholders on a year-to-date basis (annualized as 
applicable) / average equity attributable to UBS shareholders (year-to-date basis)

Business division performance before tax on a year-to-date basis (annualized as 
applicable) / average attributed equity (year-to-date basis)

Operating income before credit loss (expense) or recovery on a year-to-date basis 
(annualized as applicable) / average total assets (year-to-date basis)

Return on risk-weighted assets, 
gross (%)

Operating income before credit loss (expense) or recovery on a year-to-date basis 
(annualized as applicable) / average risk-weighted assets (year-to-date basis)

FINMA leverage ratio (%)

BIS tier 1 capital / average adjusted assets as per definition by FINMA

BIS tier 1 ratio (%)

BIS tier 1 capital / BIS risk-weighted assets

Net new money (CHF billion)

Inflow of invested assets from new and existing clients less outflows from existing 
clients or due to client defection

Gross margin on invested  
assets (bps)

Operating income before credit loss (expense) or recovery (annualized as 
 applicable) / average invested assets

Impaired lending portfolio as a % 
of total lending portfolio, gross

Average management VaR  
(1-day, 95% confidence, five  
years of historical data)

Impaired lending portfolio, gross / total lending portfolio, gross

Value-at-Risk (VaR) expresses maximum potential loss measured to a 95% confidence 
level, over a 1-day time horizon and based on five years of historical data

1 For international clients only.    2 For Swiss clients only.

p
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X

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X

X

X

X

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X1

X2

X

X

X

X

X

The  Group  and  business  divisions  are  now  managed 
based  on  this  new  KPI  framework,  which  emphasizes  risk 
awareness, effective risk and capital management, sustain-
able profitability, and client focus. Both Group and business 
division KPIs are used to determine variable compensation of 
executives and personnel. 

➔	Refer to the discussion of “Compensation and sharehold-
ings” in the “Corporate governance and compensation” 

section of this report for more information

The  Group  and  business  division  KPIs  are  explained  in 
the “Group and business division key performance indi cators” 
table. In 2009, we disclosed for the first time the  management 

VaR (1-day, 95% confidence, and five years of historical data) 
for the Group and the Investment Bank. This new manage-
ment  VaR  methodology  is  an  enhancement  compared  with 
the previous management VaR (10-day, 99% confidence, and 
five years of historical data) as we consider that it reflects the 
way that trading risks are viewed and managed by the busi-
ness, and can be more directly compared with mark to market 
revenues.  All  changes  to  this  new  management  VaR  have 
been approved by FINMA. The previously reported KPI regula-
tory VaR (10-day, 99% confidence, and five years of historical 
data)  for  the  Investment  Bank  was  replaced  by  the  new 
 management VaR as of fourth quarter 2009.

33

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Strategy, performance and responsibility
Financial performance

Client / invested assets reporting

We report two distinct metrics for client funds:
–  The measure “client assets” encompasses all client assets 
managed by or deposited with us, including custody-only 
assets and assets held for purely transactional purposes.
–  The measure “invested assets” is a more restrictive term 
and  includes  all  client  assets  managed  by  or  deposited 
with us for investment purposes.
Of  the  two,  invested  assets  is  our  central  measure  and 
includes,  for  example,  discretionary  and  advisory  wealth 
management portfolios, managed institutional assets, man-
aged fund assets and wealth management securities or bro-
kerage accounts. It excludes all assets held for purely trans-
actional  and  custody-only  purposes,  as  we  only  administer 
the  assets  and  do  not  offer  advice  on  how  these  assets 
should  be  invested.  Non-bankable  assets  (for  example,  art 
collections) and deposits from third-party banks for funding 
or trading purposes are excluded from both measures.

Net new money in a reported period is the net amount 
of invested assets that are entrusted to us by new and ex-
isting clients, less those withdrawn by existing clients and 
clients who terminated their relationship with us. Negative 
net new money means that there are more outflows than 

inflows. Interest and dividend income from invested assets 
is not counted as net new money inflow. Market and cur-
rency movements, as well as fees, commissions and inter-
est on loans charged, are excluded from net new money as 
are the effects of any acquisition or divestment of a UBS 
subsidiary or business. Reclassifications between invested 
assets and client assets as a result of a change in the ser-
vice level delivered are treated as net new money inflows 
or outflows.

When products are managed in one business division and 
sold  by  another,  they  are  counted  in  both  the  investment 
management  unit  and  the  distribution  unit.  This  results  in 
double  counting  within  our  total  invested  assets,  as  both 
units provide an independent service to their respective cli-
ent, add value and generate revenues. Most double count-
ing arises when mutual funds are managed by Global Asset 
Management  and  sold  by  Wealth  Management  &  Swiss 
Bank and Wealth Management Americas. The business di-
visions  involved  count  these  funds  as  invested  assets.  This 
approach is in line with both finance industry practices and 
our open architecture strategy, and allows us to accurately 
reflect the performance of each individual business. Overall, 
CHF 254 billion of invested assets were double counted in 
2009 (CHF 273 billion in 2008).

34

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Accounting and reporting structure changes

IAS 1 (revised) Presentation of Financial Statements 

Effective 1 January 2009, the revised International Account-
ing  Standard  (IAS)  1  affected  the  presentation  of  owner 
changes in equity and of comprehensive income. We contin-
ued to present owner changes in equity in the “statement of 
changes in equity”, but detailed information relating to non-
owner  changes  in  equity,  such  as  foreign  exchange  trans-
lation, cash flow hedges and financial investments available-
for-sale,  is  presented  in  the  “Statement  of  comprehensive 
income”. 

When implementing these amendments, we also adjust-
ed the format of our “statement of changes in equity” and 
replaced the “statement of recognized income and expense” 
in the financial statements of previous years with a “state-
ment of comprehensive income”. Preferred securities issued 
by consolidated trusts are reported as “equity attributable to 
minority  interests”,  as  they  are  equity  instruments  held  by 
third parties. As these securities make up the largest part of 
our  equity  attributable  to  minority  interests,  we  disclose 
movement information in a separate table.

We  also  re-assessed  our  accounting  treatment  of  divi-
dends  from  trust  preferred  securities.  In  2009,  in  line  with 
the classification of trust preferred securities as equity instru-
ments, we recognize liabilities for the full dividend payment 
obligation once a coupon payment becomes mandatory, i.e. 
when it is triggered by a contractually determined event. In 
the income statement, the same amount is reclassified from 
net profit attributable to UBS shareholders to net profit at-
tributable to minority interests.

IFRS 8 Operating Segments 

Effective as of 1 January 2009, we adopted IFRS 8 Operating 
Segments which replaced IAS 14 Segment Reporting. Under 
the requirements of the new standard, our external segment 
reporting is now based on the internal management report-
ing  to  the  GEB  (or  the  “chief  operating  decision  maker”), 
which  makes  decisions  on  the  allocation  of  resources  and 
assesses the performance of the reportable segments.

In accordance with the new structure announced in Feb-
ruary  2009,  we  disclosed  four  reportable  segments.  These 

Accounting changes in 2010 and later

The International Accounting Stan-
dards Board (IASB) has initiated a 
comprehensive project to replace IAS 
39 Financial instruments: recognition 
and measurement. The first phase of 
this project has been completed by 
issuing IFRS 9 Financial Instruments. 
Phase two and three address the 
classification and measurement of 
financial liabilities, impairment of 
financial assets at amortized cost, 
hedge accounting and derecognition 
of financial instruments. The IASB 
plans to complete phase two and 
three during 2010, although manda-
tory application is not expected before 
1 January 2013.

In November 2009, the IASB issued 
IFRS 9 Financial instruments, which 
includes revised guidance on the 
classification and measurement of 

financial assets. Under the revised 
guidance, a financial asset is to be 
accounted for at amortized cost only 
if it is held within a business model 
whose objective is to hold assets in 
order to collect contractual cash flows, 
and the contractual terms of the 
financial asset give rise on specified 
dates to contractual cash flows that 
are solely payments of principal and 
interest on the principal amount 
outstanding. 

Non-traded equity instruments may be 
accounted for at fair value through 
equity, but the subsequent release of 
amounts booked directly to equity into 
the income statement is no longer 
permitted. All other financial assets 
are measured at fair value through 
profit or loss. We are currently 
assessing the impact of the new 

standard on our financial statements. 
It is likely that a number of financial 
assets currently accounted for at 
amortized cost will be accounted for 
at fair value through profit or loss 
under the new standard because a) 
their contractual cash flows do not 
comprise solely payments of principal 
and interest on the principal, and / or 
b) we do not hold the assets with the 
intention to collect contractual cash 
flows they generate. Certain debt 
securities currently classified as 
available-for-sale may satisfy the 
criteria for “amortized cost” account-
ing; debt securities available-for-sale 
failing these criteria will be accounted 
for at fair value. The effective date for 
mandatory adoption is 1 January 
2013, with early adoption permitted. 
We did not adopt IFRS 9 for the year 
ended 31 December 2009.

35

 
 
 
Strategy, performance and responsibility
Financial performance

segments are the business divisions – Wealth Management 
& Swiss Bank, Wealth Management Americas, Global Asset 
Management and the Investment Bank. While the Corporate 
Center does not meet the requirements of an operating seg-
ment, it is also shown separately. Segment information from 
prior periods has been restated to conform to the require-
ments of the new standard. 

As  our  reportable  segment  operations  are  mainly  fi-
nancial,  the  total  interest  income  and  expense  for  all  re-
portable segments is presented on a net basis. Based on the 
present  arrangement  of  revenue-sharing  agreements,  our 
total  in tersegment  revenues  are  immaterial.  Apart  from 
that,  the  segment  assets  are  disclosed  without  the  inter-
company  balances  in  line  with  the  internal  management 
reporting.

➔	Refer to “Note 1 Summary of significant accounting 

policies” and “Note 2a Segment reporting” in the “Financial 

information” section of this report for more details on the 

basis on which the segment information is prepared and 

Allocation of Shared Services Costs in 
Segment   Disclosures

From  2009  onwards,  Information  Technology  Infrastructure 
and Group Offshoring costs managed by the Corporate Cen-
ter are allocated to the direct cost lines personnel expenses, 
general and administrative expenses and depreciation in the 
respective business division income statements, based on ap-
propriate internally determined allocation keys. In the Corpo-
rate  Center  income  statement,  costs  allocated  to  the  busi-
ness divisions are deducted from the respective cost lines. In 
previous reports, these costs were presented as an expense 
on the line Services (to) / from other business divisions within 
each  business  division  and  an  offsetting  corresponding 
amount on that line in the Corporate Center. The new pre-
sentation format provides greater transparency by allocating 
costs  of  shared  services  and  control  functions  managed  by 
the Corporate Center to direct cost lines in divisional income 
statements. Comparative periods have been adjusted. 

reconciled to the amounts presented in our income 

➔	Refer to “Note 1a33 Segment reporting” in the “Financial 

statement and balance sheet

information” section of this report for more information on 

our general principles for allocating shared service and 

control function costs managed by the Corporate Center

➔	Refer to “Note 1b Changes in accounting policies, 

comparability and other adjustments” in the “Financial 

information” section of this report for changes to segment 

disclosures due to a different presentation of ITI and Group 

offshore cost allocations

Changes to the reporting structure in 2010

Wealth Management & Swiss Bank
Commencing first quarter 2010, we 
will amend our internal reporting  
of Wealth Management & Swiss 
Bank and present in our external 
financial reports two separate 
business units: 
–  “Wealth Management” will 

encompass the domestic and 
international wealth management 
business conducted in  Switzerland, 
and all wealth manage ment 
businesses of our other booking 
centers in Asia and Europe. 

–  “Retail & Corporate” will include 
services provided to Swiss retail 
private clients, small businesses, as 
well as corporate and institutional 
clients.

Corporate Center
In 2009, we integrated our Group-
wide shared service and control 
functions into the Corporate Center. 
Headcount and costs of the cen- 
tralized functions are re-allocated  
to the business divisions for which 
the respective services are performed.

Accordingly we will change the 
quarterly disclosure commencing first 
quarter 2010 as follows:
–  We will continue to provide 
Corporate Center income  
statement data and additional 
information on www.ubs.com/
investors.

–  Significant items and treasury-relat-
ed income data will be explained in 
the “Group results” section in our 
quarterly reports, which will no 
longer include a specific “Corpo-
rate Center” section.

36

UBS results

Income statement

CHF million

Continuing operations

Interest income

Interest expense

Net interest income

Credit loss (expense) / recovery

Net interest income after credit loss expense

Net fee and commission income

Net trading income

Other income

Total operating income

Personnel expenses

General and administrative expenses

Depreciation of property and equipment

Impairment of goodwill

Amortization of intangible assets

Total operating expenses

Operating profit from continuing operations before tax

Tax expense

Net profit from continuing operations

Discontinued operations

Profit from discontinued operations before tax

Tax expense

Net profit from discontinued operations

Net profit

Net profit attributable to minority interests

from continuing operations

from discontinued operations

Net profit attributable to UBS shareholders

from continuing operations

from discontinued operations

Performance by business division

Wealth Management & Swiss Bank

Wealth Management Americas

Global Asset Management

Investment Bank

Corporate Center

Operating profit from continuing operations before tax

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For the year ended

% change from

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.08

23,461

(17,016)

6,446

(1,832)

4,614

17,712

(324)

599

22,601

16,543

6,248

1,048

1,123

200

25,162

(2,561)

(443)

(2,118)

(7)

0

(7)

65,679

(59,687)

5,992

(2,996)

2,996

22,929

(25,820)

692

796

16,262

10,498

1,241

341

213

28,555

(27,758)

(6,837)

(20,922)

198

1

198

109,112

(103,775)

5,337

(238)

5,099

30,634

(8,353)

4,341

31,721

25,515

8,429

1,243

0

276

35,463

(3,742)

1,369

(5,111)

145

(258)

403

(2,125)

(20,724)

(4,708)

610

600

10

(2,736)

(2,719)

(17)

3,910

32

438

(6,081)

(860)

(2,561)

568

520

48

(21,292)

(21,442)

150

6,013

(823)

1,333

(34,300)

19

(27,758)

539

539

0

(5,247)

(5,650)

403

8,543

621

1,454

(16,669)

2,310

(3,742)

(64)

(71)

8

(39)

54

(23)

99

(13)

2

(40)

(16)

229

(6)

(12)

91

94

90

(100)

90

7

15

(79)

87

87

(35)

(67)

82

91

37

 
 
 
Strategy, performance and responsibility
Financial performance

2009

Results

In 2009, we reported a Group net loss attributable to share-
holders  (“attributable  loss”)  of  CHF  2,736  million  –  a  loss 
before tax of CHF 2,561 million from continuing operations 
and a loss before tax of CHF 7 million from discontinued op-
erations. In 2008, we recorded an attributable loss of CHF 
21,292 million.

Operating income

Total operating income was CHF 22,601 million in 2009, up 
from CHF 796 million in 2008. Net interest income at CHF 
6,446 million was up 8% compared with CHF 5,992 million 
a year earlier. Net trading income was negative CHF 324 mil-
lion compared with negative CHF 25,820 million in 2008.

Net interest income includes income earned as a result of 
trading activities (for example, coupon and dividend income) 
as well as income from interest margin-based activities (loans 
and deposits). The dividend income component of interest 
income is volatile from period to period, depending on the 
composition  of  the  trading  portfolio.  In  order  to  provide  a 
better explanation of the movements in net interest income 
and net trading income, their total is analyzed below under 
the relevant business activities.

In  2009,  we  reviewed  our  approach  to  calculating  and 
booking  own  credit  of  derivative  liabilities  and  financial 
 liabilities designated at fair value. As of the transition date 
1 January 2009, changes resulting from this review increased 
our 2009 net trading income by CHF 143 million, made up 
of a CHF 365 million credit to Net income from trading busi-

nesses and a charge of CHF 222 million to Net income from 
treasury activities and other.

Net income from trading businesses
Net  income  from  trading  businesses,  including  lending  ac-
tivities of the Investment Bank, was positive CHF 382 million 
for full-year 2009. This compares with negative CHF 27,203 
million in the prior year, with the improvement mainly due to 
lower  losses  on  residual  risk  positions  in  the  fixed  income, 
currencies  and  commodities  (FICC)  area  of  the  Investment 
Bank in 2009.

Trading revenues from the FICC business improved from 
the previous year, due to lower losses on residual risk posi-
tions as mentioned above.

Equities trading revenues (excluding own credit) improved 
from the previous year. Equity-linked revenues increased sig-
nificantly as all regions benefitted from improvements in val-
uations and liquidity. Proprietary trading revenues improved 
with a strong performance recorded across all geographical 
regions.

In  2009,  the  Investment  Bank  recorded  a  loss  on  own 
credit from financial liabilities designated at fair value of CHF 
2,023 million as our credit spread narrowed in 2009 com-
pared with a gain of CHF 2,032 million in 2008. This change 
was  partially  impacted  by  the  abovementioned  change  in 
calculating and booking of own credit. The cumulative own 
credit gain on existing financial liabilities designated at fair 
value still held as of 31 December 2009, amounted to ap-
proximately  CHF  0.9  billion.  Own  credit  charges  in  future 
periods can exceed the cumulative own credit gain on exist-
ing financial liabilities designated at fair value.

➔	Refer to “Note 27 Fair value of financial instruments” in the 

“Financial information” section of this report for more 

information on own credit

Net interest and trading income

CHF million

Net interest income

Net trading income

Total net interest and trading income

Breakdown by businesses
Net income from trading businesses 1
Net income from interest margin businesses

Net income from treasury activities and other

Total net interest and trading income

1 Includes lending activities of the Investment Bank.

38

For the year ended

% change from

31.12.09

6,446

(324)

6,122

382

5,053

687

6,122

31.12.08

5,992

(25,820)

(19,828)

(27,203)

6,160

1,214

(19,828)

31.12.07

31.12.08

5,337

(8,353)

(3,016)

(10,658)

6,230

1,412

(3,016)

8

99

(18)

(43)

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Net income from interest margin businesses
Net income from interest margin businesses decreased 18% to 
CHF 5,053 million from CHF 6,160 million. This decrease was 
primarily attributable to lower margins on loans and liabilities.

➔	Refer to the “Risk management and control” section of this 

report for more information on our risk management 

approach, method of credit risk measurement and the 

development of credit risk exposures

Net income from treasury activities and other
Net income from treasury activities and other was CHF 687 
million compared with CHF 1,214 million driven by a net gain 
of CHF 297 million (including interest expenses) on the valu-
ation of the MCNs issued in December 2008 and converted 
in August 2009 and a gain of CHF 117 million on the revalu-
ation of our option to acquire the SNB StabFund’s  equity. In 
comparison, 2008 included an accounting gain of CHF 3,860 
million related to the MCNs issued in March 2008, which was 
offset by the CHF 3.4 billion negative impact of the transac-
tion with the Swiss National Bank and the abovementioned 
MCNs issued in  December 2008, resulting in a total gain of 
CHF 0.4 billion.

Credit loss expenses
In  2009,  we  experienced  net  credit  loss  expenses  of  CHF 
1,832 million, of which CHF 425 million were due to impair-
ment  charges  taken  on  reclassified  securities  in  the  Invest-
ment Bank. In comparison, we recorded net credit loss ex-
penses of CHF 2,996 million in 2008.

The  Investment  Bank  recorded  net  credit  loss  expenses  of 
CHF 1,698 million for 2009, compared with net credit loss ex-
penses of CHF 2,575 million in 2008. Excluding the credit loss 
expenses from reclassified securities of CHF 425 million, the net 
credit loss expenses amounted to CHF 1,273 million in 2009.

Wealth Management & Swiss Bank reported net credit loss 
expenses of CHF 133 million for 2009, compared with CHF 
392 million in 2008. Releases of allowances against lombard 
loans in 2009 contributed to this positive development.

Net fee and commission income
Net  fee  and  commission  income  was  CHF  17,712  million, 
down 23% from CHF 22,929 million. Income declined in all 
major  fee  categories  except  for  underwriting  fees,  as  out-
lined below:
–  Underwriting fees increased 22% to CHF 2,386 million, 
driven by a 40% increase in equity underwriting fees off-
set by a 3% decrease in debt underwriting fees.

–  Mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance fees fell 
47% to CHF 881 million due to reduced market activity 
as deal appetite remained subdued.

–  Net brokerage fees fell 31% to CHF 4,469 million mainly 

due to a reduction in equity trading volumes.

–  Investment fund fees fell 28% to CHF 4,000 million as a 
result of lower asset based fees on both own and third-
party funds.

–  Portfolio management and advisory fees fell 24% to CHF 
5,863 million, mainly due to the decreased average asset 
base, especially in the wealth management businesses.
–  Insurance-related  and  other  fees,  at  CHF  264  million  in 
2009,  decreased  by  17%  from  a  year  earlier.  That  was 
mainly due to lower commission income from insurance 
products.

–  Commission income from other services decreased 13% 
to  CHF  878  million,  mainly  in  the  wealth  management 
businesses.

–  Other  commission  expense  fell  31%  to  CHF  1,368  mil-
lion, mainly due to lower commissions paid to distribution 
partners.

Credit loss (expense) / recovery

CHF million

Wealth Management & Swiss Bank

Wealth Management Americas
Investment Bank 1

of which: related to reclassified securities

Corporate Center

UBS

1 Includes credit loss expense of CHF 588 million (31.12.08: CHF 1,205 million) related to reclassified leveraged finance positions.

For the year ended

% change from

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.08

(133)

3

(1,698)

(425)

(5)

(1,832)

(392)

(29)

(2,575)

(125)

30

(2)

(266)

(2,996)

(238)

(66)

(34)

240

(39)

39

 
 
 
Strategy, performance and responsibility
Financial performance

Net fee and commission income

CHF million

Equity underwriting fees

Debt underwriting fees

Total underwriting fees

M&A and corporate finance fees
Brokerage fees 1
Investment fund fees
Portfolio management and advisory fees 2
Insurance-related and other fees

Total securities trading and investment activity fees

Credit-related fees and commissions

Commission income from other services

Total fee and commission income
Brokerage fees paid 1
Other

Total fee and commission expense

Net fee and commission income

of which: net brokerage fees

For the year ended

% change from

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.08

1,590

796

2,386

881

6,217

4,000

5,863

264

19,611

339

878

20,827

1,748

1,368

3,116

17,712

4,469

1,138

818

1,957

1,662

8,209

5,583

7,667

317

25,394

273

1,010

26,677

1,763

1,984

3,748

22,929

6,445

2,564

1,178

3,742

2,768

10,211

7,422

9,454

423

34,020

279

1,017

35,316

2,540

2,142

4,682

30,634

7,671

40

(3)

22

(47)

(24)

(28)

(24)

(17)

(23)

24

(13)

(22)

(1)

(31)

(17)

(23)

(31)

1 In 2009, we restated the amounts presented in previous periods on the lines Brokerage fees and Brokerage fees paid. Amounts previously disclosed for both lines have decreased by CHF 146 million 
for the year ended 31 December 2008, and by CHF 70 million for the year ended 31 December 2007. Net fee and commission income is not affected.    2 Includes fiduciary and custodian fees, which 
were presented as separate lines in previous reports.

Other income
Other income was CHF 599 million in 2009 compared with 
CHF 692 million in the previous year. 2009 includes a loss of
CHF 498 million related to the sale of UBS Pactual, foreign 
exchange gains of CHF 430 million on other divestments of 
subsidiaries,  a  gain  of  CHF  304  million  on  the  buyback  of 
subordinated debt and impairment charges of financial in-
vestments available-for-sale of CHF 349 million. 

nized in the income statement in 2010 and later, subject to 
the  vesting  conditions  of  the  respective  awards  granted.  It 
includes  a  charge  for  performance  (and  retention)  awards 
that  are  to  be  granted,  or  are  expected  to  be  granted,  in 
2010 in relation to the 2009 performance year but which, as 
of the balance sheet date, had in fact not been granted. The 
2009 results do not include a provision for bank payroll tax 
in the UK.

➔	Refer to “Note 5 Other income” in the “Financial informa-

➔	Refer to “Note 31 Equity participation and other compen-

tion” section of this report for more information 

sation plans” in the “Financial information” section of this 

Operating expenses

Total  operating  expenses  were  down  12%  to  CHF  25,162 
million in 2009 from CHF 28,555 million in 2008.

Total  restructuring  charges  of  CHF  791  million  were  in-
curred in 2009, including CHF 491 million in Personnel ex-
penses,  mainly  for  severance  payments,  CHF  256  million 
in  General  and  administrative  expenses,  primarily  for  real- 
estate related costs, and CHF 45 million of depreciation and 
impairment losses on property and equipment.

Personnel expenses
Personnel expenses were CHF 16,543 million compared with 
CHF 16,262 million in the previous year. Headcount reduc-
tions were partially offset by salary increases. Variable com-
pensation recognized in the income statement in 2009 was 
CHF 3.0 billion. Variable compensation of CHF 3.2 billion for 
2009  and  brought  forward  from  prior  years  will  be  recog-

report for more information about deferred compensation 

related to non-vested awards granted up to and including 

31 December 2009

Contractors’ expenses, at CHF 275 million, were down 
35% from 2008. This was due to substantial reduction of 
employed  contractors  and  a  favorable  foreign  exchange 
impact.  Insurance  and  social  security  contributions  in-
creased 21% to CHF 851 million in 2009, due to our equity 
compensation  plan.  Contributions  to  retirement  benefit 
plans increased CHF 15 million to CHF 941 million, other 
personnel  expenses  decreased  16%,  mainly  due  to  head-
count reduction and lower training, recruitment and travel-
ling costs.

General and administrative expenses
General and administrative expenses declined 40% to CHF 
6,248 million. All general and administrative expense cate-
gories decreased in 2009 primarily as a result of the cost re-
duction programs. Further, 2008 included provision for auc-

40

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tion  rate  securities  of  CHF  1,464  million  and  provisions  in 
relation  to  the  US  cross-border  case  of  CHF  917  million. 
Largest reductions in absolute terms were in travel and en-
tertainment, and professional fees.

➔	Refer to “Note 21 Provisions and litigation” in the 

“Financial information” section of this report for more 

information about provisions

ing the US (CHF 373 million) and Japan (CHF 127 million), 
taking  into  account  updated  forecast  profit  assumptions 
over the five-year horizon used for  recognition purposes. In 
addition, it reflects the release of a deferred tax liability of 
CHF 243 million relating to UBS Pactual prior to its sale dur-
ing the year. This deferred tax benefit is partially offset by a 
current tax charge of CHF 517 million which mainly relates 
to entities with taxable profits.

Depreciation, amortization and impairment of goodwill
Depreciation of property and equipment declined CHF 16% 
to CHF 1,048 million. Amortization of intangible assets was 
CHF 200 million compared with CHF 213 million in 2008.

During 2008, we recognized a net income tax benefit in 
our  income  statement  of  CHF  6,837  million,  which  mainly 
reflected  a  CHF  6,126  million  impact  from  the  increase  in 
deferred tax assets on tax losses.

A goodwill impairment charge of CHF 1,123 million was 
recorded in 2009, relating to the sale of UBS Pactual. In 2008 
a  goodwill  impairment  charge  of  CHF  341  million  was  re-
corded relating to the Investment Bank’s exit from the mu-
nicipal securities business.

Income tax

We recognized a net income tax benefit in our income state-
ment of CHF 443 million for full-year 2009. This includes a 
deferred tax benefit of CHF 960 million, which reflects the 
recognition of additional deferred tax assets in respect of tax 
losses and temporary differences in certain locations, includ-

Invested assets

Total invested assets stood at CHF 2,233 billion on 31 De-
cember 2009, an increase of 3% from CHF 2,174 billion on 
31  December  2008.  Positive  market  developments  were 
nearly offset by net new money outflows, reduction of in-
vested assets related to divestments and negative currency 
translation effects. On 31 December 2009, CHF 960 billion 
of invested assets were attributable to Wealth Management 
& Swiss Bank, CHF 690 billion were attributable to Wealth 
Management  Americas  and  CHF  583  billion  were  attribut-
able to Global Asset Management.

Invested assets

CHF billion

Swiss clients

International clients

Wealth Management & Swiss Bank

Wealth Management Americas

Institutional

Wholesale intermediary

Global Asset Management

UBS

31.12.09

As of

31.12.08

% change from

31.12.07

31.12.08

337

624

960

690

346

237

583

325

631

955

644

335

240

575

2,233

2,174

455

937

1,392

906

522

369

891

3,189

4

(1)

1

7

3

(1)

1

3

41

 
 
 
Strategy, performance and responsibility
Financial performance

2008

Results

In 2008, we reported a Group net loss attributable to the 
shareholders (“attributable loss”) of CHF 21,292 million – 
a  loss  of  CHF  21,442  million  from  continuing  operations 
and a profit of CHF 150 million from discontinued opera-
tions.  In  2007,  we  recorded  an  attributable  loss  of  CHF 
5,247 million.

Operating income

Total operating income was CHF 796 million in 2008, down 
from  CHF  31,721  million  in  2007.  Net  interest  income  at 
CHF 5,992 million was up 12% compared with CHF 5,337 
million a year earlier. Net trading income was negative CHF 
25,820 million, sharply down from negative CHF 8,353 mil-
lion in 2007.

Net income from trading businesses
Net  income  from  trading  businesses  dropped  to  negative 
CHF 27,203 million for full-year 2008. This compares with 
negative CHF 10,658 million in the prior year, with the de-
cline mainly due to losses on disclosed risk concentrations in 
the FICC area of the Investment Bank.

Within FICC, trading losses were experienced in difficult 
markets marked by a significant increase in volatility and an 
extreme scarcity of liquidity, which negatively affected many 
trades  and  positions.  Real  estate  and  securitization,  and 
credit and proprietary strategies all had a significant negative 
impact  on  FICC  trading  revenues.  These  losses  obscured 
good  results  in  select  areas,  notably  foreign  exchange  and 
money markets, which had a strong year with revenues up 
from 2007. Rates had positive revenues but were down from 
the prior year.

Trading revenues from equities were down from the pre-
vious year, mainly as a result of lower revenues in derivatives, 
especially in Europe and Asia. The Equity-linked business saw 
negative revenues in difficult equity and credit markets. The 
exchange-traded derivatives business was up as it benefited 
from significant volatility in the market. Prime brokerage ser-
vices had a solid performance but revenues were down over-
all from 2007 as clients deleveraged their positions. Proprie-
tary trading contributed a limited loss for the year.

In  2008,  the  Investment  Bank  recorded  a  gain  on  own 
credit from financial liabilities designated at fair value of CHF 
2,032  million,  resulting  from  the  widening  of  our  credit 
spread,  which  was  partly  offset  by  the  effects  of  redemp-
tions and repurchases of such liabilities.

➔	Refer to “Note 27 Fair value of financial instruments” in the 
“Financial Information” section of our 2008 annual report 

for more information

42

In 2007, the Investment Bank recorded a gain of CHF 659 

million on own credit.

Net income from interest margin businesses
Net income from interest margin businesses decreased 1% 
to CHF 6,160 million from CHF 6,230 million. This slight de-
crease was primarily due to lower income from mortgages.

Net income from treasury activities and other
Net income from treasury activities and other was CHF 1,214 
million  compared  with  CHF  1,412  million.  Gains  from  the 
accounting treatment of the MCNs issued in March and in 
December  2008  were  offset  by  negative  income  from  the 
transaction with the Swiss National Bank.

Credit loss expenses
A credit loss expense of CHF 2,996 million was recorded in 
full-year 2008, compared with a credit loss expense of CHF 
238 million in full-year 2007. The difference mainly reflects 
impairment charges taken on reclassified financial assets in 
fourth quarter 2008 and a further deterioration of the credit 
environment.

Net  credit  loss  expense  at  Wealth  Management  &  Swiss 
Bank amounted to CHF 392 million in 2008 compared with a 
net credit loss recovery of CHF 30 million in 2007. This result 
was mainly due to provisions made for lombard loans in 2008, 
particularly in the fourth quarter. The Investment Bank record-
ed  a  net  credit  loss  expense  of  CHF  2,575  million  in  2008, 
compared with a net credit loss expense of CHF 266 million in 
2007. This increase mainly reflects impairment charges taken 
on reclassified instruments in fourth quarter 2008, of which 
the majority related to leveraged finance commitments.

➔	Refer to the “Risk management and control” section of this 

report for more information on our risk management 

approach, method of credit risk measurement and the 

development of credit risk exposures

Net fee and commission income
Net  fee  and  commission  income  was  CHF  22,929  million, 
down 25% from CHF 30,634 million. Income declined in all 
major fee categories, as outlined below:
–  Underwriting fees fell 48% to CHF 1,957 million, driven 
by a 56% decline in equity underwriting fees and a 31% 
decline in debt underwriting fees.

–  Mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance fees fell 
40% to CHF 1,662 million, in an environment of reduced 
market activity and lower mandated deal volumes.

–  Net brokerage fees fell 16% to CHF 6,445 million, mainly 
due  to  lower  client  transaction  volumes  in  the  wealth 
management businesses and the Investment Bank’s cash 
equities and Asian equity derivatives business.

–  Investment fund fees fell 25% to CHF 5,583 million due 
to  lower  asset-based  fees  from  the  asset  management 
and wealth management businesses.

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–  Portfolio management and advisory fees fell 19% to CHF 
7,667 million mainly due to the lower asset base in the 
wealth  management  businesses  and  reduced  perfor-
mance fees in the asset management business.

–  Insurance-related  and  other  fees,  at  CHF  317  million  in 
2008, decreased by 25% from a year earlier mainly due 
to lower commission income from life insurance products 
at Wealth Management Americas.

Other income
Other income decreased to CHF 692 million from CHF 4,341 
million. The main driver was the sale of our 20.7% stake in 
Julius Baer during 2007, which gave rise to the recognition 
in  2007  of  a  CHF  1,950  million  pre-tax  gain,  attributed  to 
the Corporate Center. 2008 included a gain of CHF 168 mil-
lion from the sale of our stake in Adams Street Partners and 
a gain of CHF 360 million on the sale of our stake in Bank of 
China, partly offset by losses of CHF 192 million due to cur-
rency translation differences on partial disposals of an invest-
ment in a consolidated investment fund.

Operating expenses

Total  operating  expenses  were  down  19%  to  CHF  28,555 
million from CHF 35,463 million. The decline was mainly due 
to significantly reduced variable compensation, partly offset 
by  provisions  for  auction  rate  securities  and  the  provision 
made in connection with the US cross-border case.

Personnel expenses
Personnel expenses decreased 36% to CHF 16,262 million 
from CHF 25,515 million. This was primarily due to lower ac-
cruals  on  variable  compensation,  mainly  in  the  Investment 
Bank, as well as lower salary costs due to reduced personnel 
levels. Full-year results for 2007 included accruals for share-
based compensation for performance during the year. These 
were not reflected in full-year 2008 as they are being amor-
tized over the vesting period of these awards starting with 
2009.

Contractors’  expenses,  at  CHF  423  million,  were  down 
33% from 2007. This was due to a lower number of con-
tractors employed, mainly at the Investment Bank. Insurance 
and social security contributions declined 45% to CHF 706 
million  in  2008,  driven  by  reduced  variable  compensation. 

Contributions  to  retirement  benefit  plans  increased  CHF  4 
million  to  CHF  926  million  as  changes  in  contributions  to 
various plans largely offset each other. At CHF 2,000 million 
in  2008,  other  personnel  expenses  increased  2%,  mainly 
due to severance payments relating to the reduction in per-
sonnel levels.

General and administrative expenses
At CHF 10,498 million, general and administrative expenses 
increased  CHF  2,069  million  from  CHF  8,429  million.  This 
increase was mainly due to provisions of CHF 1,464 million 
related to auction rate securities, the provision of CHF 917 
million  made  in  connection  with  the  US  cross-border  case 
and restructuring charges. These offset cost reductions in all 
other categories during 2008. In absolute terms, the largest 
reductions  came  from  lower  travel  and  entertainment  ex-
penses, reduced costs from outsourcing of IT and other ser-
vices and lower marketing and public relations expenses.

Depreciation, amortization and impairment of goodwill
Depreciation of property and equipment declined CHF 2 mil-
lion to CHF 1,241 million. Amortization of intangible assets 
declined to CHF 213 million from CHF 276 million.

A  goodwill  impairment  charge  of  CHF  341  million  was 
recorded in 2008 relating to the Investment Bank’s exit from 
the municipal securities business. There was no goodwill im-
pairment charge for full-year 2007.

Income tax

We recognized an income tax benefit in the income state-
ment of CHF 6,837 million for 2008, which mainly reflects 
the CHF 6,126 million impact from the recognition of incre-
mental deferred tax assets on available tax losses.

The incremental deferred tax assets mainly relate to Swiss 
tax losses incurred during 2008, primarily due to the write-
down of investments in US subsidiaries, but was reduced by 
a decrease in the deferred tax assets recognized for US tax 
losses.

The Swiss tax losses can be utilized to offset taxable in-
come in Switzerland arising in the seven years following the 
year in which the losses are incurred.

We recognized a net income tax expense of CHF 1,369 

million for full-year 2007.

43

 
 
 
Strategy, performance and responsibility
Financial performance

Balance sheet

CHF million

Assets

Cash and balances with central banks

Due from banks

Cash collateral on securities borrowed

Reverse repurchase agreements

Trading portfolio assets

Trading portfolio assets pledged as collateral

Positive replacement values

Financial assets designated at fair value

Loans

Financial investments available-for-sale

Accrued income and prepaid expenses

Investments in associates

Property and equipment

Goodwill and intangible assets

Deferred tax assets

Other assets

Total assets

Liabilities

Due to banks

Cash collateral on securities lent

Repurchase agreements

Trading portfolio liabilities

Negative replacement values

Financial liabilities designated at fair value

Due to customers

Accrued expenses and deferred income

Debt issued

Other liabilities

Total liabilities

Equity

Share capital

Share premium

Net income recognized directly in equity, net of tax

Revaluation reserve from step acquisitions, net of tax

Retained earnings

Equity classified as obligation to purchase own shares

Treasury shares

Equity attributable to UBS shareholders

Equity attributable to minority interests

Total equity

Total liabilities and equity

44

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.08

% change from

20,899

46,574

63,507

116,689

188,037

44,221

421,694

10,223

306,828

81,757

5,816

870

6,212

11,008

8,868

7,336

32,744

64,451

122,897

224,648

271,838

40,216

854,100

12,882

340,308

5,248

6,141

892

6,706

12,935

8,880

9,931

1,340,538

2,014,815

65,166

7,995

64,175

47,469

409,943

112,653

410,475

8,689

131,352

33,986

125,628

14,063

102,561

62,431

851,864

101,546

465,741

10,196

197,254

42,998

1,291,905

1,974,282

356

34,786

(4,875)

38

11,751

(2)

(1,040)

41,013

7,620

48,633

293

25,250

(4,335)

38

14,487

(46)

(3,156)

32,531

8,002

40,533

1,340,538

2,014,815

(36)

(28)

(48)

(48)

(31)

10

(51)

(21)

(10)

(5)

(2)

(7)

(15)

0

(26)

(33)

(48)

(43)

(37)

(24)

(52)

11

(12)

(15)

(33)

(21)

(35)

22

38

(12)

0

(19)

96

67

26

(5)

20

(33)

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(cid:59)(cid:71)(cid:67)(cid:84)(cid:2)(cid:81)(cid:72)(cid:2)(cid:79)(cid:67)(cid:86)(cid:87)(cid:84)(cid:75)(cid:86)(cid:91)

(cid:20)(cid:20)(cid:18)(cid:18)

(cid:19)(cid:27)(cid:18)(cid:18)

(cid:19)(cid:24)(cid:18)(cid:18)

(cid:19)(cid:21)(cid:18)(cid:18)

(cid:19)(cid:18)(cid:18)(cid:18)

(cid:20)(cid:18)(cid:18)(cid:27)(cid:2)(cid:67)(cid:85)(cid:85)(cid:71)(cid:86)(cid:2)(cid:70)(cid:71)(cid:88)(cid:71)(cid:78)(cid:81)(cid:82)(cid:79)(cid:71)(cid:80)(cid:86)
(cid:37)(cid:42)(cid:40)(cid:2)(cid:68)(cid:75)(cid:78)(cid:78)(cid:75)(cid:81)(cid:80)

(cid:20)(cid:14)(cid:18)(cid:19)(cid:23)

(cid:10)(cid:24)(cid:24)(cid:11)

(cid:25)(cid:19)

(cid:10)(cid:19)(cid:24)(cid:25)(cid:11)

(cid:10)(cid:26)(cid:18)(cid:11)

(cid:19)(cid:14)(cid:21)(cid:22)(cid:19)

(cid:10)(cid:22)(cid:21)(cid:20)(cid:11)

(cid:20)(cid:14)(cid:20)(cid:18)(cid:18)

(cid:19)(cid:14)(cid:27)(cid:18)(cid:18)

(cid:19)(cid:14)(cid:24)(cid:18)(cid:18)

(cid:19)(cid:14)(cid:21)(cid:18)(cid:18)

(cid:19)(cid:14)(cid:18)(cid:18)(cid:18)

(cid:21)(cid:19)(cid:16)(cid:19)(cid:20)(cid:16)(cid:20)(cid:18)(cid:18)(cid:26)

(cid:46)(cid:71)(cid:80)(cid:70)(cid:75)(cid:80)(cid:73)

(cid:37)(cid:81)(cid:78)(cid:78)(cid:67)(cid:86)(cid:71)(cid:84)(cid:67)(cid:78)
(cid:86)(cid:84)(cid:67)(cid:70)(cid:75)(cid:80)(cid:73)

(cid:54)(cid:84)(cid:67)(cid:70)(cid:75)(cid:80)(cid:73)
(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:84)(cid:86)(cid:72)(cid:81)(cid:78)(cid:75)(cid:81)

(cid:40)(cid:75)(cid:80)(cid:16)(cid:2)(cid:43)(cid:80)(cid:88)(cid:16)(cid:2)(cid:67)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:17)
(cid:49)(cid:86)(cid:74)(cid:71)(cid:84)(cid:2)(cid:67)(cid:85)(cid:85)(cid:71)(cid:86)(cid:85)

(cid:21)(cid:19)(cid:16)(cid:19)(cid:20)(cid:16)(cid:20)(cid:18)(cid:18)(cid:27)

(cid:50)(cid:81)(cid:85)(cid:75)(cid:86)(cid:75)(cid:88)(cid:71)
(cid:84)(cid:71)(cid:82)(cid:78)(cid:67)(cid:69)(cid:71)(cid:79)(cid:71)(cid:80)(cid:86)
(cid:88)(cid:67)(cid:78)(cid:87)(cid:71)(cid:85)

31.12.09 vs. 31.12.08:
Our total assets stood at CHF 1,341 billion on 31 December 
2009, down CHF 674 billion (33%) from CHF 2,015 billion 
on 31 December 2008. These shifts were due to significant 
reductions in replacement values (RVs) on both sides of the 
balance  sheet,  as  market  movements  drove  down  positive 
replacement  values  by  CHF  432  billion  to  CHF  422  billion 
and negative replacement values by CHF 442 billion to CHF 
410 billion. Excluding positive replacement values, our total 
assets dropped CHF 242 billion in 2009. Collateral  trading 
assets  fell  by  CHF  167  billion  to  CHF  180  billion,  trading 
port folio assets fell by CHF 80 billion to CHF 232 billion, and 
lending assets fell by CHF 66 billion to CHF 385 billion. These 
declines were partly offset by an increase in financial invest-
ments  available-for-sale,  which  grew  by  CHF  77  billion  to 
CHF 82 billion. 

Currency effects for 2009 included a strengthening of the 
Swiss  franc  against  the  Japanese  yen,  US  dollar  and  euro 
while the Swiss franc weakened against UK sterling. These 
effects  deflated  the  balance  sheet,  excluding  positive  re-
placement values, by CHF 10 billion, implying an underlying 
assets reduction of effectively CHF 231 billion.

Excluding  positive  replacement  values,  the  Investment 
Bank  significantly  reduced  its  balance  sheet  assets  by  CHF 
258  billion  during  2009  to  CHF  992  billion.  Global  Asset 
Management’s balance sheet decreased by CHF 4 billion to 
CHF 20 billion. Wealth Management Americas’ balance sheet 
increased by CHF 14 billion to CHF 53 billion and the Corpo-
rate Center’s balance sheet increased by CHF 8 billion to CHF 
27 billion. The balance sheet size of Wealth Management & 
Swiss Bank remained relatively stable at CHF 248 billion. 

Lending and borrowing

CHF 47 billion, related to lower variation margins deposited 
for  derivative  instruments.  Loans  to  customers  decreased 
CHF  33  billion  to  CHF  307  billion.  The  CHF  21  billion  de-
crease in loans in the Investment Bank was spread across all 
major products, including fixed-term loans, which were part-
ly reduced due to the final transfer under the SNB transac-
tion in early April, and lower variation margins deposited for 
derivative  instruments.  The  loan  book  of  Wealth  Manage-
ment & Swiss Bank declined by CHF 9 billion, with the major-
ity of the decline in lombard lending.

(cid:20)(cid:22)(cid:16)(cid:23)

Borrowing
The reduction of the Investment Bank’s assets led to lower 
funding  needs.  Overall,  unsecured  borrowing  declined  by 
CHF  171  billion  to  CHF  720  billion.  Interbank  borrowing 
(Due to banks) was CHF 65 billion on 31 December 2009, 
down CHF 60 billion from 31 December 2008 due to asset 
reductions  and  decreased  variation  margins  for  derivative 
 instruments. Money market paper issuance was CHF 52 bil-
lion  in  2009,  a  reduction  of  CHF  60  billion  from  the  prior 
year, as we decreased our reliance on these funding sources 
in line with our overall lower funding needs. Customer de-
posits  (Due  to  customers)  amounted  to  CHF  410  billion,  a 
decrease of CHF 55 billion for the year, or CHF 51 billion, on 
a  currency-adjusted  basis.  Wealth  Management  &  Swiss 
Bank client deposits declined CHF 11 billion with reductions 
in fixed deposits and fiduciary investments and was partially 
offset  by  inflows / shifts  into  current  accounts,  savings  and 
personal accounts and call  deposits. Investment Bank depos-
its declined CHF 47 billion, and were mainly driven by lower 
business  funding  needs,  a  decline  in  the  prime  brokerage 
business and lower variation margins received for derivative 
instruments.  Long-term  debt  declined  by  CHF  6  billion  to 
CHF 80 billion, mainly related to the conversion by the Swiss 
Confederation of the MCN issued in December 2008, which 
resulted in a shift of long-term debt to equity attributable to 
UBS shareholders. Financial liabilities designated at fair value 
stood at CHF 113 billion on 31 December 2009, an increase 
of CHF 11 billion from 31 December 2008. 

➔	Refer to “Note 26 Capital increases and mandatory 

 convertible notes” in the “Financial information” section  

of this report for more information

➔	Refer to “Liquidity and funding management” section 
of this report for more information on long-term debt 

issuance

Repurchase / reverse repurchase agreements and 
securities borrowing / lending

Lending
Cash and balances with central banks was CHF 21 billion on 
31 December 2009, a decrease of CHF 12 billion from the 
prior year-end, due to a decline in overnight deposits with 
central banks. Due from banks decreased CHF 18 billion to 

The secured lending on the asset side of the balance sheet 
consisting  of  the  sums  of  cash  collateral  on  securities  bor-
rowed and reverse repurchase agreements declined to CHF 
180 billion on 31 December 2009. The CHF 167 billion de-
cline occurred almost entirely in the Investment Bank, partly 

45

 
 
 
Strategy, performance and responsibility
Financial performance

due  to  a  strategic  shift  in  the  composition  of  our  liquidity 
reserve  into  debt  instruments  (see  “Financial  investments 
available-for-sale”  below)  and  the  matched  book  was  re-
duced  as  part  of  its  overall  balance  sheet  reduction.  The 
matched  book  is  a  repurchase  agreement  portfolio  com-
prised  of  assets  and  liabilities  with  equal  maturities  and 
equal value so that the market risks substantially cancel each 
other out. Furthermore, as part of the Investment Bank’s bal-
ance  sheet  reduction  measures,  its  trading  short  positions 
were reduced CHF 15 billion, which resulted in lower short-
coverings via reverse repurchase agreements and securities 
borrowing transactions.

A significant amount of trading assets are funded via re-
purchase agreements, so, in addition to the matched book 
reduction, the yearly decrease in trading assets also contrib-
uted  to  the  drop  in  repurchase  agreements.  These  reduc-
tions are reflected on the liability side of the balance sheet, 
where  repurchase  agreements  and  securities  lent  against 
cash collateral declined CHF 44 billion, standing at CHF 72 
billion on 31 December 2009.

Trading portfolio

Further  reductions  were  achieved  in  the  trading  portfolio, 
which declined CHF 80 billion during 2009.  At the end  of 
2009,  the  trading  portfolio  stood  at  CHF  232  billion.  The 
majority  of  the  decrease  related  to  the  Investment  Bank’s 
overall balance sheet reductions, including USD 6.6 billion of 
illiquid assets transferred to the SNB StabFund. Money mar-
ket paper was reduced by CHF 46 billion, partly related to 
the  rebalancing  of  our  liquidity  reserve.  Other  debt  instru-
ments  decreased  by  CHF  33  billion  and  traded  loans  de-
creased by CHF 6 billion. These decreases were partially off-
set by precious metals which increased by CHF 7 billion.

Replacement values

The  positive  and  the  negative  replacement  values  (RVs)  of 
derivative instruments decreased by CHF 432 billion (51%) 
and CHF 442 billion (52%), respectively, ending the year at 
CHF 422 billion and CHF 410 billion, mainly due to move-
ments in interest rates, credit spreads and currencies. 

Decreases in positive and negative RVs occurred in inter-
est  rate  contracts,  which  dropped  by  CHF  160  billon  and 
CHF 165 billion, mainly due to upward shifts in interest rate 
curves across all major currencies, specifically the US dollar, 
and a slight reduction in underlying contract volumes. 

Foreign  exchange  contracts  declined  by  CHF  124  billion 
(positive RVs) and CHF 126 billion (negative RVs) mainly due 
to  currency  movements,  which  outweighed  the  slight  in-
crease in notional values of the underlying contract volumes. 
Positive  and  negative  RVs  of  credit  derivative  contracts 
declined by CHF 119 billion and CHF 114 billion respectively, 
due to a tightening of credit spreads and a reduction of no-
tional  values  by  approximately  one  third,  largely  related  to 
trade compression and “tear-up” initiatives in 2009. 

Lastly, positive and negative RVs of commodity, including 
precious  metals  contracts,  declined  by  CHF  19  billion  and 
CHF 18 billion, and equity / index contracts by CHF 10 billion 
and CHF 19 billion, respectively. 

Financial investments available-for-sale 

Financial investments available-for-sale grew by CHF 77 bil-
lion to CHF 82 billion in 2009. The increase is mainly due to 
our strategic decision to rebalance our liquidity reserve which 
led to a shift from reverse repurchase agreements and trad-
ing  portfolio  (see  above)  into  debt  instruments  available-  
for-sale. These instruments include high-quality liquid short-
term securities issued by governments and government-con-
trolled institutions in various currencies, mainly the US dollar 
and euro. 

Shareholders’ equity

On  31  December  2009,  Equity  attributable  to  UBS  share-
holders  was  CHF  41.0  billion,  representing  an  increase  of 
CHF 8.5 billion compared with 31 December 2008. The in-
crease in 2009 reflects the CHF 3.8 billion of shareholders’ 
equity  the  firm  generated  through  our  share  placement  in 
the second quarter and CHF 6.7 billion from the conversion 
by  the  Swiss  Confederation  in  August  2009  of  the  MCNs 
 issued  in  December  2008,  and  was  offset  by  the  Group’s 
 full-year loss of CHF 2.7 billion.

➔	Refer to the “Shares and capital instruments” section of 

this report for more information

46

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Off-balance sheet

Off-balance sheet arrangements

Off-balance sheet arrangements include purchased and re-
tained interests and derivatives as well as other involvements 
in non-consolidated entities and structures originated by us 
or set up by third parties. 

In  the  normal  course  of  business,  we  also  enter  into  ar-
rangements that, under IFRS, lead to either de-recognition of 
financial  assets  and  liabilities  for  which  we  have  transferred 
substantially  all  risks  and  rewards  (financial  assets),  or  for 
which the financial liabilities are extinguished, or the non-rec-
ognition of financial assets (and liabilities) received for which 
we have not assumed the related risks and rewards (financial 
assets) and / or did not become party to the contractual provi-
sions of the financial instruments. We recognize these types 
of arrangements on the balance sheet to the extent of its in-
volvement, which, for example, may be in the form of deriva-
tives, guarantees, financing commitments or servicing rights.
When we, through these arrangements, incur an obliga-
tion or become entitled to an asset, we recognize them on 
the balance sheet, with the resulting loss or gain recorded in 
the  income  statement  or  equity  (other  comprehensive  in-
come). It should be noted that in many instances the amount 
recognized on the balance sheet does not represent the full 
gain or loss potential inherent in such arrangements. Gener-
ally, these arrangements either meet the financial needs of 
customers or offer investment opportunities through entities 
that are not controlled by us.

The following paragraphs discuss several distinct areas of 
off-balance  sheet  arrangements.  Additional  disclosure  on 

certain  areas  of  off-balance  sheet  arrangements  can  be 
found  in  other  sections  of  this  report  as  indicated  in  the 
“Disclosure overview” table.

Risk positions
Our risk concentrations and other relevant risk positions are 
disclosed in detail in the audited parts of the “Risk manage-
ment and control” section of this report. These positions in-
clude monoline insurers and student loan auction rate secu-
rities.  The  quantitative  summary  about  each  of  these  risk 
positions  includes  exposures  of  on-  and  off-balance  sheet 
arrangements.

The  importance  and  the  potential  impact  of  such  posi-
tions  (with  respect  to  liquidity,  capital  resources  or  market 
and  credit  risk  support),  including  off-balance  sheet  struc-
tures, are also described in the “Risk and treasury manage-
ment” section of this report.

Liquidity facilities and similar obligations
On 31 December 2009 and 31 December 2008, we had no 
significant exposure  through  liquidity  facilities  and guaran-
tees  to  structured  investment  vehicles,  conduits  and  other 
types of special purpose entities (SPEs). Losses resulting from 
such obligations were not significant in 2009 and 2008.

Non-consolidated securitization vehicles and collateralized 
debt obligations 
Up  to  and  including  2008,  we  sponsored  the  creation  of 
SPEs that facilitate the securitization of acquired residential 
and commercial mortgage loans, other financial assets and 

Off-balance sheet arrangements, risks,  
 consolidation and fair value measurements

Contractual obligations

Credit guarantees, performance guarantees, undrawn irrevocable  
credit facilities, and similar instruments

Derivative financial instruments

Credit derivatives

Leases

Disclosure in the annual report

Strategy, performance and responsibility, section “Off-balance sheet”

Strategy, performance and responsibility, section “Off-balance sheet”

Financial information, “Note 23 Derivative instruments and hedge accounting” 
Risk and treasury management, section “Basel II Pillar 3 disclosures”

Financial information, “Note 23 Derivative instruments and hedge accounting” 
Risk and treasury management, section “Basel II Pillar 3 disclosures”

Financial information, “Note 25 Operating lease commitments”

Non-consolidated securitization vehicles – non-agency transactions

Strategy, performance and responsibility, section “Off-balance sheet”

Support to non-consolidated investment funds

Securitizations (banking book only)

Risk concentrations

Credit risk information

Market risk information

Liquidity risk information

Consolidation

Fair value measurements

Strategy, performance and responsibility, section “Off-balance sheet”

Risk and treasury management, section “Basel II Pillar 3 disclosures”

Risk and treasury management, section “Risk concentrations”

Risk and treasury management, section “Credit risk”

Risk and treasury management, section “Market risk”

Risk and treasury management, section “Liquidity and funding management”

Financial information, “Note 1 Summary of significant accounting policies”

Financial information, “Note 27 Fair value of financial instruments”

47

 
 
 
Strategy, performance and responsibility
Financial performance

related securities. We also securitized customers’ debt obli-
gations  (a  collateralized  debt  obligation  (CDO)  typically  re-
fers  to  a  security  that  is  collateralized  by  a  pool  of  bonds, 
loans, equity, derivatives or other assets) in transactions in-
volving SPEs which issued CDOs. A securitization transaction 
of  this  kind  generally  involves  the  transfer  of  assets  into  a 
trust or corporation in return for beneficial interests in the 
form  of  securities.  Financial  assets  held  by  such  trusts  and 
corporations  are  no  longer  reported  in  our  consolidated 
 financial statements once their risks and rewards are trans-
ferred to a third-party, e.g. in a sales transaction.

➔	Refer to “Note 1 Summary of significant accounting 

policies” in the “Financial information” section of this 

report for more information about our accounting policies 

regarding securitization activities

In 2009, we did not sponsor the creation of SPEs that fa-
cilitated the securitization of acquired residential and com-
mercial  mortgage  loans,  and  did  not  securitize  CDOs  in 
transactions involving SPEs. In 2008, only few of such secu-
ritization structures were originated. Certain retained inter-
ests  relating  to  2007  and  earlier  issuances  (mainly  instru-

ments linked to the US mortgage market) could not be sold 
in  2008  and  2007  and  continue  to  be  retained  in  2009 
due to illiquid markets. However, the volume and size of re-
tained  interests  are  significantly  reduced  at  31  December 
2009, mainly due to the following actions:
–  sale  of  positions  to  the  SNB  StabFund  owned  and  con-
trolled by the Swiss National Bank in 2009 and in 2008 
(total volume of USD 38.7 billion; 2009: USD 22.2 billion; 
2008: USD 16.4 billion);

–  sale  of  a  portfolio  of  US  residential  mortgage-backed 
 securities  for  proceeds  of  USD  15  billion  to  the  RMBS 
 Opportunities  Master  Fund,  LP,  an  entity  managed  by 
BlackRock Financial Management, Inc.;

–  substantial  downsizing  of  our  residual  risk  positions 
within our FICC business in 2009 and 2008, which in-
cluded a significant reduction of real estate and securiti-
zation  activities. 
Our involvements in non-consolidated securitization vehi-
cles and CDOs disclosed in this section are typically managed 
on  a  portfolio  basis  alongside  hedges  and  other  offsetting 
financial  instruments.  The  “Non-consolidated  securitization 

Non-consolidated securitization vehicles and collateralized debt obligations – non-agency transactions 1

CHF billion

Total SPE assets

Involvements in non-consolidated SPEs held by UBS

As of 31 December 2009

Originated by UBS 3
CDOs and CLOs

Residential mortgage

Commercial mortgage

Other ABS

Securitizations

Residential mortgage

Commercial mortgage

Other ABS

Total

Not originated by UBS

CDOs and CLOs

Residential mortgage

Commercial mortgage

Other ABS

Securitizations

Residential mortgage

Commercial mortgage

Other ABS

Total

Original 
principal 
outstanding

Current 
principal 
outstanding

Delinquency 
amounts

Purchased and 
retained interests  
held by UBS 2

Derivatives held by UBS

Carrying value

Fair value

Nominal value

6.3

0.0

0.0

5.7

21.3

1.8

35.1

130.0

7.6

78.6

872.5

656.9

692.8

4.1

0.0

0.0

2.3

21.1

0.4

27.9

59.4

3.3

38.8

338.8

552.6

521.2

2,438.4

1,514.1

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.2

0.9

0.1

1.2

9.7

0.0

0.1

69.7

21.7

19.8

121.0

0.9

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.9

2.8

0.7

3.9

1.8

3.8

3.5

16.5

0.8

(0.6)

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.2

0.1

0.2

0.6

(1.8)

0.0

0.0

(0.9)

2.6

0.7

0.1

3.9

0.0

3.2

10.5

0.1

0.9

2.7

7.6

0.0

0.0

11.3

1 Includes all purchased and retained interests and derivatives held by UBS which are considered involvements in non-consolidated securitization vehicles and CDOs. This implies, for example, that UBS 
would include an insignificant involvement in such a vehicle into the table (under “Involvements in non-consolidated SPEs held by UBS”), whereas the pool assets held by such vehicle would be included 
under “Total SPE assets”. The size of the pool assets of such vehicle can be very high, but relates to third parties, if UBS’s involvement is insignificant. The “Total SPE assets” include information which UBS 
could gather after making exhaustive efforts but excludes data which UBS was unable to receive (in sufficient quality), especially for structures originated by third parties.    2 Includes loans and receivables 
measured at amortized cost in the amount of CHF 0.9 billion originated by UBS and CHF 11.9 billion for structures not originated by UBS and trading assets measured at fair value in the amount of CHF 
4.6 billion for structures not originated by UBS.    3 Structures originated by UBS include transactions within the scope of US GAAP, Financial Accounting Standard 140, paragraph 17.

48

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vehicles  and  collateralized  debt  obligations  –  non-agency 
transactions” table does not include these offsetting factors 
and does not represent a measure of risk.

➔	Refer to the “Risk management and control” section of this 
report for information on our risk positions as well as the 

BlackRock transaction

Our involvement in vehicles whose residential and com-
mercial mortgage securities are backed by an agency of the 
US  government  –  the  Government  National  Mortgage  As-
sociation, the Federal National Mortgage Association, or the 
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation – is not included 
in the abovementioned table, due to the comprehensive in-
volvement of the US government in these organizations and 
their significantly lower risk profile.

The numbers in the table are different from the numbers 
disclosed on securitizations in the “Basel II Pillar 3” section of 
this  report,  predominantly  due  to  different  scopes  (for  ex-
ample Pillar 3 disclosures are on banking book positions only, 
and the consolidation status is different for several vehicles), 
and to some extent due to a different measurement basis.

Consolidation of securitization vehicles and CDOs
We  continually  evaluate  whether  triggering  events  require 
the  reconsideration  of  the  consolidation  conclusions  made 
at the inception of our involvement with securitization vehi-
cles and CDOs.

During  2009  and  2008,  due  to  adverse  market  condi-
tions, various non-consolidated vehicles in which we held a 
majority  stake  in  super  senior  securities  were  declared  to 
have  breached  default  provisions  pursuant  to  the  entities’ 
governing documents. In these instances, various contingent 
decision-making  rights  became  immediately  vested  in  the 
super-senior  class  holders.  As  a  consequence,  we  deter-
mined that in certain instances, the rights arising from such 
events caused us to be in control of these entities, and af-
fected needed to be consolidated. The consolidation had no 
material incremental impact on our income statement and 
balance sheet. 

➔	Refer to “Note 1 Summary of significant accounting 

policies” in the “Financial information” section of this 

report for further information on consolidation of 

securitization vehicles and CDO

Risks resulting from non-consolidated securitization 
vehicles and CDOs
The “Risk management and control” section of this report 
provides detailed disclosure of our main risk concentrations, 
as well as risks associated with our involvement in consoli-
dated and non-consolidated US mortgage securitization ve-
hicles and CDOs. 

Support to non-consolidated investment funds
In  the  ordinary  course  of  business,  we  issue  investment 
 certificates  to  third  parties  that  are  linked  to  the  perfor-

mance of non-consolidated investment funds. Such invest-
ment funds are originated either by us or by third parties. For 
hedging purposes, we generally invest in the funds to which 
our obligations from the certificates are linked. Risks result-
ing from these contracts are considered minimal, as the full 
performance of the funds is passed onto third parties. 

In  2009  and  2008,  as  a  result  of  the  financial  markets 
 crisis which caused declining asset values, market illiquidity 
and de-leveraging by investors, we supported several non-
consolidated  investment  funds  that  we  manage  in  our 
wealth and asset management businesses. We provided this 
support  primarily  to  facilitate  redemption  requests  of  fund 
investments by clients. Material support was provided in the 
form  of  collateralized  financing,  direct  acquisition  of  fund 
units and purchases of assets from the funds. The support 
we  provided  to  these  investment  funds  was  made  where 
there were regulatory or other legal requirements or other 
exceptional considerations. 

In 2009, we acquired units from non-consolidated funds 
that we manage in the amount of CHF 0.2 billion. Guaran-
tees granted to third parties in the context of such non-con-
solidated funds and collateralized financing provided to such 
funds  were  immaterial  as  of  31  December  2009.  Impair-
ments on fund units held accounted as financial investments 
available-for-sale amounted to CHF 0.2 billion in 2009; other 
losses incurred as a result of fund support were immaterial in 
2009.

During 2008, material support was provided as follows: 
fund units were acquired in the amount of CHF 0.8 billion; 
assets purchased from such funds amounted to CHF 0.7 bil-
lion; and fully collateralized financing provided to the funds 
was  CHF  2.4  billion  as  of  31  December  2008.  Guarantees 
granted to third-parties in the context of these non-consoli-
dated funds were immaterial as of 31 December 2008. Loss-
es  incurred  in  2008  as  a  result  of  such  fund  support  were 
immaterial. 

Acquired  fund  units  and  fund  assets  are  generally  ac-
counted  for  as  financial  investments  available-for-sale,  and 
are  included  in  the  respective  risk  disclosures  in  the  “Risk 
management and control” section of this report. Financing 
we provided as of 31 December 2008 was included in the 
credit risk disclosures.

In addition, in the ordinary course of business, our wealth 
and asset management businesses provide short-term fund-
ing  facilities  to  investment  funds  that  we  manage.  This 
bridges  time  lags  in  fund  unit  redemptions  and  subscrip-
tions. These bridge financings did not incur and are not ex-
pected to incur material losses.

Depending  on  market  developments  in  2010  and  be-
yond, it is possible that we may decide to provide financial 
support to one or more of our investment funds. Such deci-
sions will be taken on a case-by-case basis depending upon 
market  and  other  circumstances  at  the  time.  The  risks  in-
curred by providing such support will depend on the type of 

49

 
 
 
Strategy, performance and responsibility
Financial performance

support and the riskiness of the assets held by the fund(s) in 
question. If we were to provide extensive financial support 
to some of our investment funds, losses incurred as a result 
of such support could become material. 

Guarantees and similar obligations
In the normal course of business we issue: various forms of 
guarantees;  commitments  to  extend  credit;  standby  and 
other  letters  of  credit  to  support  our  customers;  commit-
ments  to  enter  into  repurchase  agreements;  note  issuance 
facilities; and revolving underwriting facilities. With the ex-
ception  of  related  premiums,  these  guarantees  and  similar 
obligations are kept as off-balance sheet unless a provision 
to cover probable losses is required.

On 31 December 2009, the exposure to credit risk (gross 
values less sub-participations) for credit guarantees and sim-
ilar  instruments  was  CHF  16.0  billion  compared  with  CHF 
18.5 billion one year earlier. Fee income from issuing guaran-
tees is not material to total revenues.

Guarantees  represent  irrevocable  assurances,  subject  to 
the satisfaction of certain conditions, that we will make pay-
ment  in  the  event  that  customers  fail  to  fulfill  their  obliga-
tions to third parties. We also enter into commitments to ex-
tend  credit  in  the  form  of  credit  lines  that  are  available  to 
secure the liquidity needs of customers but have not yet been 
drawn on by them, the majority of which range in maturity 
from one month to five years. If customers fail to meet their 
obligations, our maximum amount at risk is the contractual 
amount  of  these  instruments.  The  risk  is  similar  to  the  risk 

involved in extending loan facilities and is subject to the same 
risk management and control framework. For the year ended 
31 December 2009, we recognized net  credit losses of CHF 4 
million;  and  for  the  years  ended  31  December  2008  and 
2007, we recognized net credit loss re coveries of CHF 18 mil-
lion and CHF 3 million, respectively, related to obligations in-
curred for contingencies and commitments. Provisions recog-
nized  for  guarantees,  documentary  credits  and  similar 
instruments  were  CHF  90  million  as  of  31  December  2009 
and CHF 31 million as of 31 December 2008.

We  enter  into  partial  sub-participations  to  mitigate  the 
risks from commitments and contingencies. A sub-participa-
tion is an agreement by another party to take a share of the 
loss  in  the  event  that  the  obligation  is  not  fulfilled  by  the 
obligor and, where applicable, to fund a part of the credit 
facility. We retain the contractual relationship with the obli-
gor, and the sub-participant has only an indirect relationship. 
We  will  only  enter  into  sub-participation  agreements  with 
banks to which we ascribe a credit rating equal to or better 
than that of the obligor.

Furthermore, we provide representations, warranties and 
indemnifications to third parties in connection with numer-
ous transactions, such as asset securitizations.

Clearinghouse and future exchange memberships
We  are  a  member  of  numerous  securities  and  futures  ex-
changes  and  clearinghouses.  In  connection  with  some  of 
those memberships, we may be required to pay a share of 
the financial obligations of another member who defaults, 

Commitments 

The table below shows the maximum committed amount of commitments.

CHF million

Credit guarantees and similar instruments

Performance guarantees and similar instruments

Documentary credits

Total commitments

Undrawn irrevocable credit facilities

50

31.12.09

Sub-
participations

(222)

(582)

(288)

(1,092)

(1,793)

Gross

11,180

3,484

2,406

17,070

59,328

Net

10,958

2,902

2,117

15,977

57,534

Gross

13,124

3,596

2,979

19,699

60,316

31.12.08

Sub-
participations

(344)

(446)

(415)

(1,205)

(1,920)

Net

12,780

3,150

2,564

18,494

58,396

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or otherwise be exposed to additional financial obligations 
as  a  result.  While  the  membership  rules  vary,  obligations 
generally would arise only if the exchange or clearinghouse 
had exhausted its resources. We consider the probability of a 
material loss due to such obligations to be remote.

31 December 2008 was CHF 0.3 billion and CHF 0.5 billion, 
respectively. Equity underwriting commitments in the Invest-
ment  Bank  at  31  December  2009  and  31  December  2008 
amounted to CHF 1.7 billion and CHF 0.4 billion, respectively.

Swiss deposit insurance
Swiss banking law and the deposit insurance system require 
Swiss  banks  and  securities  dealers  to  jointly  guarantee  an 
amount of up to CHF 6 billion for privileged client deposits 
in the event that a Swiss bank or securities dealer becomes 
insolvent. For the period from 1 July 2009 to 30 June 2010, 
FINMA estimates our share in the deposit insurance system 
to be CHF 1.0 billion. The deposit insurance is a guarantee 
and exposes us to additional risk which is not reflected in the 
“Maximum exposure to credit risk” table in “Note 29c Mea-
surement categories of financial assets and financial liabili-
ties” in the “Financial information” section of this report. At 
31 December 2009, we consider the probability of a mate-
rial loss from our obligation to be remote.

Private equity funding commitments and equity 
 underwriting commitments 
We enter into commitments to fund external private equity 
funds and investments, which typically expire within five to 
ten years. The commitments generally require us to fund ex-
ternal private equity funds and investments at market value 
at the time the commitments are drawn. The amount com-
mitted to fund these investments at 31 December 2009 and 

Contractual obligations

The table below includes contractual obligations as of 31 De-
cember 2009.

All contracts included in this table, with the exception of 
purchase  obligations  (those  where  we  are  committed  to 
 purchasing determined volumes of goods and services), are 
either  recognized  as  liabilities  on  our  balance  sheet  or,  in 
the case of operating leases, disclosed in “Note 25 Operat-
ing lease commitments” in the “Financial information” sec-
tion of this report.

The  following  liabilities  are  recognized  on  the  balance 
sheet and excluded from the table: provisions (as disclosed 
in “Note 21 Provisions and litigation” in the “Financial infor-
mation”  section  of  this  report),  current  and  deferred  tax 
 liabilities (refer to “Note 22 Income taxes” in the “Financial 
information”  section  of  this  report  for  more  information), 
liabilities to employees for equity participation plans, settle-
ment and clearing accounts and amounts due to banks and 
customers.

Within purchase obligations, the obligation to employees 
under  the  mandatory  notice  period  is  excluded  (this  is  the 
period  in  which  we  must  pay  employees  leaving  the  firm 
contractually-agreed salaries).

Contractual obligations

CHF million

Long-term debt

Capital lease obligations

Operating leases

Purchase obligations

Other liabilities

Total

< 1 year

42,759

57

989

302

538

44,645

Payment due by period

1–3 years

3 –5 years

46,796

83

1,655

113

5

48,652

31,515

0

1,214

39

0

> 5 years

71,357

0

2,113

23

0

32,768

73,493

51

 
 
 
Strategy, performance and responsibility
Financial performance

Cash flows

2009

2008

On 31 December 2009, the level of cash and cash equiva-
lents declined to CHF 165.0 billion, down CHF 14.7 billion 
from CHF 179.7 billion at the end of 2008.

On 31 December 2008, the level of cash and cash equiva-
lents rose to CHF 179.7 billion, up CHF 30.6 billion from CHF 
149.1 billion at the end of 2007.

Operating activities
Operating activities generated a cash inflow of CHF 54.5 bil-
lion in 2009 compared with a cash inflow of CHF 77.0 billion 
in 2008. Operating cash inflows (before changes in operat-
ing assets and liabilities and income taxes paid) totaled CHF 
9.9  billion  in  2009,  an  increase  of  CHF  81.5  billion  from 
2008.  Net  profit  improved  by  CHF  18.6  billion  compared 
with 2008.

Cash inflow of CHF 95.1 billion was generated by the net 
decrease  in  operating  assets,  while  a  cash  outflow  of  CHF 
50.0 billion was reflected in the operating liabilities. Net Pay-
ments to tax authorities were CHF 0.5 billion in 2009, down 
CHF 0.4 billion from a year earlier.

Operating activities
Operating activities generated a cash inflow of CHF 77.0 bil-
lion in 2008 compared with a cash outflow of CHF 52.1 billion 
in 2007. Operating cash outflows (before changes in operat-
ing assets and liabilities and income taxes paid) totaled CHF 
71.7 billion in 2008, a decrease of CHF 67.9 billion from 2007. 
Net profit decreased CHF 16.0 billion compared with 2007.

Cash inflow of CHF 394.1 billion was generated by the 
net  decrease  in  operating  assets,  while  a  cash  outflow  of 
CHF  244.5  billion  was  reflected  in  the  operating  liabilities. 
The increase in cash was used to fund the operating liabili-
ties. Net payments to tax authorities were CHF 0.9 billion in 
2008, down CHF 2.8 billion from a year earlier.

Investing activities
Net cash flow used in investing activities was CHF 20.6 bil-
lion compared with an overall cash outflow of CHF 1.7 bil-
lion in 2008.

The net cash outflow for the purchase of property and 
equipment was CHF 0.7 billion. The net investment of fi-
nancial investments available-for-sale was CHF 20.1 billion, 
an increase due to our strategic decision to rebalance our 
liquidity reserve which led to a shift from reverse re purchase 
agreements and trading portfolio. Disposals of subsidiaries 
and associates in 2009 generated a cash inflow of CHF 0.3 
billion mainly related to the sale of UBS Pactual. 

➔	Refer to “Note 36 Business combinations” and “Note 38 
Reorganizations and disposals” in the “Financial infor-

mation” section of this report for more information about 

our investing activities

Financing activities
In  2009,  financing  activities  generated  cash  outflows  of 
CHF 54.2 billion. This reflected the net repayment of money 
market paper of CHF 60.0 billion, the issuance of CHF 67.1 
billion  in  long-term  debt  and  long-term  debt  repayments 
which totaled CHF 65.0 billion. That outflow was partly off-
set  by  inflows  attributable  to  capital  issuances  of  CHF  3.7 
billion. In 2008, we had a net cash outflow of CHF 5.6 billion 
from financing activities. 

Investing activities
Net cash flow used in investing activities was CHF 1.7 billion 
compared with an overall cash inflow of CHF 2.8 billion in 
2007. The net cash outflow for investments in subsidiaries 
and associates was CHF 1.5 billion, compared with CHF 2.3 
billion in 2007, due to the acquisitions of Caisse Centrale de 
Réescompte  Group  and  Vermogens  Groep  and  a  net  in-
crease  in  the  purchase  of  property  and  equipment  of  CHF 
1.1 billion. The net investment of financial investments avail-
able-for-sale  was  CHF  0.7  billion,  whereas  in  2007  divest-
ments generated cash inflows of CHF 6.0 billion. Disposals 
of subsidiaries and associates in 2008 generated a cash in-
flow of CHF 1.7 billion. 

Financing activities
In 2008, financing activities generated cash outflows of CHF 
5.6 billion. This reflected the net repayment of money mar-
ket paper of CHF 40.6 billion and the issuance of CHF 103.1 
billion in long-term debt – the latter significantly outpacing 
long-term debt repayments, which totaled CHF 92.9 billion. 
That outflow was partly offset by inflows attributable to cap-
ital issuances of CHF 23.1 billion, including CHF 15.6 billion 
from rights issues and CHF 7.6 billion from MCNs. In 2007, 
UBS had a net cash inflow of CHF 74.6 billion from financing 
activities. The difference between the two years was mainly 
due  to  the  fact  that  net  long-term  debt  repayments  and 
money market papers repaid increased by CHF 111.6 billion 
and  were  only  partially  compensated  by  the  cash  increase 
due to the capital issuances.

52

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Strategy, performance and responsibility
Our employees

Our employees

We rely on the excellence, inspiration, client focus and commitment of our employees to meet clients’ needs 
and build our businesses. For employees, the breadth of our businesses, global career opportunities and a col-
laborative, performance-oriented culture offer a platform for individual success. 

Investing in our employees

Competitive  strength  in  the  financial  services  industry  de-
pends,  more  than  anything  else,  on  the  expertise,  talent 
and commitment of a firm’s employees. Therefore, engag-
ing, developing and retaining a high-impact workforce is a 
priority for UBS. In 2009, we began to rebuild our leader-
ship ranks in every business division. We also continued to 
invest in our workforce to help ensure we have the range of 
skills  and  experience  necessary  to  meet  client  needs  now, 
and  to  grow  our  businesses  when  market  conditions  im-
prove. 

Our largely decentralized Human Resources (HR) function 
was  restructured  in  2009  to  be  simpler,  leaner  and  more 
concretely  focused  on  business  priorities.  We  also  imple-
mented several human capital-related initiatives in 2009 to 
support  the  firm’s  transformation,  including  measures  to 
more  closely  align  compensation  with  sustainable  perfor-
mance and support appropriate and controlled risk taking. In 
addition,  the  UBS  Business  University,  a  corporate  learning 
and education platform, was launched in January 2010. 

Our workforce 
Personnel  levels  decreased  in  most  businesses  over  the 
course  of  the  year,  with  the  number  of  people  employed 
on  31  December  2009  at  65,233,  down  12,550  or  16% 
from year-end 2008. This was the result of personnel reduc-
tions in the various business divisions, as well as reductions 
from the sale of UBS Pactual, UBS’s India Service Centre and 
56  branches  in  Wealth  Management  Americas.  Consistent 
with the announcement made on 15 April 2009, we expect 
personnel numbers to be reduced to approximately 65,000 
in  2010.  In  2009,  our  personnel  worked  in  57  countries, 
with approximately 37% of our staff employed in Switzer-
land, 36% in the Americas, 16% in Europe, the Middle East 
and Africa and 11% in Asia Pacific.

Internal  job  mobility  encourages  integration,  collabora-
tion and business innovation, as well as individual career de-
velopment.  We  continued  to  support  employee  transfers 
across regions and business divisions in 2009 where business 
needs justified the transfers. In 2009, 910 employees moved 
to roles in a different region, versus 1,285 in 2008. During 
the course of the year, 993 employees transferred between 
business divisions, versus 784 in 2008. Additionally, during 
2009,  we  worked  to  redeploy  employees  who  were  dis-

placed in the firm’s restructuring process. Of all the new roles 
in 2009, approximately 12% were sourced through internal 
job postings, while another 39% were filled by employees 
who found new roles within the firm through their own net-
works. To further support career development and mobility, 
Individual Development Plans are encouraged for all staff. A 
global career management site was relaunched in early 2010 
to integrate all of the firm’s career assessment, development 
and planning elements. 

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Strategy, performance and responsibility
Our employees

Recruiting personnel
In 2009, we selectively recruited personnel in our key mar-
kets while also working to reduce costs, increase efficiency 
and  improve  the  ratio  of  front-office  to  back-office  per-
sonnel. Several strategic hires were made in 2009 to acceler-
ate and support our turnaround, including the Group CEO, 
Group  COO,  Head  of  Corporate  Development,  Head  of 
Wealth  Management  Americas  and  senior-level  hires  in 
growth areas within the Investment Bank and risk manage-
ment functions. 

In 2009, 433 university graduates joined UBS as part of our 
undergraduate and MBA training programs. The apprentice-
ship program in Switzerland hired 300 apprentices in 2009. 

Developing and sustaining a diverse workforce 
A  workforce  of  individuals  from  widely  different  back-
grounds, cultures and life experiences is indispensable in to-
day’s global business environment. In 2009, our workforce 
was  comprised  of  citizens  from  150  countries.  Diversity  in 
gender,  ethnicity,  age  and  other  factors  support  first-hand 
understanding of regional markets and segments and sen-
sitivity  to  local  customs.  Competitive  advantage  is  also 
achieved from more subtle differences in background, expe-
rience and thought. These elements provide the perspective 
from which our employees can anticipate needs and gener-
ate unique solutions for our increasingly diverse client base 
worldwide.  Additionally,  our  long-term  recovery  will  be 
 supported by having the best people in the right roles, and 
diversity efforts help ensure that characteristics unrelated to 
performance do not get in the way.

Achieving a world-class workforce of high-talent individ-
uals demands an open-minded and respectful working cul-
ture, merit-based career advancement, and a sense of indi-
vidual  contribution.  The  scope  of  our  diversity  initiatives  is 
global, with regional teams translating this commitment into 
action by working with local business and HR leaders. In ad-
dition, more than 20 employee networks help to build cross-
business relationships and strengthen our inclusive culture.

Over the past number of years, we have promoted diver-
sity in three stages: raising basic awareness; integrating di-
versity into the employee lifecycle through recruiting, perfor-

mance management and retention; and working to ensure 
that  diversity ultimately becomes a self-sustaining part of the 
workplace culture. While we have made significant progress 
in recent years, our efforts to further strengthen our diversity 
in 2009 were sometimes impacted by the firm’s restructur-
ing, particularly when entire business or support areas were 
restructured  or  sold.  In  2009,  initiatives  were  launched  in 
Europe,  the  US  and  several  other  regions  to  help  create  a 
culture in which men and women thrive equally in their ca-
reers,  where  gender differences are  a strength, and  where 
different  working  styles  and  practices  allow  us  to  improve 
our service to clients. We received a 100% rating in the Hu-
man Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2010 Corporate Equality 
Index (US), the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Work-
place  Agency  (EOWA)  Employer  of  Choice  For  Women 
award  (Australia),  and  the  Tokyo  Labor  Bureau  award  for 
supporting the growth of future generations. We also were 
shortlisted for the Disability Champion Award 2009 by the 
Employers’ Forum on Disability (UK).

Gender distribution by geographical region1  
On 31.12.09

Total:  24,414 

6,988 

4,576 

25,157 

6,383

28,000

21,000

14,000

9,363

  7,000

15,051

3,189

3,799

        0

The Americas  Asia Pacific 

8,966

16,191

1,905
2,671

Europe, 
Middle East  
and Africa

Switzerland 

2,001

4,382

United
Kingdom

1HR006_e

Male

Female

1 Calculated on the basis that a person (working full-time or part-time) is considered one 
headcount in this graph only. This accounts for the total UBS year-end 2009 employee number 
of 67,518 in this graph, which excludes staff from UBS card center, Hotel Seepark Thun, 
Wolfsberg and Widder Hotel.

Gender distribution by employee category 1

As of 31.12.09

Male

Female

Total

Officers

Non-officers

Total

Number

31,557

11,817

43,374

%

72.8

27.2

100.0

Number

10,537

13,607

24,144

%

43.6

56.4

100.0

42,094

25,424

67,518

62.3

37.7

100.0

1 Calculated on the basis that a person (working full-time or part-time) is considered one headcount in this table only. This accounts for our total year-end 2009 employee number of 67,518 in this table. 
Normally, we express employee numbers in terms of full-time equivalents (FTEs), which is measured as a percentage of the standard hours normally worked by permanent full-time staff. When calculated 
according to FTEs, the year-end 2009 total is 65,233. 

54

28000

21000

14000

7000

0

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Performance management
Effective  performance  management  supports  and  enables 
the drive, commitment and consistent execution by our em-
ployees that is essential to achieving results for clients and 
UBS alike. We believe that the foundation for this is an on-
going employee-manager dialogue, with demonstrable per-
formance as the basis for meritocracy. All employees there-
fore  participate  in  a  year-round  performance  management 
process  that  assesses  individual  achievements  against  spe-
cific  objectives.  This  process  supports  staff  development, 
links behavior to busi ness goals and helps ensure employees 
have the skills required to meet their clients’ needs and im-
plement our strategic objectives. Assessments focus both on 
achievements and on behavioral expectations that are linked 
to corporate strategy and values, respectively. For example, 
evaluations for all employees include an assessment of “cli-
ent focus,” but the specific behaviors required vary signifi-
cantly according to func tion, rank or role. The performance 
management  process  for  our  most  senior  executives  is  es-
sentially the same as for all other employees. Achieving spe-
cific  financial  targets  plays  a  significant  role;  leadership  is 
also  explicitly  reviewed.  In  2009,  we  enhanced  our  perfor-
mance monitoring at all levels, and further strengthened our 
focus on effective risk management within the overall per-
formance management framework. 

➔	Refer to the “Compensation and shareholdings” section of 
this report for more information on compensation and 

incentives and employee share ownership

Leadership development and learning

We  take  a  structured  approach  to  both  leadership  devel-
opment  and  business  education,  understanding  that  these 
capabilities  are  important  factors  in  ensuring  high-quality 
 client  service  and  long-term  business  success.  In  August 
2009, the GEB approved the formation of the UBS Business 
University, a global corporate university that brings all educa-
tional opportunities under one virtual umbrella. Creating a 
corporate university will significantly increase the efficiency 
of  our  learning  activities  and  processes  while  eliminating 
 duplication.  It  should  also  help  to  further  reduce  training 
costs,  combine  and  exploit  the  existing  knowledge  within 
our learning organizations and leverage best practices. The 
launch of the university in January 2010 marked an impor-
tant step in aligning our leadership development and learn-
ing efforts across the firm. 

Leadership and business faculties are at the core of the 
new  learning  structure.  The  leadership  faculty  focuses  on 
building leadership and managerial skills and on implement-
ing  a  common  leadership  strategy  and  culture  across  the 
firm. The business faculty focuses on initiatives that are de-
signed to grow employees’ business skills and competencies 
to best serve clients and manage risk. All learning pathways 
for  business-critical  functions  include  components  from  le-
gal,  risk  and  compliance,  sales  and  advisory,  and  products 
and finance. A single global learning platform simplifies ad-
ministration while allowing employees to plan their training 
and complete e-learning modules. 

We  also  invest  in  talent  development  and  succession 
planning for the most critical roles across the company. An 
annual  firm-wide  talent  review  helps  to  identify  and  then 
build the skills and competencies of key talent who are rec-
ognized to have leadership potential. In addition, potential 
successors  for  senior  leadership  roles  are  identified  and 
tracked on a firm-wide basis.

55

 
 
 
Strategy, performance and responsibility
Our employees

Commitment

Meeting the needs of clients is a core objective. Our corpo-
rate values are the foundation that enables us to be a good 
corporate citizen and responsible employer in addition to re-
alizing  long-term  profitability  and  business  growth.  These 
values  are  integrated  into  corporate  decision  making  and 
people management processes as well as daily interactions 
among employees.

Employee assistance
We  are  dedicated  to  assisting  employees  with  professional 
and personal matters, and to being a conscientious employ-
er. Examples of this commitment can be found in the firm’s 
Employee  Assistance  Programs  (EAPs),  and  in  the  COACH 
and Social Partnership Agreement for Employees in Switzer-
land (SOVIA CH) programs in Switzerland.

EAPs  are  available  in  a  number  of  locations  globally.  In 
the UK, the EAP program is a confidential 24 / 7 service that 
gives  access  to  specialist  support,  including  telephone  and 
face-to-face counseling. The overall UK health and wellbe-
ing program provides an on-site General Practitioner as well 
as  occupational  health  services,  an  on-site  physiotherapist, 
on-site dentist and an emergency back-up childcare and el-
dercare  facility.  In  Switzerland,  we  offer  professional  assis-
tance  for  current  and  retired  employees,  as  well  as   family 
members, through our HR Social Counseling and HR Retiree 
Services functions. Services include counseling for personal 
issues, difficulties in the workplace, sickness, financial diffi-
culties and retirement. The EAP program in the US provides 
information, referrals and confidential counseling for adop-
tion, child care, academic services, elder care and issues re-
garding work performance and personal conflicts.

The  COACH  transfer  and  severance  process  helps  em-
ployees  in  Switzerland  who  are  displaced  by  restructuring. 
COACH  advisors  provide  support  and  assistance  in  find-
ing  new  jobs,  by  working  closely  with  our  internal  recruit-
ment  center  and  outside  employment  services.  During  the 
COACH  process,  employees  retain  full  salary  and  benefits 
and financial assistance is available for job-related training, 
if needed. 

Personnel below the level of director are eligible to par-
ticipate  in  the  SOVIA  CH  program.  SOVIA  CH  lays  out  the 
terms and conditions for implementing redundancies among 
employees  whose  jobs  are  subject  to  the  Agreement  on 
Conditions  of  Employment  for  Bank  Staff.  SOVIA  CH  gov-
erns the requirements and procedures for internal hiring, job 
transfers, and, when needed, severance. The aim is to imple-
ment  necessary  job  cuts  and  operational  changes  in  a  re-
sponsible manner, making full use of our internal labor mar-
ket, and to offer targeted, relevant support and career advice 
to these employees. 

Employee representation 
The UBS Employee Forum facilitates the open exchange of 
views and information between employees and manage-
ment  on  pan-European  issues  that  have  the  potential  to 
impact  our  performance,  prospects  or  operations  in  Eu-
rope. It fulfills EU Directive 94 / 45 on the establishment of 
a  European  Works  Council.  Local  forums  also  exist  in  a 
number of locations across Europe to address local issues 
such  as  health  and  safety,  changes  to  workplace  condi-
tions,  pension  arrangements  and  consultation  on  collec-
tive redundancies and business transfers. The UK Employ-
ee Forum (UKEF), for example, focuses on our economic, 
financial and social activities in the UK which are of con-

UBS values

Truth
Accuracy | Authenticity | Certainty
We behave with respect and  
integrity | We are accurate, realistic 
and accountable | We always act  
fairly and abide by the law

Clarity
Ease | Simplicity | Directness
We make it easy to do business with 
UBS | We are concise, precise and to 
the point | We are reliable and 
consistent

Performance
Achievement | Execution | Attainment
We will always give our best | We will 
perform to the highest professional 
standards | We will lead the market 
through superior service and execution

56

cern  to  UK  employees.  The  UKEF  may  also  be  used  for 
defining any workforce agreements affecting UK employ-
ees. It is made up of elected UK permanent employee rep-
resentatives  for  each  business  area  and  division  that  has 
employees in the UK and appointed management repre-
sentatives.

In  Switzerland,  Employee  Representation  Committee 
(ERC)  representatives  partner  with  management  in  the  an-
nual salary negotiations and they are involved in employee 
matters,  including  health  and  safety,  social  security  and 
 pension issues. ERC employee representatives are elected to 
represent the interests of employees whose work contracts 
are  governed  by  Swiss  law  and  the  Agreement  on  Condi-
tions  of  Employment  for  Bank  Staff.  The  ERC  also  fosters 
an  open  dialogue  between  management  and  employees 
through a variety of channels and activities.

Select 2009 awards

Excellence and Innovation in Corporate Learning: Measurement
(Corporate University Xchange Awards 2009)

Top 100 Graduate Employers
(The Times High Fliers 2007–2009)

Ranked No. 8 for “Best Places to Intern: 2009”
(Bloomberg BusinessWeek 2009) 

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1HR010_e

57

 
 
 
Strategy, performance and responsibility
Corporate responsibility

Corporate responsibility

Responsibility and sustainability were our key themes in 2009, as we continued to contend with the effects  
of the major financial crisis we experienced in 2007 and 2008. We have, as detailed elsewhere in this report, 
assumed responsibility to resolve key issues arising from the crisis. 

In response to the lessons learned from the financial crisis and 
the  latest  international  regulatory  provisions  that  followed 
from  the  crisis,  we  have  reviewed  and  revised  important 
 processes, pertaining to, in particular, corporate governance, 
risk  management,  compliance,  personnel  management  (in-
cluding  compensation  and  performance  measurement)  and 
the centralization of responsibilities and competencies. These 
changes are highlighted by the revision of constitutional doc-
uments such as the Code of Business Conduct & Ethics and 
the UBS Values, which accentuate the crucial significance of 
responsible behavior, a key driver of sustainable value for the 
company and our stake holders. 

As a leading financial services firm, we are interested in 
the concerns and expectations of a diverse group of stake-
holders,  ranging  from  clients,  investors  and  employees,  to 
the communities in which we have a presence as well as our 
regulators. With regard to corporate responsibility, in 2009, 
we continued to address key stakeholder expectations and 
concerns  by  contributing  to  the  fight  against  money  laun-
dering, corruption and terrorist financing (AML), executing 
our  environmental  management  program,  implementing 
our human rights statement and by undertaking community 
investment  activities.  Under  the  guidance  of  the  UBS  Cor-
porate  Responsibility  Committee  (CRC),  a  BoD  committee, 
 various  initiatives  were  instigated  (including  the  drafting 

of the new Code of Business Conduct & Ethics), with their 
implementation continuing into 2010.

➔	Refer to www.ubs.com/responsibility for more information 

on the contents of this section

Governance, strategy, and commitments

Corporate responsibility governance
The CRC is mandated to review and assess how we should 
meet  the  existing  and  evolving  corporate  responsibility  ex-
pectations of our stakeholders. The CRC thus supports the 
BoD’s efforts to ensure and advance our reputation for re-
sponsible  corporate  conduct.  Headed  by  the  Chairman  of 
the BoD, the committee includes two other BoD members. It 
is advised by a panel consisting of members of the GEB and 
other senior managers. The members of the advisory panel 
participate in committee meetings and implement its recom-
mendations. 

The financial crisis has emphasized that success depends 
upon behaving responsibly towards and interacting honestly 
and transparently with our stakeholders. In recent meetings, 
the CRC focused on lessons drawn from the crisis and rec-
ommended actions on a range of topics accordingly.

In addition to the mandate pertaining to the expectations 
of our stakeholders, the CRC also monitors and reviews our 

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58

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corporate  responsibility  policies  and  regulations  as  well  as 
the implementation of our corporate responsibility activities 
and commitments. The GEB is responsible for the develop-
ment of our Group and business division strategies as well as 
implementing approved new strategies, including those per-
taining to corporate responsibility, while various committees 
or boards are concerned with tasks and activities pertaining 
to particular aspects of corporate responsibility. 

One example is the Environmental & Human Rights Com-
mittee,  which  is  made  up  of,  among  others,  both  Group 
and  divisional  environmental  representatives.  They  are  re-
sponsible for overseeing the adoption of our environmental 
policy and for providing guidance to the different business 
divisions  in  their  adoption  of  the  “UBS  Statement  on  Hu-
man Rights”. In 2009, this committee reviewed a number of 
significant environmental and social issues and also initiated 
the  revision  of  our  environmental  policy.  Endorsed  by  the 
GEB,  the  revised  policy  was  brought  in  line  with  the  new 
Code of Business Conduct & Ethics of UBS and continues to 
embody  our  commitment  to  the  environment.  It  seeks  to 
ensure  that  we  provide  clients  with  a  range  of  financial 
products and services that address environmental challeng-
es, identify and manage environmental risks, and are con-
tinuing to improve our environmental performance and re-
source  efficiency.  The  policy  is  implemented  through  a 
global environmental management system certified accord-
ing to ISO 14001, the international environmental manage-
ment standard.

➔	Refer to www.ubs.com/environment for more information 

on our environmental and human rights governance

Led by the Head of Global AML Compliance, our efforts 
to fight money laundering, corruption and the financing of 
terrorism are supported by a network of expert global busi-
ness teams. We are streamlining our policies and processes 
to enhance consistency between business divisions as well as 

The five principles of our environmental policy

Environmental policy

Risk management

Business opportunities

In-house ecology

Certified environmental management system

Training and communication 

1CR003_e

to assess threats and risks within the business. We have de-
veloped  extensive  policies  intended  to  prevent,  detect  and 
report money laundering, corruption and terrorist financing. 
These  policies  seek  to  protect  the  firm  and  our  reputation 
from  those  who  may  intend  to  legitimize  their  ill-gotten 
gains through UBS.

➔	Refer to the discussion on combating financial crime below 

for more information on our AML activities

Regional  diversity  heads,  along  with  senior  business 
 managers, consider and decide on diversity / business-aligned 
plans  linked  to  regional  and  divisional  business  and  talent 
strategies.  They  are  also  responsible  for  advising  and  sup-
porting  regional  diversity  boards,  or  their  regional  equiva-
lent, in assessing progress made on relevant issues. The glob-
al diversity team coordinates regional efforts and integration 
into the HR process.

➔	Refer to the “Our employees” section of this report for 
more information on labor standards and diversity 

programs

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Strategy, performance and responsibility
Corporate responsibility

External commitments and initiatives
In  implementing  environmental  and  social  standards  and 
conventions  into  our  business  practices,  we  benefit  from 
participating in various external initiatives, including the UN 
Global  Compact  and  its  local  network  in  Switzerland,  the 
Wolfsberg  Group,  the  UNEP  Finance  Initiative,  and  the  UN 
Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI). In relation to 
the UN Global Compact, we publicly acknowledged the sig-
nificance  of  the  looming  climate  crisis  by  supporting  the 
Compact’s “Seal the Deal!” campaign calling for a fair, bal-
anced  and  effective  post-Kyoto  climate  agreement.  In  his 
testimonial for “Seal the Deal!”, UBS’s Chairman of the BoD 
confirmed a cornerstone of our climate change strategy in 
that we seek to help clients address risks and take advantage 
of opportunities presented by climate change and the transi-
tion to a low carbon economy. 

We also recently joined the Global Corporate Volunteer 
Council  (G-CVC),  an  initiative  of  the  International  Associa-
tion  for  Volunteer  Efforts  (IAVE).  G-CVC  is  a  network  for 
companies  with  leading  international  employee  volunteer 
programs, which aims to showcase best practices in corpo-
rate volunteering, and raise awareness of the impact of em-
ployee engagement in communities around the world.

External ratings, assurance and awards
Our performance and efforts were reflected in key external 
ratings and rankings, which take account of sustainability is-
sues.  We  were  named  an  index  component  for  the  Dow 
Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) World, and are a member of 
the  FTSE4Good  index  series.  We  have  been  a  continuous 
member of both indices since their inception. With regard to 
the three dimensions rated for the DJSI – economic, environ-
mental, and social - we scored well in the social dimension 
and are one of the financial sector’s leaders in the environ-
mental dimension. A lower score in the economic dimension 
– a reflection of a challenging period for us during 2008 and 
2009  –  meant,  however,  that  we  dropped  out  of  the  DJSI 
STOXX, a second Dow Jones Sustainability Index. 

We ranked among the leaders in a benchmark report on 
climate strategies within banks, as published by Sustainable 
Asset  Management  (SAM).  The  report  shows  that  we  are 
among  the  top  5%  of  banks,  which  have,  compared  with 
many of our peers, comprehensively integrated the issue of 
climate change into core business processes.

In 1999, we were the first bank to obtain ISO 14001 cer-
tification  for  our  worldwide  environmental  management 
system. The management system covers the entire scope of 
our  products,  services  and  in-house  operations  which  may 
give rise to an environmental impact. It is audited annually 
and re-certified every three years by SGS. These comprehen-
sive audits (24 audit days and 163 employees in the 2008 
re-certification) verify that appropriate policies and processes 
are in place to manage environmental issues, and that they 
are executed in day-to-day practice. In 2009, SGS confirmed 

that a well-performing environmental management system, 
integrated  in  the  organization  and  suitable  for  managing 
 environmental  risks  and  improving  environmental  perfor-
mance  on  a  continual  basis,  was  put  into  place.  We  took 
second place in the rankings for “Leading Brokerage Firm for 
Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Research” in the 2009 
Thomson  Reuters  Extel  and  UKSIF  Socially  Responsible  In-
vesting & Sustainability Survey.

In  May  2009,  the  US  Environmental  Protection  Agency 
(EPA) awarded UBS Tower at One North Wacker Drive, Chi-
cago, with the Energy Star Award for superior energy effi-
ciency  and  environmental  protection.  In  June  2009,  our 
 office building on 1285 Avenue of the Americas, New York, 
received the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design 
(LEED) for Existing Buildings Silver Certification.

Finally, in late 2009, we received two awards for our use 
of  the  web  as  a  strategic  tool  for  corporate  responsibility 
communications. We came second in the first global survey 
of  “online  CSR  communications”  and  first  in  the  national 
survey  for  Switzerland.  The  surveys  confirmed  the  signifi-
cance of our website for communicating with stakeholders 
who  wish  to  gain  a  comprehensive  understanding  of  our 
corporate responsibility efforts.

➔	Refer to the “Our employees” section of this report for 

information on diversity awards

Stakeholder dialogue and capacity building
Dialogue with external parties is an important contributor to 
our understanding and approach to corporate responsibility. 
In 2009, communications with experts and stakeholders cov-
ered a series of topics ranging from general (e.g. individual 
vs.  corporate  responsibility)  to  specific  (e.g.  environmental 
and social issues pertaining to particular industries). 

Input on the corporate responsibility strategy and activi-
ties we pursue are also regularly sought from employees. An 
internal,  cross-divisional  network  of  experts  plays  a  parti-
cularly  important  role  with  our  members  providing  critical 
input on stakeholder expectations and concerns. These con-
tributions are provided to the CRC and add valuable features 
to the information gathered through other established mon-
itoring channels.

Training and awareness raising
Equally, to advance employees’ awareness of our corporate 
responsibility  processes,  activities,  commitments  and  rele-
vant  topics,  these  are  integrated  into  internal  education 
 offerings  and  broader  awareness  raising  activities.  General 
information is published on our intranet and on the corpo-
rate responsibility website. In 2009, nearly 10,000 employ-
ees participated in training and awareness-raising activities 
dealing  with  corporate  responsibility.  Furthermore,  4,140 
employees participated in training on environmental issues, 
with 3,047 receiving general education on our environmen-
tal policy and programs, and 1,093 employees receiving spe-

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cialist training targeted at their area of expertise and impact. 
Awareness of corporate responsibility was also raised in in-
duction  programs  via  an  intranet-based  presentation.  Em-
ployees are also required to undergo regular training in AML-
related  issues;  this  may  include  online  training,  awareness 
campaigns or seminars.

Responsible banking

The financial crisis has shown that an overly dominant focus 
on short-term thinking resulted in too many compromises on 
quality and sustainability. A fundamental lesson has there fore 
been to re-focus on long-term thinking. While actions cen-
tered  on  the  short-term  undoubtedly  have  their  place,  the 
overall focus must be on sustainable banking. 

We have set our focus on earning the trust of our stake-
holders, aiming for more sustainable earnings and creating 
long-term  shareholder  value.  In  ensuring  that  banking  ac-
tivities  are  undertaken  in  a  responsible  manner,  and  that 
products  and  services  are  suited  to  the  needs  and  require-
ments of clients, we aim to fulfill the heightened expecta-
tions of clients and stakeholders.

Combating financial crime
We believe it is of utmost importance to actively prevent po-
tentially irresponsible or harmful actions. First and foremost, 
this means that our employees must uphold the law, adhere 
to  relevant  regulations,  and  behave  in  a  responsible  and 
principled manner. 

In 2009, we made forceful strides to ensure that all em-
ployees are conscious of their responsibilities and of the im-
portance  of  abiding  by  the  law  in  all  of  their  actions.  We 
have clearly laid out a solid foundation for this via new risk 
and  compliance  processes  and  the  publication  of  a  new 
Code  of  Business  Conduct  &  Ethics  in  January  2010,  and 
have also instigated an in-depth process of communicating 
to and with employees about their responsibilities. 

We continued to strengthen our efforts to both prevent 
and  combat  financial  crime.  Taking  responsibility  to  pre-
serve  the  integrity  of  the  financial  system,  and  our  own 
 operations,  we  are  committed  to  assisting  in  the  fight 
against money laundering, corruption and terrorist financ-
ing. We employ a rigorous risk-based approach to ensure 
our  policies  and  procedures  correspond  with  those  risks, 
and that relationships that are classified as higher risk are 
dealt  with  appropriately.  We  adhere  to  strict  know-your-
clients regulations, which do not, however, seek to under-
mine  clients’  legitimate  right  to  privacy.  Ongoing  due 
 diligence and monitoring is undertaken to assist in the iden-
tification of suspicious activities, including the utilization of 
advanced technology to assist in the identification of trans-
action  patterns  or  unusual  dealings  which,  if  discovered, 
are  promptly  escalated  to  management  or  control  func-
tions. 

As  part  of  our  extensive  and  ongoing  efforts  to  pre-
vent  money  laundering,  corruption  and  terrorist  financing, 
the internal global AML policies were reviewed in 2009, and 
enhancements  to  address  more  specific  risks  in  relation  to 
corruption and terrorist financing will be implemented glob-
ally in 2010. As part of our review of trade financing prohi-
bitions regarding certain war materials, these were expand-
ed  from  nuclear,  biological  and  chemical  weapons  and 
anti-personnel land mines to include cluster bombs, deplet-
ed uranium for military purposes as well as components of 
all such weapons. 

We are a founding member of the Wolfsberg Group, an 
association  of  11  global  banks  established  in  2000,  which 
aim  to  develop  financial  services  industry  standards  and 
 related  products  for  Know  Your  Customer,  Anti-Money 
Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing policies. Togeth-
er with the other members of the Group, we have actively 
engaged with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which 
is an inter-governmental body that develops and promotes 
national  and  international  policies  to  combat  money  laun-
dering  and  terrorist  financing  in  the  context  of  its  consul-
tation  processes  with  the  private  sector.  Special  attention 
has  been  placed  on  developing  a  risk-based  approach  to 
money laundering, implementing guidelines around Weap-
ons  of  Mass  Destruction  Proliferation  Finance,  and  actively 
contributing  to  the  revision  of  FATF  Recommendation  9 
(“Customer  due  diligence  and  record-keeping”),  which 
states that financial institutions, intermediaries or other third 
parties  must  perform  certain  aspects  of  the  customer  due 
diligence process. 

Managing environmental and social risks
Environmental and social risk is broadly defined as the pos-
sibility that we encounter reputational or financial damage 
as  the  result  of  transactions,  products,  services  or  invest-
ments that involve a party associated with environmentally 
or socially sensitive activities, or that we are exposed to risks 
such  as  environmental  liabilities,  human  rights  infringe-
ments, or changes in regulations. 

We seek to identify, manage and control these environ-
mental and social risks in our business transactions. Howev-
er, not all products and services we provide have the same 
risk  potential:  we  therefore  take  a  risk-based  ap proach  to 
environmental and social risk management and regularly an-
alyze  our  portfolio  of  products  and  services  to  assess  their 
respective environmental and social risk potential. With our 
current business profile and operating environment, our po-
tential for material risk is greater within the context of our 
lending and capital markets businesses, as well as our direct 
real  estate  and  infrastructure  investments.  For  these  prod-
ucts  and  services,  we  have  designed  procedures  and  tools 
for the identification, assessment and management of envi-
ronmental and social risks. These procedures and tools are 
integrated  into  standard  risk  management  processes,  such 

61

 
 
 
Strategy, performance and responsibility
Corporate responsibility

as due diligence on transactions or investments, helping to 
ensure that material environmental and social risks are iden-
tified, assessed and escalated in a timely fashion.

For  example,  Wealth  Management  &  Swiss  Bank  and 
Wealth Management Americas have introduced a standard-
ized  check  to  identify  material  environmental  risk  in  their 
lending  to  all  relevant  clients.  Transactions  with  significant 
environmental risk undergo a detailed environmental assess-
ment. In 2009, nearly 100,000 lending transactions in Swit-
zerland  were  subject  to  an  environmental  risk  check,  of 
which  24  were  referred  to  the  business  division’s  environ-
mental  risk  competence  center  for  detailed  assessment.  In 
the Investment Bank, the environmental risk framework cov-
ers  all  banking  activities  including  debt  and  equity  under-
writing,  financial  advisory  services  and  lending.  Investment 
Bank personnel identify potential environmental risks in the 
initial  due  diligence  phase  and  alert  the  Investment  Bank’s 
Environmental  Advisory  Group  (EAG)  in  case  of  significant 
potential risks. Assessments by lawyers and / or external con-
sultants  are  routinely  sought  for  certain  sectors  and  prod-
ucts. The EAG works with the relevant business and control 
functions to assess the risks, determine any mitigating mea-
sures and direct further due diligence as required (69 trans-
actions  in  2009).  In  this  way,  the  relevant  senior  business 
committee  may  fully  consider  the  potential  environmental 
risk in the course of its review of the transaction and / or cli-
ent. Global Asset Management has put environmental due 
diligence  processes  in  place  for  their  real  estate  and  infra-
structure  funds.  In  2009,  all  properties  acquired  or  devel-
oped by Global Real Estate for their direct investment vehi-
cles were subject to a thorough environmental due diligence 
process,  in  accordance  with  local  regulations  and  internal 
best practice guidance. Similar processes are in operation in 
Infrastructure Asset Management.

Some of our clients operate in sectors that are considered 
to  be  particularly  environmentally  and  socially  sensitive.  To 
support the consistent identification and assessment of envi-
ronmental  and  social  risks  (including  human  rights)  across 
the  Group,  we  have  developed  internal  industry  sector 
guidelines. The sector guidelines currently cover chemicals, 
oil  and  gas,  utilities,  infrastructure,  forestry  products  and 
biofuels and metals and mining. These guidelines are being 
adopted  by  each  of  our  business  divisions  in  transactional 
and client due diligence processes. These guidelines provide 
an overview of key environmental and social issues that arise 
in the various life cycles of the sector, and summarize indus-
try standards in dealing with them. We believe that our com-
mitment to our clients and to society requires us to search 
for solutions whenever possible. We seek to help clients to 
move towards more environmentally and socially responsible 
practices by engaging with them. This can benefit their busi-
ness and decrease financial and reputational risk. However, 
where engagement is not possible or successful, we may de-
cline the transaction altogether.

Products and services
Equally important to the management of environmental and 
social  issues  is  the  provision  of  financial  products  and  ser-
vices, which help clients manage their environmentally and 
socially-related business opportunities and risks. We seek to 
help investors benefit from related market opportunities and 
by  integrating  environmental  and  social  considerations, 
where relevant, in research and investment analysis. This of-
fering  currently  stretches  across  our  businesses  in  wealth 
management,  investment  banking,  asset  manage ment,  re-
tail, and commercial banking. It includes SRI funds, research 
and advisory services provided to private and institutional cli-
ents, access to the world’s capital mar kets for renewable en-
ergy firms and, in Switzerland, “eco” mortgages. 

Taking environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues 
into account in investment processes is of increasing interest 
to clients and consultants across all of our investment areas. 
In  2009,  Global  Asset  Management  took  another  step  in 
demonstrating commitment to ESG by becoming a signatory 
to  the  UN  Principles  for  Responsible  Investment  (UNPRI). 
 UNPRI is a global investor initiative that is designed to pro-
vide  a  framework  for  better  integration  of  ESG  issues  into 
mainstream investment practice.

Also in 2009, we decided to establish a new competence 
center within our Wealth Management & Swiss Bank busi-
ness  division,  which  draws  and  expands  on  our  resources 
and expertise in the areas of philanthropy and SRI. In a “one-
stop” approach, the competence center will provide clients 
with a unique opportunity to access a comprehensive range 
of philanthropic, SRI and values-based wealth management 
services.

Finally, our senior scientific advisor, Sir David King, contin-
ued to advise on all scientific matters with particular empha-
sis on global climate change and the challenges it poses to 
sustainable  economic  growth.  Our  clients  benefit  from  Sir 
David’s expertise and can get further insight into a variety of 
timely scientific topics through a quarterly series of science-
focused bulletins. In 2009, these bulletins included briefs on 
climate  change,  biofuels  and  mobility.  Sir  David  also  dis-
cussed energy efficiency and low carbon technologies in the 
November issue of the UBS Investor’s Guide.

Investment products and advisory 
In  2009,  we  continued  to  expand  our  SRI  offering  in  re-
sponse to growing demand from a number of markets, in-
cluding the launch of two new SRI products, the UBS (Lux) 
Equity SICAV – Sustainable Global Leaders and the UBS (Lux) 
Equity SICAV – Climate Change. Our offering is diverse and 
includes  products  managed  according  to  ESG  criteria  and 
theme-based  approaches.  The  ESG  offering  includes  an  all 
cap SRI Global Equity strategy, which was among the first of 
its  kind.  The  theme-based  approach  focuses  on  innovative 
companies providing solutions to the challenges of climate 
change, water scarcity and demographic change. We offer a 

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range  of  products  focusing  on  each  individual  theme  and 
the flagship UBS (Lux) Equity Fund Global Innovators, which 
spans all three themes. 

Additionally, we offer customized client portfolios in the 
form  of segregated mandates / institutional  accounts based 
on  “negative”  screening,  which  exclude  certain  controver-
sial stocks or sectors based on their negative social or envi-
ronmental  impact,  as  perceived  by  the  client.  Our  global 
platform  and  investment  research  enable  us  to  offer  such 
tailor-made solutions. In addition to fund management ser-
vices,  we  provide  stock-broking  and  account  management 
services to alternative energy and SRI fund managers. 

Finally, we also offer SRI portfolio management solu tions 
to selected private client segments. This offering combines 
internal and external SRI expertise and includes SRI-focused 
portfolios in Switzerland and SRI-managed accounts in the 
US, where ESG criteria are embedded into the fundamental 
investment process, or where clients have the ability to iden-
tify and exclude securities from ownership based on issue-
oriented  screens.  This  allows  private  clients  to  customize 
mandates to their particular social policy criteria. Our open 
architecture  approach  also  allows  clients  to  invest  in  SRI 
bond, equity and microfinance products from leading third-
party providers. 

In  past  years,  we  experienced  increasing  client  de mand 
for SRI and expanded our SRI product offering. As per 31 De-
cember 2009, SRI invested assets had gone up to CHF 26.85 
billion, representing 1.2% of our total invested assets.

Engagement and voting rights
The SRI team in Switzerland engages in dialogue with com-
panies represented in the SRI funds they manage. The ana-
lysts  and  portfolio  managers  provide  positive  and  negative 
feedback on relevant ESG issues that may impact investment 
performance, as part of regular communication with corpo-
rate  management  teams.  When  controversial  information 
on the company’s environmental and social performance is 
received, the SRI analysts contact the company and provide 

management with a chance to demonstrate what measures 
have  been  taken  to  solve  the  issues.  If  the  company  can 
demonstrate how it is dealing with the problem and what 
progress has already been achieved, an investment is possi-
ble. These engagement activities are, in addition to the posi-
tive screening processes, applied to the SRI funds. 

We  believe  that  voting  rights  have  economic  value  and 
should be treated accordingly. In the UK, the asset manage-
ment business seeks to influence the corporate responsibility 
and corporate governance practices of the companies it in-
vests in. Where we have been given the discretion to vote on 
behalf of our clients, we will exercise our delegated fiduciary 
responsibility by voting in a manner we believe will most fa-
vorably impact the value of their investments. Good corpo-
rate governance should, in the long term, lead towards both 
better  corporate  performance  and  improved  shareholder 
value. As such, we expect board members of companies in 
which we have invested to act in the service of their share-
holders, view themselves as stewards of the company, exer-
cise appropriate judgment and practice diligent oversight of 
the management of the company.

Research 
Our  SRI  research  teams  analyze  emerging  socio-economic 
and environmental trends and assess their potential impact 
on investment markets and companies’ share prices. Identi-
fying material SRI issues is challenging. As such, three things 
help  determine  which  environmental  and  social  issues  are 
critical: society’s perception of what is important; the nature 
of the competitive pressures facing firms in an industry; and 
how costs and benefits are (or will be) distributed between 
stakeholders. 

Our SRI research teams were established in each of our 
business divisions to serve their respective clients. In the In-
vestment Bank, the equity research team writes recommen-
dations  and  reports  for  institutional  investment  clients  on 
renewable  energy,  the  carbon  markets  and  the  impact  of 
climate change on companies in a wide range of sectors. SRI 

Socially responsible investments invested assets 1

For the year ended

% change
from

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.08

2,174

3,189

CHF billion, except where indicated

UBS

UBS SRI products and mandates

GRI 2 31.12.09
2,233

positive criteria

exclusion criteria

Third-party

Total SRI invested assets
Proportion of total invested assets (%) 4

FS11

FS11

FS11

FS11

2.72

22.44

1.69
26.85 3
1.20%

2.12

14.05

1.85

18.03

5.20

33.33

1.08

39.61

0.83%

1.24%

3

28

60

(9)

49

1 All figures are based on the level of knowledge as of January 2010.    2 Global Reporting Initiative (see also www.global-
reporting.org). FS stands for the performance indicators defined in the GRI Financial Services Sector Supplement.    3 5.5% of 
reported assets have newly been included in 2009 due to adjustments in the reporting process and boundaries.    4 Total 
SRI / UBS’s invested assets.

Positive criteria: apply to the active selection of 
companies, focusing on how a company’s strategies, 
processes and products impact its financial success, the 
environment and society. This includes best-in-class or 
thematic investments.

Exclusion criteria: companies or sectors are excluded 
based on environmental, social or ethical criteria,  
for example, companies involved in weapons, tobacco, 
gambling, or companies with high negative environmen-
tal impacts. This also includes faith – based investing 
consistent with principles and values of a particular 
religion.

Third-party: Our open product platform gives clients 
access to socially responsible investment products from 
third-party providers. This includes both positive and 
exclusion critieria, and microfinance investments.

63

 
 
 
Strategy, performance and responsibility
Corporate responsibility

and sustainability research is provided by a dedicated team. 
In  2008,  the  SRI  and  sustainability  research  team  initiated 
dedicated coverage of corporate governance issues and cor-
porate governance was the theme of our 2009 SRI confer-
ence.  In  addition  to  publishing  regular  research  reports  on 
the  topic,  we  have  incorporated  selected  governance  data 
within some of our research tools. In the asset management 
business, an internal SRI research team manages portfolios 
around  themes  such  as  climate  change / energy  efficiency, 
water  and  demographics.  The  SRI  research  team  in  our 
wealth  management  business  conducts  SRI  research  and 
provides  advice  to  private  clients  on  SRI  investment  solu-
tions. 

Client  interest  in  some  aspects  of  SRI  –  for  instance  cli-
mate change, demographics and water – has grown, and so 
has  research  coverage.  The  SRI  teams  regularly  collaborate 
with  analysts  in  other  teams  to  write  about  emerging  SRI 
themes, and relevant research content is regularly published 
by  a  growing  number  of  specialists  within  the  mainstream 
research effort. 

Financing and advisory services 
Our renewable energy investment banking business arrang-
es  financing  and  provides  strategic  and  financial  advi sory 
services  for  companies  in  the  solar,  wind,  wave  and  oth er 
renewable  energy  sectors.  Since  2006,  we  have  led  over 
35 financing transactions in these sectors, raising over USD 
24  billion  for  renewable  energy  companies  worldwide.  In 
2009,  we  acted  as  the  joint  lead  underwriter  and  joint 
lead manager for the USD 2.6 billion initial public offering of 
the  wind  power  developer  and  operator,  China  Longyuan 
Power  Group.  With  over  3,300  mega-watts  of  installed 
wind  capacity  as  of  September  2009,  and  targeting  6,500 
mega-watts  by  the  end  of  2010,  Longyuan  Power  is  the 
 largest wind power company in Asia and the fifth largest in 
the world. 

Carbon trading 
In cap and trade emissions markets, such as the EU Emissions 
Trading  Scheme  (EU  ETS),  companies  have  annual  caps  on 
the amount of emissions their facilities are allowed to pro-
duce. Companies who are able to reduce their emissions be-
low their cap have the ability to sell their unused quota to 
other entities, thereby creating an emissions market. Through 
the use of financial instruments, we are able to help clients 
manage  their  exposure  to  the  emissions  markets.  UBS  Ex-
change Traded Derivatives (ETD) is an active member of the 
major  emission  exchanges  in  Europe  and  North  America, 
and offers execution and full service clearing for con tracts on 
EU ETS allowances (EUA), UN Certified Emissions Reductions 
(CER), Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative allow ances, Chi-
cago Carbon Exchange (CCX) carbon financial instruments 
and nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide. 

64

Corporate responsibility in operations

We have long taken a very keen and active interest in lower-
ing the environmental footprint of our operations and in our 
supply chain. Following the establishment of our first energy 
functional unit in the late 1970s, we were also the first Swiss 
bank to establish the position of an environmental officer in 
the  1980s.  Years  later,  we  persist  to  improve  the  environ-
mental efficiency of our operations.

Environmental and CO2 footprints 
We  directly  impact  the  environment  in  a  number  of  ways: 
our  businesses  consume  electricity;  employees  travel  for 
busi ness purposes and use paper and generate waste in the 
course of their work; and offices require heating and cooling 
systems.  Improving  the  use  of  these  resources  can  reduce 
costs  and  enhance  environmental  performance;  therefore, 
we have a series of measures to efficiently manage our envi-
ronmental impact. 

CO2 strategy and emission reduction 
In February 2006, the GEB decided to set a Group-wide CO2 
emission  reduction  target  of  40%  below  2004  levels  by 
2012. We seek to achieve this target by: 
–  adopting  in-house  energy  efficiency  measures  that  re-

duce energy consumption in buildings we operate;

–  increasing  the  proportion  of  renewable  energy  used  to 

avoid emissions at source; and

–  offsetting and neutralizing emissions that cannot be re-

duced by other means.
These measures allowed us to further increase the share 
of renewable energy we purchase, and reduce our 2009 CO2 
emissions  by  31%  compared  with  2004,  another  step  to-
ward achieving the 40% reduction target by 2012. 

(cid:49)(cid:87)(cid:84)(cid:2)(cid:73)(cid:84)(cid:71)(cid:71)(cid:80)(cid:74)(cid:81)(cid:87)(cid:85)(cid:71)(cid:2)(cid:73)(cid:67)(cid:85)(cid:2)(cid:10)(cid:41)(cid:42)(cid:41)(cid:11)(cid:2)(cid:72)(cid:81)(cid:81)(cid:86)(cid:82)(cid:84)(cid:75)(cid:80)(cid:86)(cid:124)(cid:2)
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S

Energy consumption and efficiency 
Energy consumption represents an important environmental 
impact  area  and  is  the  biggest  contributor  to  our  overall 
greenhouse  gas  emissions.  In  line  with  our  wider  business 
strategy, improvements in energy efficiency have helped to 
reduce  both  emissions  and  costs.  Energy  consumption  is 
down  6%  (59  gigawatt  hours)  through  a  combination  of 
tighter building controls, data center and work station effi-
ciency, and reduced occupancy. Our IT-driven initiatives con-
tributed significantly to these energy savings, most notably 
through the server efficiency program. 

Renewable energy 
In  addition  to  our  energy  efficiency  programs,  we  seek  to 
improve the energy mix purchased by including a higher pro-
portion of renewable energy. The percentage of renew able 
energy and district heating purchases increased from 24% 
in 2004  to 51% in 2009. In Switzerland, for example, the 
percentage of electricity sourced from renewable sources in-
creased to almost 100%. We also purchase renewable en-
ergy  credits  (RECs)  in  the  US  electricity  mar kets,  which  ac-
counted for 18% of our electricity consumption in the US in 
2009.

Business travel and offsetting 
We experienced a significant reduction (approximately 40%) 
in business related travel in 2009 due to difficult market con-
ditions and a focus on reducing costs. Although  travel is es-
sential  for  a  global  financial  services  firm  that  strongly  be-
lieves  in  personalized  client  relationships,  our   previous 
investments  in  video  conferencing  infrastructure  have  en-
abled  employees  to  substantially  reduce  travel  for  internal 
meetings. 

We  have  also  seen  a  shift  to  high  speed  rail  to  replace 
short  haul  air  travel  in  Europe.  Guidelines  have  also  been 
developed to help us reduce the environmental impact when 
running client events and conferences.

Carbon  emissions  resulting  from  business  travel  have 
been offset as in previous years, and we partner with a num-
ber of specialists to carefully select global projects that match 
our criteria for delivering carbon offsets and contributing to 
the local community. In 2009, we selected projects in Brazil, 
India, Turkey and China. 

Paper and waste 
In 2006, we set firm-wide targets to reduce our paper and 
waste consumption. The goal of reducing paper consump-
tion  per  employee  by  5%  for  2009  was  exceeded  signifi-
cantly with the average amount of paper used per employee 
down  31%  since  2006.  This  reduction  was  particularly 
strong in 2009, due to a combination of significantly lower 
publication  volumes  and  the  success  of  e-documents  and 
double-sided printing initiatives.

The share of paper from recycled sources is slightly under 
our  goal  of  20%,  though  our  overall  environmental  foot-
print from paper use has been improved by increasing the 
share  of  Forest  Stewardship  Council  (FSC)  certified  paper 
from 0% in 2006 to 17% in 2009.

The  waste  recycling  ratio  remained  at  a  low  level  of 
around 54%, partially due to the consequence of reduced 
paper consumption. 

Supply chain management
Maintaining  our  infrastructure,  ranging  from  offices  across 
IT  infrastructure  to  more  mundane  components  such  as 
 stationery, would not be possible without the products and 
services  from  a  substantial  range  of  suppliers  and  vendors 
around  the  world.  In  2009,  we  spent  over  CHF  6.3  billion 
purchasing  a  wide  range  of  products  and  services  from 
s uppliers and contractors. We are committed to responsible 
supply  management,  and  for  many  years  have  established 
processes to manage environmental and human rights issues 
in relevant areas of our supply chain. In line with our ambi-
tion to achieve continuous improvement in our supply chain, 
we have developed a guideline which provides Group-wide 
assistance on identifying, assessing and monitoring supplier 
practices in the areas of human and labor rights, the envi-
ronment  and  corruption.  Examples  of  human  rights  issues 
that have been included are avoidance of child and forced 
labor,  non-discrimination,  remuneration,  hours  of  work, 
freedom of association, humane treatment, and health and 
safety. In 2008, we started implementing this guideline and 
have  gradually  broadened  its  application  to  new  contracts 
and  contract  renewals  with  suppliers  over  the  course  of 
2009.  Since  its  introduction,  approximately  400  suppliers 
have been screened according to the guideline’s social and 
environmental criteria, and responsible supply chain require-

Environmental indicators per full-time employee

Direct and intermediate energy

Business travel

Paper consumption

Waste

Water consumption
CO2 footprint

Unit

kWh / FTE

Pkm / FTE

kg / FTE

kg / FTE
m3 / FTE
t / FTE

2009

11,986

7,016

130

265

31.9

3.12

Trend

➙

➙

2008

11,792

10,281

167

298

28.1

3.07

Legend: FTE = full-time employee; kWh = kilowatt-hour; Pkm = person kilometer; kg = kilogram; m3 = cubic meter; t = ton

2007

11,942

12,685

190

299

26.7

3.43

65

 
 
 
2009 2

Absolute 

normalized 4 Data quality 5
***

957 GWh

Strategy, performance and responsibility
Corporate responsibility

Environmental indicators 1

Total direct and intermediate energy consumption 7

Total direct energy consumption 8

GRI 3

EN3

natural gas

heating oil

fuels (petrol, diesel, gas)

renewable energy (solar power, etc.)
Total intermediate energy purchased 9
electricity from gas-fired power stations

electricity from oil-fired power stations

electricity from coal-fired power stations

electricity from nuclear power stations

electricity from hydroelectric power stations

electricity from other renewable resources

district heating

Share of renewable energy and district heating

132 GWh

84.6%

10.9%

4.5%

0.05%

EN4

825 GWh

10.6%

2.9%

17.5%

9.5%

28.0%

23.6%

7.8%

51%

Total business travel

EN29

560 m Pkm

rail travel 10
road travel 10
air travel

Number of flights (segments)

Total paper consumption

post-consumer recycled
new fibers FSC 11
new fibers ECF + TCF 11
new fibers chlorine bleached

Total waste

valuable materials separated and recycled

incinerated

landfilled

Total water consumption
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions in CO2e

Direct GHG emissions (Scope 1) 12
Gross indirect GHG emissions (Gross Scope 2) 12
Gross other indirect GHG emissions (Gross Scope 3) 12

Total Gross GHG Emissions

GHG reductions from renewable energy 13
CO2e offsets (business air travel) 14

EN1

EN2

EN22

EN8

EN16

EN16

EN17

3.7%

1.0%

95.3%

258,396

10,349 t

16.7%

17.1%

65.9%

0.4%

21,183 t

54.4%

12.5%

33.1%
2.55 m m3

25,723 t

298,338 t

87,867 t

411,928 t

99,248 t

63,579 t

2008 2
Absolute 
normalized 4
1,016 GWh

127 GWh

83.3%

12.2%

4.5%

0.03%

2007 2
Absolute 
normalized 4
981 GWh

130 GWh

83.3%

12.1%

4.6%

0.03%

890 GWh

851 GWh

11.7%

3.7%

18.4%

11.1%

25.8%

23.1%

6.2%

48%

12.3%

4.2%

18.6%

13.6%

25.5%

22.0%

3.8%

45%

886 m Pkm

1,042 m Pkm

3.5%

0.6%

96.0%

398,369

14,403 t

16.2%

16.6%

66.8%

0.4%

3.3%

0.5%

96.2%

446,274

15,593 t

10.5%

10.7%

78.6%

0.2%

25,644 t

24,589 t

54.6%

14.3%

31.1%
2.42 m m3

26,490 t

313,582 t

129,364 t

469,436 t

109,238 t

96,000 t

264,197 t

56.3%

15.8%

27.9%
2.19 m m3

26,701 t

311,808 t

149,323 t

487,832 t

93,127 t

113,000

281,705 t

Trend 6

➘

➙

➙

➙

➘

➙

➙

➘

➚

➙

➚

➙

➙

➙

➙

➙

➚

➙

➙

➙

➙

➙

➘

➘

**

**

***

***

***

***

**

***

**

**

***

***

***

***

***

**

**

***

***

***

***

***

***

**

***

***

***

**

**

***

**

***

***

***

***

Total Net GHG Emissions (GHG Footprint) 15
***
Legend: GWh = giga watt hour; Pkm = person kilometer; t = ton; m3 = cubic meter; m = million; CO2e = CO2 equivalents

249,101 t

1 All  figures  are  based  on  the  level  of  knowledge  as  of  January  2010.    2  Reporting  period:  2009  (1  July  2008–30  June  2009),  2008  (1  July  2007–30  June  2008),  2007  (1  July  2006–30  June 
2007)    3 Global Reporting Initiative (see also www.globalreporting.org). EN stands for the Environmental Performance Indicators as defined in the GRI.    4 Non-significant discrepancies from 100% 
are possible due to roundings.    5 Specifies the estimated reliability of the aggregated data and corresponds approximately to the following uncertainty (confidence level 95%): up to 5%–***, up to 
15%–**, up to 30%–*. Uncertainty is the likely difference between a reported value and a real value.    6 Trend: at a *** / ** / * data quality, the respective trend is stable (➙) if the variance equals 
5 / 10 / 15%, low decreasing / increasing (➘,➚) if it equals 10 / 20 / 30% and decreasing / increasing if the variance is bigger than 10 / 20 / 30% ( , ).    7 Refers to energy consumed within the opera-
tional boundaries of UBS.    8 Refers to primary energy purchased which is consumed within the operational boundaries of UBS (oil, gas, fuels).    9 Refers to energy purchased that is produced by convert-
ing primary energy and consumed within the operational boundaries of UBS (electricity and district heating).    10 Rail and road travel: Switzerland only.    11 Paper produced from new fibers. FSC stands 
for Forest Stewardship Council, ECF for Elementary Chlorine Free and TCF for Totally Chlorine Free.    12 Refers to ISO 14064 and the “GHG (greenhouse gas) protocol initiative” (www.ghgprotocol.org), 
the international standards for GHG reporting: scope 1 accounts for direct GHG emissions by UBS; gross scope 2 accounts for indirect GHG emissions associated with the generation of imported / pur-
chased electricity (grid average emission factor), heat or steam; gross scope 3 accounts for other indirect GHG emissions associated with business travel, paper consumption and waste disposal.    13 GHG 
savings by consuming electricity from renewable sources.    14 Offsets from third-party GHG reduction projects measured in CO2 equivalents (CO2e). These offsets neutralize GHG emission from our busi-
ness air travel.    15 GHG footprint equals gross GHG emissions minus GHG reductions from renewable energy and CO2e offsets.

66

	
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ments were included in the arrangement with relevant sup-
pliers  who  were  awarded  contracts.  Also  since  2008,  ap-
proximately  260  procurement  and  sourcing  officers  have 
been  trained  on  the  relevance  and  application  of  the  new 
guideline.  The  centralization  of  all  units  performing  supply 
management  activities  within  Supply  &  Demand  Manage-
ment (SDM) in the Corporate Center in 2009 further contrib-
uted  to  a  stringent  implementation  of  the  guideline  when 
interacting with our suppliers.

Community investment

In  2009,  we  continued  the  well-established  tradition  of 
 supporting  the  advancement  and  empowerment  of  orga-
nizations  and  individuals  within  the  communities  we  do 
business in. From an early focus on direct cash donations, we 
have  progressed  to  a  position  where  our  community  in-
vestment  program  encompasses  employee  volunteering, 
matched-giving  schemes,  in-kind  donations,  disaster  relief 
efforts  and / or  partnerships  with  community  groups,  edu-
cational institutions and cultural organizations in all of our 
business regions.

ment through Education” and “Building Stronger Commu-
nities”, with some contributions to other activities, including 
disaster relief. These donations combined with other signifi-
cant activities, notably the volunteering activities of employ-
ees,  have  continued  to  provide  substantial  benefit  to  proj-
ects  and  people  around  the  world  (as  highlighted  in  the 
examples given on the next page). 

Across  all  business  regions,  our  employees  continue  to 
play a very active role in our community investment efforts, 
in  particular,  through  their  volunteering  activities.  In  2009, 
more than 9,200 employees spent almost 78,800 hours vol-
unteering. We support their commitment by offering up to 
two working days a year for volunteering efforts, and also 
match employee donations to selected charities.

In Switzerland, our community investment efforts are also 
advanced by the UBS Culture Foundation, the UBS Founda-
tion  for  Social  Issues  and  Education  and  the  association  A 
Helping Hand from UBS Employees. In 2009, these organiza-
tions have again made valuable contributions to important 
societal causes, including fostering humanities and the cre-
ative arts, supporting communities in need, and helping dis-
abled and disadvantaged people.

Community affairs
Community affairs at UBS are founded on a global strategy 
defined by the GEB, and are based on a global community 
affairs  guideline.  Activities  are  governed  in  a  decentralized 
fashion.  Every  region  has  a  dedicated  community  affairs 
team which reports directly to senior management. With re-
gional  guidelines  in  place,  the  teams  coordinate  charitable 
commitments by our firm and our employees. The Corporate 
Center  ensures  global  coordination  of  these  activities  and 
also provides a central reporting structure to collate commu-
nity investment data from across UBS as a whole. 

In 2009, we set clear savings goals across the firm; these 
also had an impact on the activities of the regional commu-
nity affairs functions. Direct cash donations by UBS and our 
affiliated foundations to carefully selected non-profit partner 
organizations  and  charities  were  lower  than  in  previous 
years totaling nearly CHF 27 million, assigned, primarily, to 
our  continuing  community  affairs  key  themes,  “Empower-

Client foundation
Charitable  organizations  and  projects  across  the  globe  – 
 usually in regions without a UBS business presence – also 
benefit from the dynamic activities of our client foundation, 
the UBS Optimus Foundation, which invests donations into 
a number of programs and organizations. The foundation 
 focuses  on  the  key  themes  of  “Education  and  Child  Pro-
tection” and “Global Health Research”. The UBS Optimus 
foundation  celebrated  its  tenth  anniversary  at  the  end  of 
2009,  and  proudly  looked  back  at  a  successful  year  in 
which it donated CHF 22 million in support of 93 projects 
and two major initiatives in Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe and 
North and South America. Over the past ten years, the UBS 
Optimus  Foundation  has  supported  146  projects  in  63 
countries with a total of more than CHF 79 million. For its 
anniversary year, it has set itself ambitious targets to further 
expand the benefits it extends to charitable projects around 
the globe.

67

 
 
 
 
Strategy, performance and responsibility
Corporate responsibility

Examples of UBS community investment activities across the globe

Americas (I): The Power Lunch 
literacy mentorship program cel-
ebrates a decade long partnership. 
Over the past ten years over 1,400 
employees from UBS Americas have 
volunteered from sixty to ninety 
minutes each week to read aloud to 
at-risk public elementary school 
students. Studies have shown that 
student-reading skills are enhanced 
through the use of mentor relation-
ships. The program began with 
Everybody Wins, a non-profit organi-
zation based in New York City, and 
has served children in Chicago, IL, 
Jersey City, NJ, Los Angeles, CA, New 
York, NY, Stamford, CT and Wee-
hawken, NJ. Over 1,600 students have 
participated in the reading program 
over the last decade; they have been 
the recipients of approximately 50,000 
volunteer hours. “The fact that UBS 
supports these programs means a lot 
to me, and helps connect me to the 
firm and to the UBS culture”, says 
Maryellen Frank, a UBS employee who 
has participated in Power Lunch 
since its inception. “I have been here 
almost 20 years, and the constant 
connection between the firm and the 
community is something to be very 
proud of.”

Americas (II): In October 2009, 
Wealth Management Americas orga-
nized an Employee Giving Campaign, 
a new addition to its Building Brighter 
Futures program, which aims to 
make schools and other education-
based community organizations into 
dynamic learning centers. The primary 
goal of the Campaign was to raise 
funds for educational organizations 
with the firm matching employee 
donations dollar for dollar, and 29 
charities were nominated by our 
employees. By making a significant 
monetary contribution (nearly USD 
600,000) towards the enhancement 
of school buildings, and the gathering 

of various resources to offer students 
the chance to achieve success, we 
have made a difference in the lives of 
the children and families involved. 
October 2009 was also Building 
Brighter Futures’ Community Engage-
ment Month. Its goal is to cultivate 
school and civic collaboration to help 
transform schools or education- 
focused organizations into dynamic 
learning centers. Through our 
partnership with the Hands On 
Network, a non-profit organization 
focusing on community service, over 
1,100 UBS employees participated 
in locally-driven volunteer activities. 
Since the launch of Community 
Engage ment Month in 2007, over 
5,700 employees, their friends and 
their families have volunteered 
across the country.

Asia Pacific: In order to maximize 
the impact of our grants in Singapore 
and Tokyo, we are now working 
with the Community Foundation of 
Singapore and Social Venture Partners 
Tokyo. With both partners, we are 
able to strengthen the capacity of 
community organizations to meet 
local needs and provide corporate 
philanthropic leadership. Through the 
creation of a donor-advised fund in 
Singapore in 2009, we will continue 
to support our existing community 
partners. “UBS’s leadership in 
corporate responsibility in Singapore 
is a great example for other corpo-
rations”, says Stanley Tan, Chairman 
of the Community Foundation of 
Singapore. “Their strategic approach 
to the commitment of funds and 
employee skills are a tremendous 
investment in our community.” In 
Tokyo, promising social entrepreneurs 
have the opportunity to apply for 
funding through a competitive 
process, with the successful projects 
receiving strategic business counseling 
as well as funding.

Europe, Middle East and Africa: 
Throughout the region, we continue 
to support regeneration efforts, 
particularly in areas close to where we 
conduct our business. In Milan and 
Paris, employees are involved in 
projects supporting the development 
and education of young adults from 
disadvantaged communities. In 
London, our efforts were recognized 
by the Business in the Community 
Example of Excellence Award for 
Project Shoreditch, a targeted and 
collaborative regeneration partnership 
involving UBS, Deutsche Bank, Link-
laters, and community partners East 
London Business Alliance and Shore-
ditch Trust. Project Shoreditch has 
placed over 5,000 employee volunteers 
with organizations in the Shoreditch 
area, and leveraged over GBP 450,000 
in in-kind support. Carsten Kengeter, 
co-CEO of the Investment Bank, joined 
a group of 30 colleagues to take part 
in an employee volunteering project in 
Shoreditch, working with students 
at The Bridge Academy, Hackney, our 
flagship EMEA Community Affairs 
partnership, raising student aspirations 
by taking part in practical and group 
work.

Switzerland: Young Enterprise 
Switzerland (YES) develops and 
supervises practice-oriented economic 
education programs for students, with 
the aim of connecting the economy 
with schools. The non-profit organiza-
tion focuses on young people who are 
empowered to network in economic 
relations, act entrepreneurially, and be 
responsible and successful in finding 
their way within the global economy. 
Thanks to a quadrennial partnership, 
YES and UBS jointly enhance the 
power of innovation and competitive-
ness of young Swiss students.

➔	Refer to www.ubs.com/community 

for more information on our 

community investment activities

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69

 
 
 
UBS business divisions and  
Corporate Center

UBS business divisions and Corporate Center

Wealth Management & Swiss Bank

Wealth Management Americas

Wealth Management & Swiss Bank is headquartered in 
Switzerland and employs more than 27,500 personnel 
in 44 countries. We deliver comprehensive financial services 
to wealthy private clients around the world – except to 
those served by Wealth Management Americas  – as well 
as to retail and corporate clients in Switzerland. Clients 
are provided with advice and financial products and services 
to fit their individual needs. 

New reporting structure

Commencing in first quarter 2010, we will change the 
internal reporting of Wealth Management & Swiss Bank 
and present in our external financial reports two separate 
business units: “Wealth Management” and “Retail & 
Corporate”.

Performance in 2009

Wealth Management Americas is among the leading 
wealth managers in the region based on invested assets 
and includes the former Wealth Management US business 
unit, the domestic Canadian business and the international 
business booked in the United States. Formed from 
the reorganization of the Global Wealth Management 
& Business Banking business division in 2009, Wealth 
Management Americas is headquartered in Weehawken, 
New Jersey, where most corporate and operational 
 functions are located. The client-facing organization 
consists of the branch network in the US, Puerto Rico 
and Canada, with 7,084 financial advisors. 

Wealth Management Americas provides advice-based 
relationships through its financial advisors, who deliver a 
fully-integrated set of wealth management solutions 
designed to address the needs of core affluent, high net 
worth and ultra high net worth individuals and families.

Wealth Management & Swiss Bank pre-tax profit fell 35% 
to CHF 3,910 million, compared with CHF 6,013 million 
in 2008. The decline in profit was driven by a drop in 
operating income, resulting from lower asset-based fees, 
reduced interest income due to margin pressure and 
decreased transaction income, partly offset by a 17% 
decline in operating expenses from our cost-saving 
measures. 

Net new money outflows were CHF 89.8 billion compared 
with CHF 107.1 billion in the previous year. The outflows 
in 2009 reflect clients withdrawing assets from UBS, due to 
the effects of the financial market turbulence on our 
operating performance and reputation. 

Invested assets were CHF 960 billion on 31 December 
2009, an increase of CHF 5 billion from 31 December 2008, 
as higher equity markets were partially offset by net new 
money outflows.

Performance in 2009

Wealth Management Americas reported a pre-tax profit of 
CHF 32 million in 2009 compared with a pre-tax loss of 
CHF 823 million in 2008. The 2009 results were negatively 
impacted by restructuring charges of CHF 152 million.

In 2009, net new money outflows were CHF 11.6 billion 
compared with CHF 15.9 billion in the prior year. Following 
strong net new money inflows in first quarter 2009 due to 
recruitment of experienced financial advisors, we experienced 
net new money outflows during the remainder of the year. 

Wealth Management Americas had CHF 690 billion in 
invested assets on 31 December 2009, up 7% from 
CHF 644 billion on 31 December 2008. This increase was 
principally driven by positive market performance. The 
gross margin on invested assets was 81 basis points in 
2009, down from 82 basis points in 2008.

Performance from continuing operations before tax

CHF million

Wealth Management & Swiss Bank

Wealth Management Americas

Global Asset Management

Investment Bank

Corporate Center

UBS

For the year ended

% change from

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.08

3,910

32

438

(6,081)

(860)

(2,561)

6,013

(823)

1,333

(34,300)

19

(27,758)

8,543

621

1,454

(16,669)

2,310

(3,742)

(35)

(67)

82

91

Global Asset Management

Investment Bank

Global Asset Management offers a diverse range of 
investment capabilities and services from a boutique-like 
structure encompassing all major asset classes including 
equities, fixed income, asset allocation, currency, risk 
management, hedge funds, real estate, infrastructure, 
private equity and fund administration.

Invested assets totaled CHF 583 billion on 31 December 
2009, making Global Asset Management one of the larger 
institutional asset managers and hedge fund of funds 
managers in the world. It is also one of the largest mutual 
fund managers in Europe and the largest in Switzerland.

Performance in 2009

Pre-tax profit for full year 2009 was CHF 438 million 
compared with CHF 1,333 million in 2008. Excluding a net 
goodwill impairment charge in 2009 of CHF 191 million 
related to the sale of UBS Pactual, restructuring costs in 
2009 of CHF 48 million and a gain of CHF 168 million from 
the sale of our minority stake in Adams Street Partners in 
third  quarter 2008, pre-tax profit would have decreased 
42% to CHF 677 million.

Net new money outflows were CHF 45.8 billion for full 
year 2009 compared with outflows of CHF 103.0 billion for 
full year 2008. Excluding money market flows, net new 
money outflows were CHF 33.6 billion in 2009 compared 
with CHF 124.2 billion in 2008. Net outflows from clients 
of our wealth management businesses were CHF 40.7 
billion (around 90% of total net outflows) in 2009 com-
pared with CHF 47.1 billion in 2008.

The Investment Bank has three distinct but aligned business 
areas: 
–  Equities
–  Fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC)
–  the Investment banking department (IBD)

Equities and FICC comprise the securities business, offering 
primary and secondary access to the securities and foreign 
exchange markets, prime brokerage services as well as 
securities, economic, strategic and quantitative research.

IBD provides advice on mergers and acquisitions and 
restructurings, and raises capital mainly for corporate and 
sovereign clients in the debt and equity markets. Addition-
ally, as part of a number of broader alignment initiatives 
across our business divisions, IBD plays a lead role in 
marketing the Group to corporates, leveraging their senior 
client relationships.

Performance in 2009

In 2009, we recorded a pre-tax loss of CHF 6,081 million 
compared with a pre-tax loss of CHF 34,300 million in 
2008, primarily due to a reduction in losses on residual risk 
positions. During this period: equities revenues decreased 
5% to CHF 4,937 million; FICC revenues increased to 
negative CHF 547 million from negative CHF 31,895 
million; investment banking revenues were down 14% to 
CHF 2,466 million; and operating expenses decreased 7% 
to CHF 9,216 million.

UBS business divisions and Corporate Center
Wealth Management & Swiss Bank

Wealth Management & Swiss Bank
Business description

Wealth Management & Swiss Bank is a leading global provider of financial services for wealthy private clients, 
and is the leading bank for retail and corporate clients in Switzerland.

Business

Wealth Management & Swiss Bank is headquartered in Swit-
zerland and employs more than 27,500 personnel in 44 coun-
tries. We deliver comprehensive financial services to wealthy 
private clients around the world – except to those served by 
Wealth Management Americas – as well as to retail and cor-
porate clients in Switzerland. Clients are provided with advice 
and  financial  products  and  services  to  fit  their  individual 
needs. Our Wealth Management & Swiss Bank business divi-
sion comprises three businesses: Wealth Management, Swiss 
Retail and Swiss Corporate & Institutional Clients.

Strategy and clients

Through our Wealth Management business, we offer sophis-
ticated products and services in three client segments: ultra 
high net worth clients with investable assets of more than 
CHF 50 million; high net worth clients with investable assets 
of CHF 2 million to CHF 50 million; and core affluent clients 
with investable assets of CHF 250,000 to CHF 2 million. In 
addition to servicing wealthy private clients directly, we also 
provide wealth management solutions, products and servic-
es to financial intermediaries.

We are one of the largest banks for high net worth and 
ultra high net worth clients around the world. The industry 
is facing increased regulation and is in the focus of tax au-
thorities.  This  particularly  influences  the  way  we  conduct 
cross-border business and puts pressure on margins, profit-
ability and net new money flows. By managing all markets 
for sustainable profitability we are consolidating our strong 
global presence.

In our cross-border businesses, we are focusing on areas 
with the greatest market potential while continuing to en-
sure the highest levels of compliance. In Asia, we are direct-
ing our cross-border business on leading financial centers 
within  the  region,  specifically  Hong  Kong  and  Singapore. 
Furthermore, we are building on our strengths in emerging 
markets,  and  are  focusing  on  key  markets  in  the  Middle 
East, Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe. 

We will continue to build our onshore business in markets 
which offer attractive growth prospects with a more differ-
entiated approach, as in the current legal and regulatory cli-
mate  the  domestic  wealth  management  business  steadily 
gains importance. We will place particular emphasis on the 

attractive markets in Asia and Europe where we already have 
a strong local presence. To strengthen our leading position in 
Switzerland we will further enhance the way we deliver our 
products and services to high net worth and ultra high net 
worth clients.

We want to be the best bank for retail clients in Switzer-
land.  Serving  one  out  of  three  households  in  Switzerland 
with more than 300 branches has set us on the right path 
towards  achieving  this  goal.  To  best  serve  our  clients,  we 
have developed a life-cycle based offering where with each 
life-cycle  stage,  our  clients  receive  dedicated  products  and 
services  to  meet  their  specific  needs.  In  order  to  maximize 
the quality of service and level of convenience we offer our 
clients, we will continue to upgrade our multi-channel offer-
ings including local branches, e-banking capabilities and au-
tomated  teller  machines.  To  fully  leverage  our  presence  in 
the  marketplace,  we  will  continue  investing  in  our  branch 
network.

In Corporate & Institutional Clients (CIC), our goal is to 
differentiate ourselves by leveraging our capabilities as an 
integrated  bank.  We  serve  almost  one  out  of  every  two 
Swiss companies by offering strategic advisory and execu-
tion  services  for  multinationals,  corporations,  institutional 
clients and financial institutions, which makes us a leading 
CIC business. In addition, we are able to provide our clients 
with local and international banking services across all busi-
ness  divisions.  Within  CIC,  we  also  serve  the  small  and 
 medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with local market exper-
tise  across  all  regions  by  delivering  tailored  products  and 
services.

Competitors

Our  major  global  competitors  within  wealth  management 
include Credit Suisse, Julius Baer, HSBC, BNP / Fortis, Barclays 
and  Citigroup.  In  domestic  markets,  we  compete  with  the 
private  banking  operations  of  large  local  banks  such  as 
Coutts in the UK, Deutsche Bank AG in Germany and Uni-
credit in Italy.

In  the  Swiss  retail  banking  business  our  major  competi-
tors  are  Credit  Suisse,  Raiffeisen,  the  cantonal  banks,  and 
Postfinance as well as other regional or local Swiss banks. 

In the Swiss corporate and institutional business our main 
competitors are Credit Suisse, the cantonal banks, and for-
eign banks in Switzerland.

74

Invested assets by asset class  
In %, except where indicated

Invested assets by client domicile  
In %, except where indicated

On 

100

  75

  50

  25

    0

31.12.07 

31.12.08 

31.12.09

On 31.12.09 

Total: CHF 960 billion

Total: 

CHF 1,392 billion  

CHF 955 billion  

CHF 960 billion 

6

22

17

19

11

25

6

19

14

17

16

28

8

16

19

17

17

23

17

8

Europe, Middle East and Africa

Switzerland

The Americas

Asia Pacific

46

29

2BD004_e

Accounts, money markets , fiduciary investments

Bonds

UBS mutual funds

Equities

Other 1

External mutual funds

1 Including structured products and alternative investments.

Products and services 

Wealth  Management  leverages  knowledge  and  product 
and service offerings from Global Asset Management and 
the  Investment  Bank,  to  provide  expert  financial  advice  in 
supporting clients throughout the different stages of their 
lives. 

By aggregating private investment flows into institution-
al-size flows, we are in a position to offer our Wealth Man-
agement  clients  access  to  investments  that  would  other-
wise  only  be  available  to  institutional  clients.  Expertise  is 
sourced either from within UBS or from the external mar-
ket. Both discretionary and non-discretionary mandates are 
offered. Clients who opt for a discretionary mandate dele-
gate the management of their assets, including investment 
decisions,  to  a  team  of  professional  portfolio  managers 
who work according to an agreed investment strategy. Cli-
ents who prefer to be actively involved in the management 
of  their  assets  can  choose  a  non-discretionary  mandate, 
where investment  professionals provide analysis and moni-
toring of portfolios, together with tailor-made proposals to 
support investment decisions. Clients can also trade a full 
range of financial instruments from single securities, such 
as equities and bonds, to structured products and alterna-
tive investments. We offer wealth planning advice on topics 
such as funding for education, gift giving, inheritance and 
succession,  and  also  offer  corporate  finance  advice  to 
 support clients in the process of disposing of their corpo-
rate assets. 

As a next step of integration across the business divisions, 
we  implemented  a  new  organizational  unit  within  Wealth 
Management called Investment Products and Services. Prod-
uct  specialists  in  Wealth  Management,  Global  Asset  Man-
agement and the Investment Bank are combined to further 
align product innovation, distribution and after-sales service. 

Our  retail  clients  can  access  services  such  as  a  compre-
hensive  selection  of  cash  accounts,  savings  and  retirement 
products, investment funds and solutions, residential mort-
gages, life insurance and advisory services through our multi-
channel  offering  in  Switzerland.  Our  clients  also  receive 
these services in tailored life-cycle solutions in combination 
with individual financial advice. 

We offer our Swiss Corporate & Institutional Clients a com-
prehensive set of products and services. By providing access to 
our global sector specialists from our Investment Bank, we can 
provide  strategic  advice  in  the  field  of  mergers  and  acquisi-
tions. Additionally, we advise company owners with regard to 
succession planning and provide professional support in liquid-
ity  and  cash  management.  For  clients  with  a  high  share  of 
 euro-denominated transactions, we are the only bank in Swit-
zerland to offer so called Eurogateway accounts, which con-
centrate  euro  payment  streams  in  Switzerland,  thereby  opti-
mizing  costs.  In  Switzerland,  we  are  a  leading  provider  for 
financing solutions as we offer access to capital markets (eq-
uity and debt capital), syndicated and structured credits, private 
placements,  factoring,  leasing  and  traditional  financing  solu-
tions. Finally, we offer global custody services for institutional 
clients who want to consolidate multiple-agent bank custodies 
into a single, cost-efficient global custodial relationship.

Organizational structure

During  2009,  the  Global  Wealth  Management  &  Business 
Banking  business  division  was  reorganized  into  two  new 
business  divisions:  Wealth  Management  Americas  and 
Wealth  Management  &  Swiss  Bank,  which  comprises  all 
wealth management business booked outside the Americas 
and the Swiss retail and corporate client business.

In 2009, the governance structure of Wealth Management 
& Swiss Bank was further adjusted to include two new execu-

75

2BD006_e

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100

75

50

25

0

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
UBS business divisions and Corporate Center
Wealth Management & Swiss Bank

Current reporting structure (on 31 December 2009)

2BD001_e

Wealth Management & Swiss Bank

Swiss clients

International clients

New reporting structure (from first quarter 2010 onwards)

Wealth Management & Swiss Bank

Wealth Management

Retail & Corporate

International Wealth Management

Swiss Wealth Management

Full profit and loss disclosure

Supplementary disclosure of revenues and selected key performance indicators

tive committees, Wealth Management and UBS Switzerland, 
which are led by one divisional Executive Committee.

Wealth Management is present in 44 countries with ap-
proximately  200  wealth  management  and  representative 
 offices, half of which are outside Switzerland. We are largely 
active in Asia Pacific, Switzerland, Europe and in internation-
al  cross-border  business.  Our  Wealth  Management  clients 
are served by approximately 4,200 client advisors, of which 
about 900 are working for Swiss Wealth Management. 

The  integrated  management  team  of  UBS  Switzerland 
comprises  all  businesses  active  in  Switzerland  including 
 retail, wealth management, corporate & institutional, invest-
ment banking and the asset management business. We are 
committed  to  our  Swiss  home  market  and  this  integrated 
approach allows us to drive efficiency across all businesses. 

With  our  regional  approach,  we  are  able  to  extend  the 
knowledge of the entire bank to local clients and  markets. 
This  allows  cross-divisional  client  coverage,  client   referrals 
across all businesses and systematic client development.

Commencing  in  first  quarter  2010,  we  will  change  the 
internal reporting of Wealth Management & Swiss Bank and 
present in our external financial reports two separate busi-
ness units: 
–  “Wealth  Management”  encompasses  the  domestic  and 
international  wealth  management  business  conducted 
out of Switzerland, and all wealth management business-
es in our Asian and European booking centers. 

–  “Retail & Corporate” includes services provided to Swiss 
retail private clients, small businesses, as well as corporate 
and institutional clients.
➔	Prior to publication of first quarter 2010 results, UBS 
will publish restated business division results on  

www.ubs.com/investors showing quarterly and annual 

results for 2008 and 2009 under the new reporting 

structure

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Business performance

Business division reporting

CHF million, except where indicated

Swiss clients income

International clients income

Income

Credit loss (expense) / recovery

Total operating income

Personnel expenses

General and administrative expenses

of which: impact from US cross-border case

Services (to) / from other business divisions

Depreciation of property and equipment

Amortization of intangible assets

Total operating expenses

Business division performance before tax

of which: impact from US cross-border case

of which: business division performance before tax excluding US cross-border case

Key performance indicators 1
Pre-tax profit growth (%)

Cost / income ratio (%)
Net new money (CHF billion) 2
Impaired lending portfolio as a % of total lending portfolio, gross (Swiss clients)
Gross margin on invested assets (bps) (international clients) 3

Additional information

Average attributed equity (CHF billion)

Return on attributed equity (RoaE) (%)
BIS risk-weighted assets (CHF billion) 4
Return on BIS risk-weighted assets, gross (%)

Goodwill and intangible assets (CHF billion) 

Recurring income

Invested assets (CHF billion)

Client assets (CHF billion)

Personnel (full-time equivalents)

Swiss clients
Net new money (CHF billion) 2
Invested assets (CHF billion)

International clients
Net new money (CHF billion) 2
Invested assets (CHF billion)

Client advisors (full-time equivalents)

As of or for the year ended

% change from

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.08

6,228

5,295

11,523

(133)

11,390

5,197

2,017

(90)

289

67

7,480

3,910

3,910

(35.0)

64.9

(89.8)

1.0

86

9.0

43.4

48.6

21.7

1.6

8,830

960

1,844

27,548

(20.1)

337

(69.7)

624

3,182

7,714

7,698

15,413

(392)

15,021

5,430

3,295

917

(73)

323

33

9,008

6,013

(917)

6,930

(29.6)

58.4

(107.1)

1.0

96

9.5

63.3

62.3

22.3

1.7

11,613

955

1,711

31,016

(41.9)

325

(65.2)

631

4,236

8,493

9,195

17,689

30

17,718

6,356

2,514

(43)

334

15

9,176

8,543

8,543

15.7

51.9

120.4

1.0

103

1.8

13,194

1,392

2,535

32,378

15.2

455

105.2

937

4,253

(19)

(31)

(25)

(66)

(24)

(4)

(39)

(23)

(11)

103

(17)

(35)

(44)

(10)

(5)

(22)

(6)

(24)

1

8

(11)

4

(1)

(25)

1 For the definitions of UBS’s key performance indicators, refer to the “Measurement and analysis of performance” section of this report.    2 Excludes interest and dividend income.    3 Excludes valuation 
adjustments on a property fund (2009: CHF 155 million, 2008: CHF 9 million).     4 BIS risk-weighted assets (RWA) are according to Basel II.   

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UBS business divisions and Corporate Center
Wealth Management & Swiss Bank

2009

Results

In 2009, pre-tax profit fell 35% to CHF 3,910 million, com-
pared with CHF 6,013 million in 2008. The decline in profit 
was  driven  by  a  24%  drop  in  operating  income,  resulting 
from lower asset-based fees, reduced interest income due to 
margin  pressure  and  decreased  transaction  income,  partly 
offset  by  a  17%  decline  in  operating  expenses  from  our 
cost-saving measures. A provision of CHF 917 million in con-
nection with the US cross-border case was included in the 
results of the previous year.

Operating income
Total  operating  income  in  2009  was  CHF  11,390  million, 
down 24% from CHF 15,021 million a year earlier. Recurring 
income decreased 24% on lower asset-based fees reflecting 
a 20% lower average asset base, as well as a lower interest 
income due to margin pressure. Non-recurring income fell by 
29% due to lower brokerage fees, reflecting reduced client 
transaction activity levels. Moreover, the decrease was due to 
higher internal funding-related interest charges and revalua-
tion  adjustments  of  CHF  155  million  for  a  property  fund. 
Credit loss expenses decreased significantly to CHF 133 mil-
lion from CHF 392 million in the previous year, as 2008 was 
especially impacted by provisions made for lombard loans. 

Operating expenses
At CHF 7,480 million, operating expenses in 2009 declined 
17% from CHF 9,008 million one-year earlier, as a result of 
cost-saving measures. Excluding the restructuring charges of 
CHF 322 million booked in 2009, and the abovementioned 
provision in 2008 relating to the US cross-border case, oper-
ating expenses declined 12%. Personnel expenses decreased 
9%  excluding  restructuring  charges  due  to  an  11%  reduc-
tion in personnel levels, which mostly took place towards the 
end of the year. General and administrative expenses, at CHF 
2,017  million,  were  down  39%  from  CHF  3,295  million  a 
year earlier, mainly due to the abovementioned provision re-
lated to the US cross-border case as well as a result of cost-
saving measures. Net charges to other business divisions, at 

CHF 90 million in 2009, were up 23% from CHF 73 million 
the previous year, mainly reflecting lower charges for IT infra-
structure. Depreciation was CHF 289 million in 2009, com-
pared  with  CHF  323  million  a  year  earlier.  Amortization  of 
intangible assets was CHF 67 million, up from CHF 33 million 
in 2008, mainly reflecting the impairment of intangible assets 
related to invested asset outflows in UBS (Bahamas) Ltd.

Development of invested assets

Net new money
Net  new  money  outflows  were  CHF  89.8  billion  compared 
with CHF 107.1 billion in the previous year. Total net new mon-
ey outflows comprised CHF 20.1 billion from Swiss clients and 
CHF  69.7  billion  from  international  clients,  compared  with 
2008  outflows  of  CHF  41.9  billion  and  CHF  65.2  billion,  re-
spectively. The outflows in 2009 reflect clients withdrawing as-
sets from UBS, due to the effects of the financial market turbu-
lence on our operating performance and reputation. Net new 
money levels were also negatively affected by client advisor at-
trition,  as  well  as  by  the  discussions  regarding  Switzerland’s 
banking secrecy and proposed tax treaties. In addition, invest-
ed assets of CHF 22.8 billion were affected by the Italian tax 
amnesty, of which we were able to retain CHF 14.3 billion.

Invested assets
Invested assets were CHF 960 billion on 31 December 2009, 
an  increase  of  CHF  5  billion  from  31  December  2008,  as 
higher equity markets were partially offset by net new mon-
ey outflows and a 3% decrease of the US dollar against the 
Swiss franc in the course of 2009.

Gross margin on invested assets (international clients only)
The gross margin on invested assets declined 10 basis points 
to  a  total  of  86  basis  points.  This  excludes  the  abovemen-
tioned valuation adjustments on a property fund. The recur-
ring income margin was down 9 basis points to a total of 63 
basis  points,  as  clients  increased  their  allocation  to  lower-
margin cash products. In addition, margins and volumes de-
creased and the lombard loan volume went down. The non-
recurring income margin was also down, decreasing 1 basis 
point to 23 basis points, mainly due to lower brokerage fees 
reflecting decreased client transaction activity levels. 

78

2008

Results

In  2008,  pre-tax  profit  fell  30%  to  CHF  6,013  million,  com-
pared with CHF 8,543 million in 2007. This was partially due to 
the abovementioned provision related to the US cross-border 
case. Excluding the impact of this provision, the pre-tax result 
would have fallen 19%, mainly reflecting the lower asset base 
and client transaction activity as well as higher credit loss ex-
penses in line with the turbulence of the financial market.

Operating income
Total  operating  income  in  2008  was  CHF  15,021  million, 
down 15% from CHF 17,718 million a year earlier. Recurring 
income decreased 12% on lower asset-based fees reflecting 
an 11% decrease in average invested assets. Non-recurring 
income fell by 15% due to lower brokerage fees, reflecting 
decreased  client  transaction  activity  levels.  Credit  loss  ex-
penses were impacted by provisions made for lombard loans, 
increasing  significantly  to  CHF  392  million  from  net  credit 
loss  recoveries  of  CHF  30  million  in  the  previous  year.  The 
deterioration  in  financial  markets  seen  especially  in  fourth 
quarter 2008, resulted in a decrease in the value of collateral 
supporting some loans.

Operating expenses
At  CHF  9,008  million,  operating  expenses  in  2008  were 
down  2%  from  CHF  9,176  million  one-year  earlier,  despite 
the abovementioned provision relating to the US cross-bor-
der case. Excluding the impact of this provision, the operat-
ing expenses would have decreased 12%, mainly due to low-
er  variable  compensation.  This  resulted  in  lower  personnel 
expenses, which fell 15% to CHF 5,430 million in 2008, com-
pared with CHF 6,356 million one-year earlier. General and 
administrative expenses, at CHF 3,295 million, were up 31% 
from CHF 2,514 million in 2007 due to the abovementioned 
provisions related to the US cross-border case. Net charges to 
other business divisions, at CHF 73 million in 2008, were up 
70% from CHF 43 million the previous year, mainly reflecting 

lower  charges  for  IT  infrastructure.  Depreciation  was  CHF 
323 million in 2008, slightly down from CHF 334 million one-
year  earlier.  Amortization  of  intangible  assets  was  CHF  33 
million, up CHF 18 million from 2007.

Development of invested assets

Net new money
Net new money outflows were CHF 107.1 billion in contrast 
to  inflows of CHF 120.4  billion in the previous  year,  partly 
due to the effect of deleveraging by clients. Total net new 
money outflows comprised CHF 41.9 billion from Swiss cli-
ents  and  CHF  65.2  billion  from  international  clients,  com-
pared with inflows a year earlier of CHF 15.2 billion and CHF 
105.2 billion, respectively. This reflected slower wealth cre-
ation in a tougher economic climate, a near absence of cor-
porate events creating large one-time increases in entrepre-
neurial wealth, the impact of deleveraging of private client 
portfolios and clients with drawing assets from UBS, due to 
the effects of the financial market turbulence on our operat-
ing performance and reputation. 

Invested assets
Invested assets were CHF 955 billion on 31 December 2008, 
a decrease of CHF 437 billion from 31 December 2007. This 
was  a  result  of  lower  equity  markets  and  net  new  money 
outflows. Moreover, major currencies declined considerably 
against the Swiss franc in the course of 2008.

Gross margin on invested assets (international clients only)
The gross margin on invested assets declined 7 basis points 
to a total of 96 basis points. This excludes the abovemen-
tioned  valuation  adjustments  on  a  property  fund.  The  re-
curring income margin was down 5 basis points to a total 
of  72  basis  points  as  clients  increased  their  allocation  to 
lower-margin cash products. In addition, margins for mort-
gages  and  savings  products  were  down  and  the  lombard 
loan volume decreased. The non-recurring income margin 
was also down, decreasing 2 basis points to 24 basis points, 
mainly due to lower brokerage fees reflecting decreased cli-
ent transaction activity levels. 

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UBS business divisions and Corporate Center
Wealth Management Americas

Wealth Management Americas
Business description

Wealth Management Americas provides advice-based relationships through its financial advisors, who deliver a 
fully-integrated set of wealth management solutions designed to address the needs of core affluent, high net 
worth and ultra high net worth individuals and families. It includes the former Wealth Management US business 
unit, as well as the domestic Canadian business and the international business booked in the United States. 

Business

Wealth Management Americas is among the leading wealth 
managers  in  the  region  based  on  invested  assets  and  in-
cludes  the  former  Wealth  Management  US  business  unit, 
the domestic Canadian business and the international busi-
ness booked in the United States. On 31 December 2009, 
the business division had CHF 690 billion in invested assets.

Strategy

Wealth Management Americas focuses on delivering a fully-
integrated set of wealth management solutions and advice-
based  wealth  management  services  through  our  financial 

advisors  to  meet  the  needs  of  our  target  client  segments: 
ultra high net worth (more than USD 10 million in investable 
assets), high net worth (USD 1 million to USD 10 million in 
investable  assets)  and  the  core  affluent  (USD  250,000  to 
USD  1  million  in  investable  assets).  We  are  committed  to 
providing advice to our clients by employing the best profes-
sionals in the industry, delivering the highest standard of ex-
ecution and running a streamlined and efficient business. 

In  2009,  we  continued  to  develop  our  high  net  worth 
segment-specific  offerings.  With  dedicated  advisor  teams 
focusing on the ultra high net worth segment, our Private 
Wealth Management unit now provides a targeted, advice-
based  and  process-driven  platform.  With  a  foundation  of 
nine dedicated offices and nine satellite offices across the 

Geographical presence in key markets  

Calgary (CDN): 1 office

Vancouver (CDN): 1 office

ALASKA

WASHINGTON

MONTANA

NORTH DAKOTA

MINNESOTA

Montreal (CDN): 1 office

VERMONT

MAINE

OREGON

IDAHO

WYOMING

MICHIGAN

NEW YORK

SOUTH DAKOTA

WISCONSIN

Toronto (CDN): 1 office

NEBRASKA

IOWA

NEVADA

UTAH

COLORADO

KANSAS

ILLINOIS

OHIO

INDIANA

PENNSYLVANIA

WEST
VIRGINIA

KENTUCKY

VIRGINIA

MISSOURI

NEW HAMPSHIRE

MASSACHUSETTS

RHODE ISLAND

CONNECTICUT

NEW JERSEY
DELAWARE

MARYLAND
WASHINGTON D.C.

CALIFORNIA

ARIZONA

NEW MEXICO

OKLAHOMA

ARKANSAS

TENNESSEE

NORTH CAROLINA

SOUTH 
CAROLINA

MISSISSIPPI

ALABAMA

GEORGIA

TEXAS

LOUISIANA

HAWAII

Wealth Management Americas offices:

<5 

5–15

>15

80

FLORIDA

PUERTO RICO

2BD010_e

 
Invested assets by asset class  
In %, except where indicated

Invested assets by client wealth  
In %, except where indicated

On 

100

 75

 50

 25

   0

31.12.07 

31.12.08 

31.12.09

On 31.12.09 

Total: CHF 690 billion

Total: 

CHF 906 billion  

CHF 644 billion  

CHF 690 billion

8

33

17

6

28

8

9

26

19

13

28

5

8

29

23

9

26

5

30

11

< CHF 1 million

CHF 1–5 million 

CHF 5–10 million  

> CHF 10 million  

27

32

Accounts/money markets

External mutual funds

Bonds

Equities

UBS mutual funds

Other1

1 Includes structured products and alternative investments.

2BD011_e

2BD012_e

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US, Private Wealth advisors who have access to an exclusive 
set of tools and capabilities through Private Wealth Man-
agement,  support  our  goals  of  ultra  high  net  worth 
 segment growth, productivity, and consistent client experi-
ence.

Organizational structure 

Formed from the reorganization of the Global Wealth Man-
agement  &  Business  Banking  business  division  in  2009, 
Wealth  Management  Americas  is  headquartered  in  Wee-
hawken, New Jersey, where most corporate and operational 
functions are located. The client-facing organization consists 
of the branch network in the US, Puerto Rico and Canada, 
with 7,084 financial advisors as of 31 December 2009. 

On 27 October 2009, Robert J. McCann was appointed 
as Chief Executive Officer of Wealth Management Americas 
and Member of the Group Executive Board of UBS AG.

Significant recent acquisitions and business transfers in-

clude:
–  February  2007,  acquisition  of  McDonald  Investments’s 

private client branch network.

Legal structure 

In  the  US  and  Puerto  Rico,  the  business  division  operates 
through direct and indirect subsidiaries of UBS AG. Securities 
and  operations  activities  are  conducted  primarily  through 
registered  broker-dealers,  which  during  2009  consisted  of 
UBS  Financial  Services  Inc.,  UBS  Financial  Services  Incorpo-
rated of Puerto Rico, UBS International Inc. and UBS Services 
USA LLC. On 31 December 2009, UBS International Inc. and 
UBS Services USA LLC were merged into UBS Financial Ser-
vices Inc., reducing the number of registered broker-dealers 
to  two.  Our  banking  services  in  the  US  include  those  con-
ducted through the UBS AG branches and UBS Bank USA, a 
federally  regulated  Utah  bank,  which  provides  Federal  De-
posit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)-insured deposit accounts 
and enhanced collateralized lending services. 

The  business  division’s  Canadian  wealth  management 
and  banking  operations  are  conducted  through  UBS  Bank 
(Canada). 

Competitors 

–  October 2008, transfer of the Investment Bank’s munici-
pal securities operations serving private clients to the for-
mer Wealth Management US business unit (following the 
decision  in  June  2008  that  the  Investment  Bank  would 
exit the institutional municipal securities business).

–  March  2009,  entered  into  an  agreement  to  sell  56 
branches  to  Stifel,  Nicolaus  &  Company,  Incorporated. 
The sale was completed in four separate closings in the 
second half of 2009. 

–  September  2009,  completed  the  sale  of  UBS’s  Brazilian 
financial  services  business,  UBS  Pactual,  to  BTG  invest-
ments, LP. 

Wealth Management Americas competes with national full-
service brokerage firms, domestic and global private banks, 
regional  broker-dealers,  independent  broker-dealers,  regis-
tered investment advisors, trust companies and other finan-
cial  services  firms  offering  wealth  management  services  to 
US and Canadian private clients, as well as foreign non-resi-
dent clients seeking wealth management services within the 
US. In 2008 and 2009, the financial crisis triggered consoli-
dation within the industry that directly impacted our major 
competitors  including  Citi  Global  Wealth  Management, 
Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management, Morgan Stanley 
Global  Wealth  Management  Group  and  Wachovia  Securi-

81

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25

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UBS business divisions and Corporate Center
Wealth Management Americas

ties.  Specifically,  Merrill  Lynch  was  acquired  by  Bank  of 
America, effective 1 January 2009, and Wachovia Corpora-
tion  was  acquired  by  Wells  Fargo,  effective  31  December 
2008. In June 2009, Morgan Stanley and Citi formed Mor-
gan Stanley Smith Barney, a joint venture combining Morgan 
Stanley’s Global Wealth Management Group and Citi’s Smith 
Barney in the US, Quilter in the UK, and Smith Barney Aus-
tralia.

Products and services

Wealth Management Americas offers clients a full array of 
wealth management services that focus on the individual in-
vestment  needs  of  each  client.  Comprehensive  planning 
supports clients through the various stages of their lives, in-
cluding  education  funding,  charitable  giving,  tax  manage-
ment strategies, estate strategies, insurance, retirement, and 
trusts and foundations with corresponding product offerings 
for each stage. Our advisors work closely with internal con-
sultants in areas such as wealth planning, portfolio strategy, 
retirement and annuities, alternative investments, structured 
products,  banking  and  lending,  equities  and  fixed  income. 
Clients  also  benefit  from  our  dedicated  Wealth  Manage-
ment Research team who support investment decisions.

Our offerings are designed to meet a wide variety of in-
vestment objectives, including capital appreciation, income 
generation and diversification of portfolio concentration. To 

address the full range of our clients’ investment needs, we 
offer competitive lending and cash management services, in-
cluding the Resource Management Account (RMA) product, 
credit  cards,  FDIC-insured  deposits,  securities-backed  lend-
ing and mortgages. Additionally, Corporate Employee Finan-
cial Services provides stock option and other related services 
to many of the largest US corporations and their executives.
Our clients have the option of asset-based or transaction-
based pricing for their relationships. Clients who choose as-
set-based pricing have access to both discretionary and non-
discretionary investment advisory programs. Non-discretionary 
advisory programs enable the client to maintain control over 
all transactions in the account, and clients with discretionary 
advisory programs direct investment professionals to manage 
a portfolio on their behalf. Depending on the type of discre-
tionary program, the client can give investment discretion to 
a qualified financial advisor, a team of our investment profes-
sionals or a third-party investment manager. Separately, mu-
tual fund advisory programs are also offered, in which a fi-
nancial advisor works with the client to create a diversified 
portfolio of mutual funds guided by a research-driven asset 
allocation framework.

Transaction-based pricing offers access to a broad range 
of transaction products, including individual securities such 
as  equities  and  fixed  income  instruments.  To  complement 
portfolio strategies, qualified clients may take advantage of 
structured products and alternative investment offerings.

82

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Business performance

Business division reporting

CHF million, except where indicated

Income

of which: ARS settlement impact

Credit loss (expense) / recovery

Total operating income

Personnel expenses

General and administrative expenses

of which: ARS settlement impact

Services (to) / from other business divisions

Depreciation of property and equipment

Impairment of goodwill

Amortization of intangible assets

Total operating expenses

Business division performance before tax

of which: ARS settlement impact

of which: business division performance before tax excluding ARS settlement impact

Key performance indicators 1
Pre-tax profit growth (%) 2
Cost / income ratio (%)
Net new money (CHF billion) 3
Gross margin on invested assets (bps)

Additional information

Average attributed equity (CHF billion)

Return on attributed equity (RoaE) (%)
BIS risk-weighted assets (CHF billion) 4
Return on BIS risk-weighted assets, gross (%)

Goodwill and intangible assets (CHF billion) 

Recurring income

Invested assets (CHF billion)

Client assets (CHF billion)

Personnel (full-time equivalents)

Financial advisors (full-time equivalents)

Additional information (only Wealth Management US)
Net new money (CHF billion) 3
Net new money including interest and dividend income (CHF billion) 5

Business division reporting excluding PaineWebber acquisition costs 6
Business division performance before tax

Cost / income ratio (%)

Average attributed equity (CHF billion)

As of or for the year ended

% change from

31.12.09

5,546

3

5,550

4,231

1,017

4

170

34

62

5,518

32

32

N/A

99.5

(11.6)

81

8.8

0.4

22.8

23.5

4.2

3,256

690

737

16,925

7,084

(7.6)

11.5

155

97.3

5.2

31.12.08

6,278

(172)

(29)

6,249

4,271

2,558

1,464

16

162

0

65

7,072

(823)

(1,636)

813

N/A

112.6

(15.9)

82

7.8

(10.6)

26.9

28.9

4.5

4,076

644

682

20,623

8,607

(10.6)

11.7

(689)

110.4

4.2

31.12.07

7,153

31.12.08

(12)

(2)

7,151

5,060

1,209

28

163

0

70

6,530

621

621

12.1

91.3

35.9

77

4.8

4,455

906

1,018

21,180

8,693

26.6

51.5

841

88.5

(11)

(1)

(60)

(75)

5

(5)

(22)

(96)

(1)

13

(15)

(7)

(20)

7

8

(18)

(18)

24

1 For the definitions of our key performance indicators, refer to the “Measurement and analysis of performance” section of this report.    2 Not meaningful if either the current period or the comparison 
period is a loss period.    3 Excludes interest and dividend income.    4 BIS risk-weighted assets (RWA) are according to Basel II.    5 For purposes of comparison with US peers.    6 Acquisition costs 
 represent goodwill and intangible assets funding costs and intangible assets amortization costs related to the acquisition of the PaineWebber retail brokerage business in 2000.

83

 
 
 
 
 
 
UBS business divisions and Corporate Center
Wealth Management Americas

2009 

Results

Wealth Management Americas reported a pre-tax profit of 
CHF 32 million in 2009 compared with a pre-tax loss of CHF 
823  million  in  2008.  The  2009  results  were  negatively  im-
pacted by restructuring charges of CHF 152 million and a net 
goodwill impairment charge of CHF 19 million related to the 
sale  of  UBS  Pactual.  Our  performance  in  2008  was  nega-
tively impacted by CHF 1,636 million in charges and trading 
losses  related  to  auction  rate  securities  (ARS).  Excluding 
these items, pre-tax performance would have been a profit 
of CHF 203 million in 2009 compared with a profit of CHF 
813 million in 2008. 

Operating income
In 2009, operating income decreased 11% to CHF 5,550 
million from CHF 6,249 million in 2008. Excluding ARS-re-
lated trading losses of CHF 172 million in 2008, operating 
income would have declined 14%. Recurring income was 
CHF 3,256 million, 20% lower than the previous year due 
to  lower  managed  accounts  fees  related  to  an  11%  de-
crease in average invested assets and lower interest income 
due to lower interest spreads. Recurring income declined to 
59% of operating income from 65% in 2008. Non-recur-
ring income increased 4% due to a CHF 35 million interest 
credit from the Investment Bank, resulting from a change in 
the UBS Bank USA investment portfolio strategy and higher 
municipal  trading  income,  partly  offset  by  lower  commis-
sion revenue related to lower transactional activity. In addi-
tion,  2008  was  negatively  impacted  by  the  abovemen-
tioned trading losses related to ARS.

Operating expenses
Operating  expenses  decreased  22%  to  CHF  5,518  million 
from CHF 7,072 million. In 2009, operating expenses included 
CHF 152 million in restructuring charges and CHF 34 million 
in goodwill impairment charges related to the sale of UBS Pac-
tual (of which CHF 15 million was charged to the Corporate 
Center  as  this  was  related  to  foreign  exchange  exposures 
managed by Group Treasury), while 2008 expenses included 
CHF 1,464 million in charges related to the ARS settlement. 
Excluding these charges, operating expenses would have de-
creased  5%.  Personnel  expenses  were CHF  4,231  million  in 
2009, down 1% from CHF 4,271 million in the previous year. 
Excluding  CHF  71  million  in  restructuring  charges  in  2009, 
personnel expenses would have decreased 3% from the pre-
vious year. This was a result of lower salaries related to a de-
crease in headcount, and lower revenue-based financial advi-
sor  compensation  and  was  partly  offset  by  higher  incentive 

compensation as well as higher recruiting related costs. Non-
personnel expenses declined 54% to CHF 1,287 million from 
CHF 2,801 million in 2008, but would have decreased 11% 
excluding  CHF  82  million  in  restructuring  costs  that  were 
mainly related to real estate writedowns, the abovementioned 
goodwill  impairment  charges  and  ARS-related  charges  in 
2008. The decline was also due to cost–cutting measures in 
general,  including  reduced  general  and  administrative  ex-
penses.

Development of invested assets

Net new money
In  2009,  net  new  money  outflows  were  CHF  11.6  billion 
compared with CHF 15.9 billion in the prior year. The former 
Wealth Management US business unit’s net new money out-
flows were CHF 7.6 billion in 2009, compared with CHF 10.6 
billion in 2008. Following strong net new money inflows in 
first quarter 2009 due to recruitment of experienced finan-
cial advisors, we experienced net new money outflows dur-
ing the remainder of the year due to financial advisor attri-
tion and limited recruiting of experienced financial advisors 
as a result of reputational issues. Including interest and divi-
dends, net new money inflows for the former Wealth Man-
agement  US  business  unit  in  2009  were  CHF  11.5  billion 
compared with CHF 11.7 billion in 2008.

Invested assets
Wealth  Management  Americas  had  CHF  690  billion  in  in-
vested assets on 31 December 2009, up 7% from CHF 644 
billion on 31 December 2008. This increase was principally 
driven by positive market performance, and was partly offset 
by a reduction of CHF 24 billion related to the sale of branch-
es to Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated and the sale 
of UBS Pactual, as well as net new money outflows. In addi-
tion,  invested  assets  were  impacted  by  negative  currency 
translation effects due to a 3% depreciation of the US dollar 
versus the Swiss franc. 

Gross margin on invested assets
The gross margin on invested assets was 81 basis points in 
2009, down from 82 basis points in 2008. The decrease is a 
result of a 12% decline in income compared with an 11% 
decrease  in  average  invested  assets.  The  recurring  income 
margin  declined  5  basis  points  to  48  basis  points,  corre-
sponding to a 20% decrease in recurring income. The non-
recurring margin increased 4 basis points to 33 basis points, 
driven by an increase in municipal trading income and a CHF 
35 million interest credit from the Investment Bank, which 
was attributed to a change in the UBS Bank USA investment 
portfolio  strategy,  while  2008  included  abovementioned 
trading losses related to ARS.

84

2008 

Results

In 2008, we recorded a pre-tax loss of CHF 823 million com-
pared with a pre-tax profit of CHF 621 million in 2007. Driv-
ing the decline were total ARS-related charges of CHF 1,636 
million in 2008. Excluding these charges, the pre-tax result 
would have increased 31%. In US dollar terms and excluding 
ARS-related  charges,  the  pre-tax  performance  would  have 
increased 51%, driven by resilient operating income growth 
during a challenging environment coupled with a decline in 
expenses,  including  lower  accruals  for  variable  compensa-
tion.

Operating income
In  2008,  total  operating  income  was  CHF  6,249  million, 
down 13% from CHF 7,151 million in 2007. Excluding cur-
rency  effects  and  ARS-related  trading  losses,  operating  in-
come  increased  3%  from  2007.  The  increase  in  operating 
income reflected stronger net interest income related to an 
increase  in  deposit  balances,  and  a  positive  impact  of  the 
new equity attribution framework introduced in first quarter 
2008, and was partly offset by lower transactional revenue 
and an increase in credit loss expense.

Operating expenses
Total  operating  expenses  rose  8%  to  CHF  7,072  million  in 
2008 from CHF 6,530 million in 2007. Excluding ARS-related 
charges,  operating  expenses  declined  14%.  In  US  dollar 
terms  and  excluding  ARS-related  expenses,  operating  ex-
penses declined 1%. In US dollar terms, personnel expenses 
decreased 3%, driven primarily by lower accruals for variable 
compensation, and were partly offset by higher costs related 
to financial advisor recruitment and higher severance costs 
related  to  non-financial  advisor  staff  reductions.  Excluding 
ARS-related  expenses,  non-personnel  costs  (including  gen-
eral and administrative expenses, depreciation and amortiza-

tion  expenses  and  services  provided  to  and  received  from 
other business divisions),  in  US dollar  terms, increased  5% 
due  to  increases  in  insurance  costs,  occupancy,  legal  fees, 
and depreciation costs, and were partly offset by lower pro-
visions (non-ARS-related), lower service charges from other 
business  divisions  and  reduced  discretionary  spending  on 
travel, marketing, and consulting fees.

Development of invested assets

Net new money
In  2008,  net  new  money  outflows  were  CHF  15.9  billion 
compared with inflows of CHF 35.9 billion in 2007, with net 
new money outflows concentrated in the second and third 
quarters.  Net  new  money  at  the  former  Wealth  Manage-
ment US business unit reflected an outflow of CHF 10.6 bil-
lion compared with an inflow of CHF 26.6 billion in 2007. 
The outflows reflected the financial market turbulence and 
its impact on our operating performance as well as reputa-
tional  issues  which  led  to  an  increase  in  financial  advisor 
 attrition and clients diversifying assets away from the firm. 
Including  interest  and  dividends,  the  former  Wealth  Man-
agement  US  business  unit  had  net  new  money  inflows  in 
2008 of CHF 11.7 billion, compared with outflows of CHF 
51.5 billion in 2007.

Invested assets
Wealth  Management  Americas  had  CHF  644  billion  in  in-
vested assets on 31 December 2008, down 29% from CHF 
906 billion on 31 December 2007. This was a result of de-
clining markets over the year, net new money outflows and 
the negative impact of currency translation. 

Gross margin on invested assets
The gross margin on invested assets was 82 basis points in 
2008,  up  from  77  basis  points  in  2007.  The  increase  was 
mainly  a  result  of  a  5  basis  point  increase  in  the  recurring 
income margin to 53 basis points, while the non-recurring 
margin was unchanged at 29 basis points.

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85

 
 
 
 
 
 
UBS business divisions and Corporate Center
Global Asset Management

Global Asset Management
Business description

Global Asset Management is a large-scale asset manager with well diversified businesses across regions, 
capabilities and distribution channels. It offers investment capabilities and investment styles across all major 
traditional and alternative asset classes. These include equities, fixed income, currency, hedge fund, real estate, 
infrastructure and private equity investment capabilities that can also be combined in multi-asset strategies.

Business

Strategy

Global Asset Management offers a diverse range of invest-
ment capabilities and services from a boutique-like structure 
encompassing all major asset classes including equities, fixed 
income, asset allocation, currency, risk management, hedge 
funds, real estate, infrastructure, private equity and fund ad-
ministration.  Invested  assets  totaled  CHF  583  billion  on 
31 December 2009, making Global Asset Management one 
of the larger institutional asset managers and hedge fund of 
funds  managers  in  the  world.  It  is  also  one  of  the  largest 
mutual fund managers in Europe and the largest in Switzer-
land.  The  “Key  focus  areas”  chart  shows  the  investment, 
distribution and support structure of the business division. 

Revenues and key performance indicators are reported ac-
cording to two principal asset management client segments: 
institutional  (for  example,  corporate  and  public  pension 
plans, governments and their central banks) and wholesale 
intermediary (financial intermediaries, including UBS’s wealth 
management businesses, and third parties). The bar charts on 
the following pages show the breakdown of invested assets 
and revenues across these segments and by regions and asset 
classes.

As the financial crisis recedes, significant renewed growth 
in the asset management industry is anticipated. The fun-
damental drivers of growth in the industry, such as the need 
to save for retirement and the increase in savings in emerg-
ing economies, remain in place and appear to be reacceler-
ating. 

Global Asset Management is focused on seizing the op-
portunities  that  growth  within  the  industry  will  bring.  The 
diversification of the business across geographies, capabili-
ties  and  distribution  channels  in  recent  years,  and  an  im-
provement in investment performance in a number of capa-
bilities, provide a solid foundation for future growth. 

Our key strategic objective is to monetize our improved 
investment  performance  through  both  gaining  new  client 
assets and improving our retention of existing client assets. 
In  pursuit  of  our  strategic  objective,  we  are  working  to 
expand our third-party institutional and wholesale distribu-
tion, to increase our cooperation with the wealth manage-
ment  businesses  and  to  leverage  our  existing  strong  posi-
tions in emerging markets, notably in China, Korea and the 
Middle East.

Key focus areas

Investment capabilities are globally coordinated 
but with boutique-like discretion wherever possible …

Equities

Fixed income

Alternative and
quantitative 
investments

Global real estate

Global investment 
solutions

Infrastructure and 
private equity

Fund services

The Americas

Switzerland

Europe, Middle East and Africa

Asia Pacific

… distribution is regionally organized …

IT1

Operations and 
fund treasury

Human resources1

Legal, compliance
and risk control1

Financial control1

Strategic planning

Consultant relation-
ships and marketing

… and supported by global functions

1 Reports to UBS Group functional head.

86

2BD020_e

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Organizational structure

Competitors

Our business division has main offices in London, Chicago, 
Frankfurt, Hartford, Hong Kong, New York, Paris, Singapore, 
Sydney,  Tokyo,  Toronto  and  Zurich,  and  employs  around 
3,500 personnel in 25 countries. 

Significant recent acquisitions and business transfers 
–  In  May  2007,  UBS  announced  the  closure  of  Dillon 
Read  Capital  Management  (DRCM).  The  business  was 
formed  in  June  2005  and  officially  launched  in  June 
2006.  The  business  had  two  arms  –  one  managing 
 existing proprietary assets transferred from the Invest-
ment Bank, the other managing outside investor assets. 
As the development of the business did not meet origi-
nal expectations, it was closed in May 2007.

–  In July 2007, UBS purchased a 51% stake in Daehan In-
vestment  Trust  Management  Company  Ltd.  (DIMCO) 
from  Hana  Daetoo  Securities  (formerly  Daehan  Invest-
ment & Securities Company Ltd.), a wholly-owned sub-
sidiary  of  Hana  Financial  Group.  DIMCO  was  renamed 
UBS  Hana  Asset  Management  Company  Ltd.  interna-
tionally, and Hana UBS Asset Management in Korea.
–  In  February  2008,  UBS  acquired  100%  of  the  Caisse 
Centrale  de  Réescompte  (CCR)  Group  in  France  from 
Commerzbank. The asset management business of CCR 
currently operates as CCR Asset Management. 

–  In  August  2008,  UBS  sold  its  24.9%  stake  in  Adams 
Street Partners to its remaining shareholders. The trans-
action closed on 6 August 2008 resulting in a net gain of 
CHF 168 million.

–  In September 2009, UBS completed the sale of its Brazil-
ian financial services business, UBS Pactual, including its 
asset  management  business,  UBS  Pactual  Asset  Man-
agement. Global Asset Management continues to serve 
Brazil  and  other  Latin  American  markets  through  its 
Americas distribution team.

Our competitors range from global firms with wide-ranging 
capabilities  (such  as  Fidelity  Investments,  AllianceBernstein 
Investments,  BlackRock,  JP  Morgan  Asset  Management, 
Deutsche  Asset  Management  and  Goldman  Sachs  Asset 
Management), to regional or local firms specializing in par-
ticular asset classes. Many of our competitors are specialist 
niche players who focus mainly on one asset class, particu-
larly  in  the  real  estate,  hedge  fund,  infrastructure  and  re-
gional private equity investment areas.

The asset management industry is undergoing a period of 
consolidation and polarization into either large-scale firms or 
niche  specialists.  Large-scale  firms,  like  our  Global  Asset 
Management business division, offer well-diversified invest-
ment  capabilities  across  all  asset  classes  and  have  a  broad 
global distribution network.

Products and services

The  “Investment  capabilities  and  services”  chart  illustrates  
our offering which can be delivered in the form of segregated, 
pooled  and  advisory  mandates  along  with  a  range  of  more 
than 500 registered investment funds, exchange-traded funds 
and other investment vehicles across all major asset classes.
–  Equities  offers  a  full  spectrum  of  investment  styles  with 
varying risk and return objectives. It has three investment 
pillars with distinct strategies including core / value (port-
folios managed according to a price to intrinsic value phi-
losophy), growth investors (a quality global growth man-
ager)  and  structured  equities  (strategies  that  employ 
proprietary analytics and quantitative methods).

–  Fixed  income  offers  a  diverse  range  of  global,  regional 
and local market-based investment strategies that cover a 
wide range of benchmarks. Its capabilities include “core” 
government and corporate bond strategies, complement-
ed by extended strategies such as high-yield and emerg-
ing market debt.

Invested assets by region¹
In %, except where indicated

Institutional /wholesale intermediary revenues
In %, except where indicated

On 

100

  75

  50

  25

    0

31.12.07 

31.12.08 

31.12.09

Total: 

CHF 891 billion 

CHF 575 billion 

CHF 583 billion

33

21

13

33

33

19

10

38

35

20

12

33

On 

100

  75

  50

  25

31.12.07 

31.12.08 

31.12.09

Total: 

CHF 4,094 million  

CHF 2,904 million  

CHF 2,137 million 

42

58

43

57

40

60

The Americas

Asia Pacific

Europe, Middle East and Africa

Switzerland

1 Assets represented are totals for the Global Asset Management business division worldwide.  
The regional split is primarily based on the client servicing location.

    0
2BD023_e

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Wholesale intermediary

2BD022_e_GAM

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UBS business divisions and Corporate Center
Global Asset Management

–  Alternative and quantitative investments has two primary 
business lines – multi-manager (or fund of funds) and sin-
gle manager. The former constructs portfolios of hedge 
funds  and  other  alternative  investments  operated  by 
third-party managers, allowing clients to have diversified 
exposure to a range of hedge funds, private equity and 
infrastructure  strategies.  O’Connor  is  a  key  provider  of 
single-manager global hedge funds.

–  Global  real  estate  actively  manages  real  estate  invest-
ments in Asia, Europe and the US and across the major 
real estate sectors. Its capabilities are focused on core and 
value-added strategies, but also include other strategies 
across the risk / return spectrum. These are offered on a 
global, regional and country basis and through open- and 
closed-end  private  funds,  customized  investment  struc-
tures, funds of funds, individually managed accounts and 
publicly traded real estate securities.

–  Global  investment  solutions  offers  asset  allocation,  cur-
rency, manager research and risk management services. It 
manages  a  wide  array  of  domestic,  regional  and  global 
balanced portfolios, currency mandates, structured port-
folios,  multi-manager  and  absolute  return  strategies. 
Through its strategic investment advisory services, it sup-
ports clients in a wide range of investment-related func-
tions including investment policy setting, integrated asset 
liability solutions, multi-manager approaches and invest-
ment outsourcing.

–  Infrastructure and private equity is involved in the origina-
tion  and  management  of  specialist  funds  that  invest  in 
infrastructure and other private assets globally.

–  Fund  services,  the  global  fund  administration  business, 
provides professional services, including legal set-up, re-
porting and accounting for retail and institutional invest-
ment funds, hedge funds and other alternative funds.

Investment performance 2009

From  March  onwards,  2009  was  largely  characterized  by 
varying degrees of recovery in most financial markets, with 
some volatility along the way. Many of our strategies were 
well positioned to benefit from the recovery, and the initial 
performance improvement of 2008 grew into a substantial 
and  sustained  improvement  in  2009  across  many  strate-
gies. 

Among  core / value  equity  strategies,  a  high  proportion 
delivered returns that equaled or exceeded their benchmarks 
for 2009 and, in most cases, by significantly more than nor-
mal expectations for actively managed strategies. This built 
on the generally improved performance in 2008, and most 
strategies continued to improve their relative standings com-
pared with our peers. Global, US, European, Australian and 
Asian  emerging  markets  strategies  saw  improved  perfor-
mance versus benchmarks as a result of broad-based stock 
selection  gains,  which  in  many  cases,  were  reported  on  a 
consistent  quarter-by-quarter  basis  throughout  the  year.  In 
addition to these core large cap traditional strategies, most 
global and regional small cap, concentrated and long-short 
strategies,  and  global  sustainable  and  responsible  invest-
ment strategies performed especially well. UK strategies per-
formed at benchmark or better for the year. Canadian strat-
egies  delivered  disappointing  returns  during  the  year,  but 
their medium- and long-term records remain solid.

The majority of growth equities strategies exceeded their 
benchmarks  during  the  year.  Notable  leaders  were  the  US 
large cap growth and Global (ex US) small cap growth strat-
egies,  both  of  which  greatly  exceeded  both  their  bench-
marks and peers. Longer-term performance across the entire 
growth equities platform remained strong, with all strategies 
outpacing their respective benchmarks since inception.

Institutional invested assets by asset class
In %, except where indicated

Wholesale intermediary invested assets by asset class
In %, except where indicated

31.12.07 

31.12.08 

31.12.09

Total: 

CHF 522 billion  

CHF 335 billion  

CHF 346 billion

22

23

30

19

6

23

20

22

22

13

21

18

27

21

13

Money market

Fixed income

Equity

Multi-asset

Alternatives

On 

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88

On 

100

  75

  50

  25

    0

31.12.07 

31.12.08 

31.12.09

Total: 

CHF 369 billion  

CHF 240 billion  

CHF 237 billion

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Investment capabilities and services  

Alternative and
quantitative 
investments

Single manager 
hedge funds

Multi-manager 
hedge funds

Quantitative

Infrastructure 
fund of funds

Private equity 
fund of funds

Active commodities,
multi-manager

Equities

Core/value

Global

Fixed income

Global

Country and regional

Country and regional

Sector specific

Emerging markets

Emerging markets

Specialist

Long /short

HALO

High yield

Structured credit

Liquidity /short duration

Growth investors

Indexed

Global

Country and regional

Structured equities

Systematic alpha

Quantitative equities 

Index and 
portfolio construction
solutions 
(including passive)

Global
real estate

Global 

Global investment
solutions

Infrastructure and 
private equity

Global

Direct infrastructure 
investment

Country and regional

Country and regional

Private strategies

Asset allocation

Global and regional

Real estate securities

Currency management

Agriculture

Return and risk targeted

Structured portfolios

Risk management and 
advisory services

Fund services

Alternative funds

Investment funds

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Among  structured  equities  strategies,  all  key  systematic 
alpha  strategies  exceeded  performance  objectives  for  the 
year. Particularly strong results were achieved in global, UK 
and Swiss small and midcap strategies. The US fundamental 
equity  market  neutral  strategy  generated  positive  absolute 
returns,  as  did  quantitative  equities’  global  equity  market 
neutral  strategy.  Among  long-only  strategies,  quantitative 
equities’  global  and  US  active  strategies  were  ahead  of 
benchmark, while the Japan and European strategies trailed 
their benchmarks. Enhanced index strategies mostly lagged 

benchmarks with the exception of Japan. Passive strategies 
continued to add value in line with their risk objectives.

Global bond markets had another dramatic year in 2009, 
most  notably  the  corporate  bond  markets  where  yield 
spreads  (the  difference  in  yield  versus  government  bonds) 
peaked in March at record levels. From the first quarter on-
wards,  investment  grade,  high  yield  and  emerging  market 
bond yield spreads reduced dramatically, resulting in record 
high total returns from these fixed income asset classes. A 
combination of this market environment and portfolio posi-

89

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
UBS business divisions and Corporate Center
Global Asset Management

tioning led to significant outperformance of UK, US, global 
sovereign, Australian, Canadian, Euro, Swiss and emerging 
market bond strategies, and modest outperformance of Jap-
anese bond strategies. The performance of many key strate-
gies  was  substantially  stronger  than  in  the  previous  year. 
High yield strategies underperformed their benchmarks but 
achieved  positive  total  returns  for  the  year.  Money  market 
funds continued to achieve their capital preservation objec-
tives.

The performance of multi-asset strategies, including the 
global  securities  composite  and  dynamic  alpha  strategies, 
was strongly positive during the year. Asset allocation, cur-
rency management and security selection all contributed to 
this result. Multi-asset strategies had been positioned for a 
recovery in risky assets such as equities, and thus benefited 
from  the  upswing  in  equity  markets  that  started  in  early 
March and continued throughout the year. As in 2008, the 
active  currency  strategy  performed  strongly  during  2009. 
Global and regional convertible bonds strategies ended the 
year well ahead of benchmark, delivering a very strong per-
formance.  The  majority  of  multi-manager  investment  solu-
tions  also  delivered  positive  returns  relative  to  benchmark 
over the year. Strategic investment advisory services, includ-
ing  investment  outsourcing,  asset  liability  investment  solu-
tions and strategic alternatives advisory gained further trac-
tion and brought in new clients during the year.

In alternative and quantitative investments, hedge funds 
rebounded strongly in 2009. The O’Connor single manag-
er  business  posted  positive  returns  across  all  core  funds, 
with  the  exception  of  currency  and  rates,  with  the  key 

O’Connor multi-strategy fund materially outperforming its 
peers and relevant benchmarks. At year end, most funds 
were  above  pre-existing  high  water  marks.  In  the  multi-
manager business, positive returns were posted across all 
core strategies. 

Investment performance of the direct real estate flagship 
funds generally picked up during the year. The flagship UK 
strategy  improved  in  absolute  terms  but  underperformed 
versus  benchmark.  All  Germany-based  Eurozone  strategies 
produced  positive  absolute  returns  (consisting  of  the  four 
UBS  Swiss  listed  real  estate  funds)  and  also  outperformed 
their benchmark. Although absolute performance of the US 
fund was negative, it substantially outperformed its bench-
mark. Performance of the flagship J-REIT (managed in part-
nership  with  Mitsubishi  Corporation)  was  positive  both  in 
absolute and relative terms. Performance for real estate se-
curities  strategies  was  mixed  versus  benchmarks,  however, 
they  all  posted  positive  absolute  returns  for  the  year.  The 
fund of funds strategy gathered momentum over the second 
half of the year when positive returns were delivered.

The last year was challenging for the infrastructure and 
private equity sector as a whole. The flagship UBS Interna-
tional Infrastructure Fund’s portfolio performed well despite 
unprecedented  market  challenges,  although  at  the  end  of 
the period a regulatory decision for the UK water sector ad-
versely impacted one investment in the portfolio. The Middle 
East fund, managed in partnership with Invest AD, formerly 
Abu Dhabi Investment Company, reached first close in May 
2009 with up to USD 250 million in commitments, with final 
close expected in 2010.

90

Business performance

Business division reporting

CHF million, except where indicated

Institutional fees

Wholesale intermediary fees

Total operating income

Personnel expenses

General and administrative expenses

Services (to) / from other business divisions

Depreciation of property and equipment

Impairment of goodwill

Amortization of intangible assets

Total operating expenses

Business division performance before tax

Key performance indicators 2
Pre-tax profit growth (%)

Cost / income ratio (%)
Net new money (CHF billion) 3
Gross margin on invested assets (bps) (institutional)

Gross margin on invested assets (bps) (wholesale intermediary)

Additional information

Average attributed equity (CHF billion)

Return on attributed equity (RoaE) (%)
BIS risk-weighted assets (CHF billion) 4
Return on BIS risk-weighted assets, gross (%)

Goodwill and intangible assets (CHF billion) 

Invested assets (CHF billion)

Personnel (full-time equivalents)

Institutional
Net new money (CHF billion) 3

of which: money market funds

Invested assets (CHF billion)

of which: money market funds

Wholesale intermediary
Net new money (CHF billion) 3

of which: money market funds

Invested assets (CHF billion)

of which: money market funds

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As of or for the year ended

% change from

31.12.09

1,273

863

2,137

996

387

(74)

36

340

13

1,698

438

(67.1)

79.5

(45.8)

37

36

2.8

15.9

4.1

37.7

1.7

583

3,471

(12.7)

2.1

346

45

(33.1)

(14.3)

237

67

31.12.08
1,659 1
1,246

2,904

946

462

88

44

0

33

1,572

1,333

(8.3)

54.1

(103.0)

38

41

3.0

44.4

8.5

41.2

2.2

575

3,914

(55.6)

6.0

335

42

(47.4)

15.2

240

80

31.12.07

31.12.08

2,370

1,724

4,094

1,883

593

73

72

0

19

2,640

1,454

10.2

64.5

(15.7)

44

47

2.3

891

3,785

(16.3)

6.7

522

32

0.6

4.8

369

70

(23)

(31)

(26)

5

(16)

(18)

(61)

8

(67)

(3)

(12)

(7)

(52)

(23)

1

(11)

3

7

(1)

(16)

1 Includes a gain of CHF 168 million on the sale of a minority stake in Adams Street Partners.    2 For the definitions of our key performance indicators, refer to the “Measurement and analysis of perfor-
mance” section of this report.    3 Excludes interest and dividend income.    4 BIS risk-weighted assets (RWA) are according to Basel II.   

91

 
 
 
 
 
 
UBS business divisions and Corporate Center
Global Asset Management

2009

Results

Pre-tax profit for full year 2009 was CHF 438 million com-
pared with CHF 1,333 million in 2008. Excluding a net good-
will impairment charge in 2009 of CHF 191 million related to 
the sale of UBS Pactual, restructuring costs in 2009 of CHF 
48 million and a gain of CHF 168 million from the sale of our 
minority  stake  in  Adams  Street  Partners  in  2008,  pre-tax 
profit would have decreased 42% to CHF 677 million.

Operating income
Total operating income was CHF 2,137 million in 2009 com-
pared with CHF 2,904 million in 2008. Institutional revenues 
were CHF 1,273 million in 2009 compared with CHF 1,659 
million in 2008, due to lower management fees associated 
with  a  21%  decrease  of  the  average  invested  assets  base 
and  reduced  income  following  the  sale  of  UBS  Pactual  in 
2009, which was partly offset by higher performance fees in 
alternative  and  quantitative  investments  as  well  as  lower 
 operational losses. Additionally, 2008 institutional revenues 
included  a  gain  of  CHF  168  million  from  the  sale  of  UBS’s 
minority  stake  in  Adams  Street  Partners.  Wholesale  inter-
mediary revenues were CHF 863 million in 2009 compared 
with CHF 1,246 million in 2008, due to lower management 
fees  associated  with  a  lower  average  invested  assets  base, 
lower  performance  fees  from  some  funds  and  reduced  in-
come following the sale of UBS Pactual in 2009.

Operating expenses
Total  operating  expenses  were  CHF  1,698  million  in  2009 
compared with CHF 1,572 million in 2008. Excluding a net 
goodwill  impairment  charge  in  2009,  and  restructuring 
charges during the whole period, operating expenses would 
have declined 7% to CHF 1,459 million. This resulted from 
lower general and administrative expenses, and was partly 
offset by higher accruals of variable compensation driven by 
higher performance fees in alternative and quantitative in-
vestments.  In  2009,  operating  expenses  included  CHF  340 
million in goodwill impairment charges related to the sale of 
UBS Pactual (of which CHF 149 million was charged to the 
Corporate  Center  as  this  was  related  to  foreign  exchange 
exposures managed by Group Treasury).

General and administrative expenses were CHF 387 million 
in 2009 compared with CHF 462 million in 2008, mainly due 
to  lower  entertainment  expenses,  marketing  costs,  IT  costs 
and professional fees as a result of ongoing cost-saving mea-
sures and reduced expenses following the sale of UBS Pactual.
Net  charges  to  other  business  divisions  were  CHF  74 
 million  in  2009,  compared  with  a  net  charge  from  other 
business divisions of CHF 88 million in 2008. Excluding the 
abovementioned  charge  to  the  Corporate  Center  of  CHF 

92

149 million, allocated costs were down by CHF 13 million, or 
15%, from 2008 mainly due to lower allocated costs from 
service providers as a result of ongoing cost-saving measures 
and reduced charges following the sale of UBS Pactual.

Depreciation of property and equipment at CHF 36 mil-
lion in 2009 was down by CHF 8 million as a result of lower 
depreciation charges on premises, IT and software.

Development of invested assets

Net new money
Net new money outflows were CHF 45.8 billion for full year 
2009 compared with outflows of CHF 103.0 billion for full 
year 2008. Excluding money market flows, net new money 
outflows were CHF 33.6 billion in 2009 compared with CHF 
124.2  billion  in  2008.  Net  outflows  from  clients  of  our 
wealth  management  businesses  were  CHF  40.7  billion 
(around 90% of total net outflows) in 2009 compared with 
CHF 47.1 billion in 2008. Some of the inflows and outflows 
relating to clients of our wealth management businesses are 
also  reported  as  net  new  money  in-  and  outflows  for  the 
Wealth  Management  &  Swiss  Bank  and  Wealth  Manage-
ment Americas business divisions.

Institutional net new money outflows were CHF 12.7 bil-
lion  in  2009  compared  with  CHF  55.6  billion  in  2008.  Ex-
cluding money market flows, outflows were CHF 14.8 billion 
in 2009 compared with CHF 61.6 billion in 2008. Net out-
flows  were  reported  in  alternative  and  quantitative  invest-
ments, multi-asset, equities, fixed income and real estate.

Wholesale  intermediary  net  new  money  outflows  were 
CHF 33.1 billion in 2009 compared with CHF 47.4 billion in 
2008. Excluding money market flows, outflows of net new 
money were CHF 18.8 billion in 2009 compared with CHF 
62.6 billion in 2008. Outflows were mainly reported in multi-
asset, equities and fixed income, and were partly offset by 
inflows in real estate.

Invested assets
Total invested assets were CHF 583 billion on 31 December 
2009 compared with CHF 575 billion on 31 December 2008. 
Institutional invested assets were CHF 346 billion on 31 De-
cember 2009 compared with CHF 335 billion on 31 Decem-
ber 2008. The net increase reflects the positive impact of fi-
nancial  market  developments  and  positive  currency 
fluctuations, and was partly offset by the exclusion of UBS 
Pactual assets and net new money outflows. Wholesale in-
termediary invested assets were CHF 237 billion on 31 De-
cember 2009 compared with CHF 240 billion on 31 Decem-
ber 2008. The net decrease reflects net new money outflows 
and the exclusion of UBS Pactual assets, and was partly off-
set by the positive impact of financial market developments 
and CHF 4.2 billion related to the transfer of the real estate 
investment  management  business  from  Wealth  Manage-
ment & Swiss Bank.

Gross margin on invested assets
The gross margin on institutional invested assets was 37 ba-
sis points in 2009, compared with 38 basis points in 2008. 
The  calculation  of  2008  gross  margin  included  a  CHF  168 
million  gain  from  the  sale  of  our  minority  stake  in  Adams 
Street  Partners  in  2008.  The  2009  gross  margin  was  sup-

ported by higher performance fees, primarily in alternative 
and quantitative investments, and lower operational losses.
The gross margin on wholesale intermediary invested as-
sets  was  36  basis  points  in  2009  compared  with  41  basis 
points in 2008. This was mainly due to lower performance 
fees and reduced income following the sale of UBS Pactual.

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UBS business divisions and Corporate Center
Global Asset Management

2008

Results

Pre-tax profit for full year 2008 was CHF 1,333 million com-
pared  with  CHF  1,454  million  in  2007.  Excluding  costs  re-
lated  to  the  closure  of  Dillon  Read  Capital  Management 
(DRCM) in 2007, and a gain from the sale of the minority 
stake  in  Adams  Street  Partners  in  2008,  full-year  pre-tax 
profit would have decreased by CHF 501 million.

Operating income
Total operating income was CHF 2,904 million in 2008 com-
pared with CHF 4,094 million in 2007, mainly due to a signifi-
cant decline in equity market valuations and relative strength-
ening of the Swiss franc against major currencies, especially 
the US dollar. Institutional revenues were CHF 1,659 million in 
2008  compared  with  CHF  2,370  million  in  2007.  Excluding 
the gain from the sale of the minority stake in Adams Street 
Partners,  institutional  revenues  would  have  declined  by  CHF 
879  million  due  to  lower  performance  fees  from  alternative 
and quantitative investments and the Brazilian asset manage-
ment  business  and  lower  management  fees  from  the  lower 
average  invested  assets  base.  Wholesale  intermediary  reve-
nues  were  CHF  1,246  million  in  2008  compared  with  CHF 
1,724  million  in  2007  due  to  lower  management  fees  from 
the  lower  average  invested  assets  base,  and  lower  perfor-
mance fees from the Brazilian asset management business.

Operating expenses
Total  operating  expenses  were  CHF  1,572  million  in  2008 
compared  with  CHF  2,640  million  in  2007.  Excluding  CHF 
212 million in DRCM restructuring costs in 2007, total oper-
ating  expenses  would  have  declined  35%  or  CHF  856  mil-
lion.  This  decline  mainly  reflects  lower  accruals  for  variable 
compensation resulting from lower revenues, changes in the 
forfeiture provisions of future share-based awards and cost-
saving measures. The expenses were partly offset by the first-
time inclusion of the acquisition in France of the CCR Group, 
and the full-year impact of the acquisition in Korea of 51% 
of Daehan Investment Trust Management Company Ltd. 

General and administrative expenses were CHF 462 mil-
lion in 2008 compared with CHF 593 million in 2007. The 
22% decrease was due to lower provisions and lower travel 
and entertainment expenses, and was partly offset by higher 
IT  costs,  the  inclusion  of  the  acquisition  in  France  and  the 
full-year impact of the acquisition in Korea.

Services  (to) / from  other  business  divisions  increased  by 

CHF 15 million to CHF 88 million in 2008.

Depreciation of property and equipment was CHF 44 mil-
lion in 2008 compared with CHF 72 million in 2007. Exclud-
ing the impact of the DRCM restructuring costs in 2007, de-
preciation  of  property  and  equipment  would  have  been 

94

virtually flat despite the inclusion of the acquisition in France 
and the full-year impact of the acquisition in Korea.

Development of invested assets

Net new money
Net new money outflows were CHF 103.0 billion for full year 
2008  compared  with  outflows  of  CHF  15.7  billion  for  full 
year 2007. Net outflows from clients of our wealth manage-
ment  businesses  accounted  CHF  47.1  billion  of  these  full 
year 2008 outflows. Some of the inflows and outflows re-
lated  to  clients  of  our  wealth  management  businesses  are 
also  reported  as  net  new  money  in-  and  outflows  for  the 
Wealth  Management  &  Swiss  Bank  and  Wealth  Manage-
ment Americas business divisions. We also experienced rep-
utational damage which impacted flows other than from the 
wealth management businesses. 

Institutional net new money outflows were CHF 55.6 bil-
lion  in  2008  compared  with  CHF  16.3  billion  in  2007.  Ex-
cluding money market flows, outflows were CHF 61.6 billion 
in 2008 compared with CHF 23.0 billion in 2007. Net out-
flows  were  reported  in  multi-asset,  fixed  income,  equities 
and alternative and quantitative investments.

Wholesale  intermediary  net  new  money  outflows  were 
CHF  47.4  billion  in  2008,  compared  with  inflows  of  CHF 
0.6 billion in 2007. Excluding money market flows, net new 
money  outflows  were  CHF  62.6  billion  in  2008  compared 
with outflows of CHF 4.2 billion in 2007, and were mainly 
reported in multi-asset, equities and fixed income.

Invested assets
Total  invested  assets  were  CHF  575  billion  on  31  December 
2008 compared with CHF 891 billion on 31 December 2007. 
Institutional invested  assets  were  CHF  335  billion  on  31  De-
cember 2008 compared with CHF 522 billion on 31 December 
2007, reflecting the negative impact of financial market devel-
opments, net new money outflows and currency fluctuations.
Wholesale intermediary invested assets were CHF 240 bil-
lion on 31 December 2008 compared with CHF 369 billion 
on 31 December 2007, reflecting the negative impact of fi-
nancial market developments, net new money outflows and, 
to a lesser extent, currency fluctuations.

Gross margin on invested assets
The gross margin on institutional invested assets was 38 basis 
points in 2008 compared with 44 basis points in 2007. This 
was mainly due to lower performance fees from both alter-
native and quantitative investments and UBS Pactual, and a 
change in asset-mix to lower-margin money market funds.

The gross margin on wholesale intermediary invested as-
sets  was  41  basis  points  in  2008  compared  with  47  basis 
points in 2007. This was mainly due to lower performance 
fees from UBS Pactual and a change in asset mix to lower-
margin products.

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UBS business divisions and Corporate Center
Investment Bank

Investment Bank
Business description

The Investment Bank provides a broad range of products and services to corporate and institutional clients, 
governments, financial intermediaries, alternative asset managers and private investors. The products and 
services include advice, research, market access and execution across all major capital markets.

Business

The Investment Bank has three distinct but aligned business 
areas: 
–  Equities
–  Fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC)
–  the Investment banking department (IBD)

Co-operation and alignment between the FICC and eq-
uities business  areas has recently been strengthened in or-
der  to  optimize  our  infrastructure  and  services  offered  to 
clients. Together they now comprise the securities business, 
offering primary and secondary access to the securities and 
foreign exchange markets, prime brokerage services as well 
as securities, economic, strategic and quantitative research. 
IBD  provides  advice  on  mergers  and  acquisitions  and  re-
structurings,  and  raises  capital  mainly  for  corporate  and 
sovereign clients in the debt and equity markets. Addition-
ally,  as  part  of  a  number  of  broader  alignment  initiatives 
across our business divisions, IBD plays a lead role in mar-
keting the Group to corporates, leveraging their senior cli-
ent relationships.

Strategy

As a result of the losses suffered in 2007 and 2008, we have 
taken  significant  steps  to  reposition  and  rebuild  the  busi-
ness. As part of this process, the balance sheet, risk-weight-
ed assets, operating expenses and headcount have all been 
reduced.  In  addition  we  have  established  new  leadership 
roles in some key areas to implement the new client-centric 
strategy,  which  focuses  on  flow  trading  and  advice.  Client 
service and operational excellence are key to its success, and 
a  flexible  and  scalable  infrastructure  is  being  developed  in 
order to deliver this. Trading strategies are now focused on 
high volume client flow businesses, and are subject to tight 
balance sheet and risk limits.

We are focused on enhancing and protecting our tradi-
tional strengths; growing our business in selected products 
and regions; and expanding our cooperation with, and deliv-
ery to, partner divisions. 

In FICC, we are rebuilding and growing our credit, rates 
and emerging markets businesses, while maintaining a mar-
ket-leading  position  in  foreign  exchange  and  money  mar-

kets. In equities, we are targeting growth in equity deriva-
tives,  exchange-traded  derivatives 
(ETD)  and  prime 
brokerage, while enhancing our strengths in cash equities. 
IBD is focused on maintaining a leading position in Europe, 
the  Middle  East  and  Africa,  and  the  Asia  Pacific  regions, 
while rebuilding our market position in the Americas.

Organizational structure

The Investment  Bank is headquartered  in  London and  em-
ploys approximately 15,700 personnel in over 30 countries. 
It is comprised of three business areas which are functionally 
run  on  a  global  basis:  equities,  FICC  and  IBD.  IBD’s  global 
capital markets business consists of two separate joint ven-
tures: equity capital markets with equities, and debt capital 
markets with FICC. Global leveraged finance is another joint 
venture  between  IBD  and  FICC,  which  includes  the  global 
syndicated finance business.

Significant recent acquisitions and business transfers
Key acquisitions and business transfers over the past three 
years include:
–  the April 2007 acquisition of a 20% stake in UBS Securi-

ties, China; and

–  the September 2009 sale of our Brazilian financial servic-

es business, UBS Pactual.

Legal structure
We operate through branches and subsidiaries of UBS AG. 
Securities activities in the US are conducted through UBS Se-
curities LLC, a registered broker-dealer.

Competitors

The  industry  has  seen  significant  global  consolidation  as  a 
result of the financial crisis, with firms such as Lehman Broth-
ers filing for bankruptcy and others, like Bear Stearns, being 
sold.  At  the  same  time,  there  has  been  an  emergence  of 
smaller boutique investment banking advisory and securities 
firms. Our main competitors continue to be the major global 
investment banks including Bank of America / Merrill Lynch, 
Barclays  Capital,  Citigroup,  Credit  Suisse,  Deutsche  Bank, 
Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley.

95

 
 
 
 
 
 
UBS business divisions and Corporate Center
Investment Bank

Products and services

Equities
Our  equities  business  area  is  a  leading  participant  in  the 
global  primary  and  secondary  markets  for  equity,  equity-
linked and equity derivative products. It distributes, trades, 
finances and clears cash equity and equity-linked products. It 
also distributes new equity and equity-linked issues and pro-
vides research on companies, industry sectors, geographical 
markets and macroeconomic trends. Equities has made sig-
nificant investments in technology for direct market access, 
prime brokerage and client relationship management to im-
prove  client  service  and  business  efficiency.  The  business 
area also has global and multi-regional operations as well as 
a strong local presence in all major markets. 

The main business lines of the equities business area are:
–  Cash equities provides clients with trade execution offer-
ings  and  related  advice,  and  comprehensive  access  to 
 corporate  management.  We  provide  full-service  trade 
 execution for single stock and portfolios, capital commit-
ment,  block  trading,  electronic  trading  strategies  and 
platforms,  and  analytics  and  commission  management 
services. 

–  Equity research provides in-depth analysis on more than 
3,000 companies worldwide, or over 80% of the global 
markets  capitalization.  In  addition,  we  have  a  specialist 
research  offering  in  economics,  macro  asset  allocation, 
equity strategy, quantitative analysis, socially responsible 
investing,  commodities,  alternative  research  and  valua-
tion and accounting.

–  Derivatives  provides  standardized  products  and  custom-
ized solutions to our clients. In addition to products with 
returns linked to equities or equity indices, we also offer 
derivative products linked to hedge funds, mutual funds, 
real estate and commodity indices in a variety of formats 
such as over-the-counter, securitized, fund-wrapped and 
exchange-traded.

–  Prime  brokerage  provides  integrated  global  services,  in-
cluding  multi-asset  class  clearing  and  custody,  capital 
consultancy,  securities  lending  and  equity  swaps  execu-
tion. These services are provided through a client-centric 
service model to hedge funds, banks, asset management 
and other financial services clients. 

–  Exchange-traded  derivatives  provides  execution  and 
clearing services with access to approximately 70 global 
exchanges to hedge funds, banks, asset managers, cor-
porations,  commodity  trading  and  wealth  management 
clients as well as to aggregators.

Fixed income, currencies and commodities
The  FICC  business  area  delivers  products  and  solutions  to 
corporate, institutional and public sector clients in all major 
markets, as well as to private clients via targeted intermedi-
aries.  In  response  to  changes  in  global  markets  and  client 

demand, FICC was significantly restructured in 2009 to im-
prove client service, simplify its operating model, strengthen 
risk management and leverage competitive advantages. The 
main business lines of the FICC business area are:
–  Macro consists of foreign exchange, money market and 
interest rate sales and trading businesses. We provide a 
range of foreign exchange, precious metals, treasury, and 
liquidity  management  solutions  to  institutional  and  pri-
vate  clients  via  targeted  intermediaries.  Interest  rate  ac-
tivities include standardized rate-driven products and ser-
vices such as interest rate derivatives trading, underwriting 
and trading of government and agency securities. 

–  Credit sales and trading encompasses the origination, un-
derwriting, and distribution of primary cash and synthetic 
credit transactions. We are also active in corporate lend-
ing, secondary trading and market-making in high yield 
and investment grade bonds, and loans in both cash and 
derivative products. 

–  Emerging markets business offers local investors access 
to international markets, and offers international inves-
tors  an  opportunity  to  add  exposure  via  our  onshore 
presence in key locations. We also provide liquidity in the 
local  markets  across  foreign  exchange,  rates  and  struc-
tured products. We have a local market presence in Cen-
tral  and  Eastern  Europe  and  Asia,  and  access  to  Latin 
American markets through our emerging markets hub in 
Stamford.
In early 2010, we began the process of re-integrating re-
sidual risk positions into the FICC business. The positions will 
be managed on separate books to be unwound or exited as 
needed. As part of this process, and following a thorough 
front-to-back  review  process,  certain  businesses  will  be  re-
entered. The focus will be on products that are liquid, price-
observable  and  hedgeable.  The  businesses  approved  for 
 re-entry  include  the  secondary  trading  of  Asian  emerging 
market  convertible  bond  strips,  asset-backed  securities, 
commercial  mortgage-backed  securities  and  collateralized 
loan  obligations  and  structured  credit / correlation  trading; 
other proposals are also being considered. 

Investment banking department
IBD provides strategic advice and a range of capital markets 
execution services to corporate clients, financial institutions, 
financial  sponsors,  sovereign  clients,  wealth  funds  and 
hedge funds. 
–  The  advisory  group  assists  in  acquisitions  and  sale  pro-
cesses, and also advises on strategic reviews and corpo-
rate restructuring solutions. 

–  Global capital markets offers financing and advisory ser-
vices that cover capital raising including debt and equity 
capital, and risk management solutions. It comprises the 
equity capital markets business, whose products include 
initial  public  offerings,  secondary  offerings  and  equity 
linked transactions; and the debt capital markets business 

96

products include commercial paper, medium-term notes, 
senior debt, high yield debt, subordinated debt and hy-
brid capital. The aforementioned financing products are 
provided alongside risk management solutions, which in-
clude derivatives, structured finance, ratings advisory ser-
vices and liability management. 

–  Global leveraged finance provides event-driven (acquisition, 
leveraged buy-out) loans, bond and mezzanine leveraged 
finance  to  corporate  customers  and  financial  sponsors. 
With a presence in all major financial markets, investment 
banking  coverage  is  based  on  a  comprehensive  matrix  of 
country, sector and product banking professionals.

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UBS business divisions and Corporate Center
Investment Bank

Business performance

Business division reporting

CHF million, except where indicated

Investment banking

Advisory

Capital market revenues

Equities

Fixed income, currencies and commodities

Other fee income and risk management

Sales and trading

Equities

Fixed income, currencies and commodities

Total Investment Bank income
Credit loss (expense) / recovery 1
Total Investment Bank operating income excluding own credit
Own credit 2
Total Investment Bank operating income as reported

Personnel expenses

General and administrative expenses

Services (to) / from other business divisions

Depreciation of property and equipment

Impairment of goodwill

Amortization of intangible assets

Total operating expenses

Business division performance before tax

Key performance indicators 3
Pre-tax profit growth (%) 4
Cost / income ratio (%) 5
Return on attributed equity (RoaE) (%)

Return on assets, gross (%)
Average VaR (1-day, 95% confidence, 5 years of historical data) 6

Additional information

Total assets (CHF billion)

Average attributed equity (CHF billion)
BIS risk-weighted assets, gross (CHF billion) 7
Return on BIS risk-weighted assets, gross (%)

Goodwill and intangible assets (CHF billion)
Compensation ratio (%) 5
Impaired lending portfolio as a % of total lending portfolio, gross

Personnel (full-time equivalents)

As of or for the year ended

% change from

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.08

2,466

858

2,514

1,609

904

(906)

4,390

4,937

(547)

6,856

(1,698)

5,158

(2,023)

3,135

5,568

2,628

(147)

360

749

59

9,216

(6,081)

N/A

190.7

(24.1)

0.4

55

992.0

25.3

122.4

3.1

3.5

115.2

3.8

15,666

2,880

1,609

1,844

977

866

(573)

(26,712)

5,184

(31,895)

(23,832)

(2,575)

(26,407)

2,032

(24,375)

5,182

3,830

41

447

341

83

9,925

(34,300)

N/A

N/A

(128.2)

(1.2)

79

6,637

2,696

4,262

2,784

1,478

(321)

(7,833)

9,002

(16,835)

(1,197)

(266)

(1,463)

659

(804)

11,633

3,800

(171)

431

0

172

15,865

(16,669)

N/A

N/A

(0.2)

1,680.3

1,922.8

26.8

195.8

(10.0)

4.6

N/A

2.6

5.6

N/A

0.4

19,132

23,739

(14)

(47)

36

65

4

(58)

(5)

98

(34)

7

(31)

(19)

120

(29)

(7)

82

(30)

(41)

(6)

(37)

(24)

(18)

1 Includes CHF 1,013 million in credit losses from impairment charges on reclassified financial instruments for 2009.    2 Represents own credit changes of financial liabilities designated at fair value 
through profit or loss. The cumulative own credit gain for such debt held at 31 December 2009 amounts to CHF 0.9 billion. This gain has reduced the fair value of financial liabilities designated at fair 
value through profit or loss recognized on our balance sheet. Refer to “Note 27 Fair value of financial instruments” in the “Financial information” section of this report for more information.    3 For the 
definitions of our key performance indicators, refer to the “Measurement and analysis of performance” section of this report.    4 Not meaningful if either the current period or the comparison period 
is a loss period.    5 Neither the cost / income nor the compensation ratio are meaningful if revenues in the Investment Bank are negative.    6 As announced in our third quarter 2009 report, we received 
approval from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) to change the calibration of our management VaR from a 10-day 99% measure to a 1-day 95% measure. This measure is re-
ported as a key performance indicator with comparatives provided as at 31.12.2008.    7 BIS risk-weighted assets (RWA) are according to Basel II.   

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2009

Results

In  2009,  we  recorded  a  pre-tax  loss  of  CHF  6,081  million 
compared with a pre-tax loss of CHF 34,300 million in 2008, 
primarily  due  to  a  reduction  in  losses  on  residual  risk  posi-
tions.  The  2009  result  was  also  affected  by  a  loss  of  CHF 
2,023  million  on  own  credit  from  financial  liabilities  desig-
nated at fair value as our credit spreads narrowed in 2009, 
compared with a CHF 2,032 million gain in 2008. For full-year 
2009,  equities  and  IBD  revenues  were  down  from  2008  as 
the  businesses  suffered  losses  of  key  personnel  in  the  early 
part of the year. We recorded net credit loss expenses of CHF 
1,698 million for 2009, compared with net credit loss expens-
es of CHF 2,575 million in 2008. Excluding the credit loss ex-
penses from reclassified securities of CHF 425 million, our net 
credit loss expenses amounted to CHF 1,273 million in 2009.
➔	Refer to “Note 27 Fair value of financial instruments” in 

the “Financial information” section of this report for more 

information on own credit

Our  operating  expenses  decreased  by  CHF  709  million 
compared with 2008, mainly reflecting lower non-personnel 
costs.

Operating income
Total operating income in 2009 was positive CHF 3,135 mil-
lion, up from negative CHF 24,375 million in 2008, mainly 
due to substantially reduced losses on risk positions within 
the FICC area.

Equities
Revenues in equities were CHF 4,937 million in 2009, down 
5% from CHF 5,184 million in 2008. Equity market conditions 
continued to be difficult in 2009, impacting our overall busi-
ness performance, as did the loss of some key personnel in 
the first part of the year. We have made a number of strategic 
hires since then. Cash equity revenues were impacted by low-
er market volumes and a loss in market share. Deri vatives rev-
enues were down. Prime brokerage revenues declined due to 
a weaker dividend season and lower client  balances in the first 
half of 2009. A decline in exchange-traded derivatives reve-
nues was driven by weaker volumes and less favorable inter-
est  and  margin  balances.  Equity-linked  revenues  improved 
significantly after a weak 2008 as all regions benefited from 
improvements in valuations and liquidity. Proprietary trading 
revenues  also  substantially  improved  with  a  strong  perfor-
mance recorded across all geographical regions.

Fixed income, currencies and commodities
Revenues were negative CHF 547 million in 2009, up from 
negative CHF 31,895 million a year earlier. The FICC result 
continued to be affected by losses on residual risk positions 

which had a material impact particularly in the first and sec-
ond quarters, but decreased significantly in the second half 
of the year. Despite the overall loss, all core FICC businesses 
contributed positive revenues as the businesses were rebuilt, 
funding costs were normalized, and liquidity improved.

Credit revenues improved in 2009 as key hires were en-
gaged and residual risk positions were steadily reduced. The 
macro  rates  business  was  negatively  impacted  by  move-
ments in our credit spreads on the valuation of our derivative 
positions.  Foreign  exchange  and  money  markets  revenues 
were in line with the previous year. Emerging markets reve-
nues increased despite the sale of UBS Pactual, as all regions 
continued to perform well, most notably in Eastern Europe, 
Middle East and Africa.

As we continued to reduce our residual risk positions, we 
incurred  losses  related  to  the  liquidation  of  these  positions. 
Losses on credit valuation adjustments for exposure to mono-
line  insurers  arising  from  purchased  credit  default  protection 
totaled CHF 0.8 billion for the year. Losses from credit valuation 
adjustments  incurred  in  the  first  quarter  of  2009  were  only 
partially offset by gains in the rest of the year, resulting from 
commutation of a number of trades in the second and third 
quarter. Other areas which incurred losses in the first quarter 
had a less material impact on the remainder of the year.

Investment banking
Revenues of the investment banking department were CHF 
2,466 million in 2009, down 14% from CHF 2,880 million in 
the previous year. Merger and acquisitions activity remained 
subdued during the year  with global mergers and acquisi-
tions volumes reaching their lowest annual total since 2004, 
according to Thomson Reuters. This resulted in reduced advi-
sory revenues across all regions, down 47% to CHF 858 mil-
lion. The  decline was only partially offset by a 36% improve-
ment  in  capital  markets  revenues.  Equity  capital  markets 
revenues  were  up  65%  to  CHF  1,609  million  with  Europe, 
the Middle East, Africa and the Asia Pacific region performing 
well, as investors turned to the equity market for financing, 
increasing  total    market  volumes  by  42%  compared  with 
2008,  according  to  Dealogic.  Fixed  income  capital  markets 
revenues increased 4% to CHF 904 million as global issuance 
levels rose in 2009 by 38% compared with 2008, based on 
Dealogic’s debt capital markets classification.

Operating expenses
Operating expenses declined to CHF 9,216 million in 2009, 
a 7% decrease from CHF 9,925 million the previous year.

Personnel expenses, at CHF 5,568 million in 2009, increased 
7% from one year earlier, and were driven by increased variable 
compensation. Salary increases were partly offset by headcount 
reductions and reduced restructuring costs. 

General  and  administrative  expenses  decreased  to  CHF 
2,628 million in 2009 from CHF 3,830 million in 2008. This 
is largely due to reduced legal provisions and real estate re-

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Investment Bank

structuring  provisions,  along  with  continuing  reductions  in 
professional  fees,  travel  and  entertaining  and  market  data 
services  resulting  from  headcount  reductions  and  cost-cut-
ting measures.

Net charges to other business divisions were CHF 147 mil-
lion in 2009, compared with a net charge from other busi-
ness divisions in 2008 of CHF 41 million. 

lion a year earlier. A goodwill impairment charge of CHF 749 
million  related  to  the  sale  of  UBS  Pactual  was  incurred  in 
2009 (of which CHF 328 million was charged to the Corpo-
rate  Center  as  this  was  related  to  foreign  exchange  expo-
sures  managed  by  Group  Treasury),  compared  with  a  CHF 
341 million goodwill impairment charge relating to the exit 
of the municipal securities business in 2008.

Depreciation  reduced  19%  to  CHF  360  million  in  2009 
from  CHF  447  million  in  2008,  as  real-estate  restructuring 
charges were lower in 2009. Amortization of intangible as-
sets, at CHF 59 million in 2009, was down from CHF 83 mil-

Included in the 2009 operating expenses is a restructur-
ing charge of CHF 226 million, consisting of CHF 102 million 
of personnel expenses and CHF 123 million of costs related 
to real estate.

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2008

Results

In 2008, we recorded a pre-tax loss of CHF 34,300 million 
compared with a pre-tax loss of CHF 16,669 million in 2007, 
primarily due to the losses on risk positions within the FICC 
area.  For  full-year  2008,  equities  and  investment  banking 
revenues  were  down  from  a  record  year  in  2007.  A  credit 
loss  expense  of  CHF  2,575  million  was  recorded  in  2008, 
mainly  due  to  impairment  charges  taken  on  reclassified  fi-
nancial  assets  compared  with  CHF  266  million  in  2007.  In 
2008, we recorded a gain on own credit from financial liabil-
ities designated at fair value of CHF 2,032 million, resulting 
from  the  widening  of  our  credit  spread,  which  was  partly 
offset by the effects of redemptions and repurchases of such 
liabilities. 

Operating expenses for 2008 decreased significantly from 

2007, mainly reflecting lower variable compensation.

Operating income
Total  operating  income  in  2008  was  negative  CHF  24,375 
million, down from negative CHF 804 million a year earlier.

Equities
Revenues, at CHF 5,184 million in 2008, were down 42% 
from CHF 9,002 million in 2007. The overall business perfor-
mance was impacted in 2008 as equities continued to expe-
rience  difficult  market  conditions.  Cash  equity  revenues 
were  marginally  lower  as  declines  in  revenues  across  Asia 
Pacific and Europe were only partially offset by growth in the 
US. Derivatives revenues were down as market volatility, de-
pressed client volumes, lack of liquidity and highly correlated 
markets  impacted  performance  across  all  regions,  particu-
larly  in  the  fourth  quarter.  Equity-linked  revenues  were 
down, with most regions impacted by declines in valuations, 
falling equity markets and reduced liquidity. Prime brokerage 
services had a solid performance, but revenues were down 
overall as a strong first half-year performance was offset by 
deterioration in the second half of the year. Exchange-traded 
derivatives  revenues  increased,  as  the  business  benefited 
from  strong  first  and  fourth  quarters  that  were  driven  by 
significant volatility in the market. Proprietary trading reve-
nues  were  negative  for  the  year,  reflecting  the  significant 
change in market conditions.

Fixed income, currencies and commodities
Revenues  were  negative  CHF  31,895  million,  down  from 
negative CHF 16,835 million a year earlier. Consequences of 
the global financial crisis, including forced liquidations, gov-
ernment bail-outs and consolidation in the banking sector, 
negatively  affected  the  majority  of  the  FICC  businesses. 
Credit recorded losses in both client and proprietary trading 

as a result of the significant turbulence in the markets and 
subsequent  severe  lack  of  liquidity.  The  negative  emerging 
markets result was due to losses in Asia Pacific.

These negative effects were only partially offset by posi-
tive results in certain areas. Rates experienced a solid year, 
driven by derivatives and government bonds in Europe and 
rates derivatives in both Asia Pacific and the US. Foreign ex-
change  and  money  markets  produced  a  strong  year  as  it 
capitalized on volatile markets and strong client flows. The 
short-term  interest  rate  business  benefited  from  market 
movements  to  generate  an  exceptional  result.  The  foreign 
exchange  distribution  business  posted  very  good  results 
across all regions, benefiting from strong client flows seek-
ing  to  access  liquidity  in  the  market.  Structured  products 
posted  positive  revenues  due  to  strong  client  interest  in 
structured funding solutions.

Investment banking
Revenues  of  the  investment  banking  department  at  CHF 
2,880 million in 2008, decreased 57% from CHF 6,637 mil-
lion in the previous year. Market activity slowed significantly 
during the year, resulting in reduced advisory revenues across 
the regions, down 40% to CHF 1,609 million. Market volatil-
ity in both equity and debt capital markets led to lower cap-
ital  markets  revenues,  down  65%  to  CHF  977  million  and 
41% to CHF 866 million respectively.

Operating expenses
Operating  expenses  declined  by  CHF  5,940  million  to  CHF 
9,925  million  in  2008,  a  37%  decrease  from  CHF  15,865 
million the previous year.

Personnel  expenses,  at  CHF  5,182  million  in  2008,  de-
creased 55% from a year earlier, due to significantly lower 
variable  compensation  and  lower  salary  costs,  and  were 
partly offset by restructuring charges. Share-based compen-
sation was down significantly from 2007, mainly due to re-
duced variable compensation. Full-year results for 2007 in-
cluded  accruals  for  share-based  compensation  during  the 
year. These are not reflected in full-year 2008 as, starting in 
2009, they are being amortized over the vesting period of 
these awards.

General and administrative expenses increased slightly to 
CHF 3,830 million in 2008 from CHF 3,800 million in 2007. 
Reductions  in  travel  and  entertainment,  IT  and  other  out-
sourcing costs were more than offset by increases in occu-
pancy  costs  due  to  real  estate  restructuring,  and  by  legal 
provisions. 

Net  charges  from  other  business  divisions  were  CHF  41 
million in 2008, compared with a net charge to other busi-
ness divisions in 2007 of CHF 171 million. This increase re-
flects the end of a private equity performance fee received in 
2007, an IT data center restructuring fee and increased al-
locations from Wealth Management & Swiss Bank reflecting 
higher operating volumes.

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Depreciation rose 4%, to CHF 447 million in 2008 from 
CHF  431  million  in  2007,  as  the  real-estate  restructuring 
charges  mentioned  above  resulted  in  additional  deprecia-
tion costs. Amortization of intangible assets, at CHF 83 mil-
lion in 2008, was down from CHF 172 million a year earlier. 
A goodwill impairment charge of CHF 341 million relating 
to  the  exiting  of  the  municipal  securities  business  by  the 

Investment Bank was recognized in second quarter 2008. 
There  was  no  goodwill  impairment  charge  for  full-year 
2007.

Included  in  the  operating  expenses  is  a  restructuring 
charge of CHF 737 million recorded in fourth quarter 2008, 
consisting  of  CHF  435  million  of  personnel  expenses  and 
CHF 302 million of costs related to real estate.

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UBS business divisions and Corporate Center
Corporate Center

Corporate Center
Description

The Corporate Center seeks to ensure that we operate as a coherent and effective whole, by providing 
and managing support and control functions for the business divisions and the Group in such areas as risk, 
 finance  (including funding, capital and balance sheet management, management of foreign currencies), 
 legal and compliance, communication and branding, human resources, information technology, real estate, 
 procurement and service centres. 

Aims and objectives

The Corporate Center assists our business divisions and re-
gions through provision of Group-level control in the areas 
of finance, risk, legal and compliance as well as through a 
global  corporate  shared  services  organization  comprising 
support and logistics functions. We strive to maintain an ap-
propriate balance between risk and return in our businesses, 
while establishing and controlling our corporate governance 
processes  including  compliance  with  relevant  regulations. 
Each functional head in the Corporate Center has authority 
across all businesses for their area of responsibility, including 
the authority to issue Group-wide policies for that area.

On  1  April  2009,  we  announced  that  we  would  be 
 integrating  our  Group-wide  shared  service  functions  (infor-
mation technology, supply management, real estate, human 
resources, communication and branding, corporate develop-
ment and offshoring) as well as the control functions  (finance, 
risk and legal and compliance) into the Corporate Center. The 
objectives  of  this  integration  were  to  improve  effectiveness 
and efficiency of the control and shared services functions on 
a sustainable basis, to strengthen cost management by creat-
ing global and Group-wide cost responsibilities and to pro-
vide simple service delivery models with clear responsibilities. 
A new Corporate Center governance model was implement-
ed, and corresponding organizational structures were put in 
place including respective management nominations. Within 
six  months,  the  transformation  was  successfully  completed 
and a new global corporate shared services organization sup-
porting the business divisions and regions was created under 
the leadership of the Group Chief Operating Officer (COO). 
In parallel, the control functions were centralized under the 
Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Group Chief Risk Officer 
(CRO) and Group General Counsel (Group GC). In total, ap-
proximately  15,000  employees  were  transferred  and  inte-
grated into the Corporate Center. As part of this integration, 
significant efficiency improvement and cost-saving potentials 
have been identified, and initial cost-cutting measures were 
implemented in the course of 2009. Headcount and costs of 
the centralized functions are re-allocated to the business divi-
sions for which the respective services are performed. A glob-
al  service  level  agreement  framework  provides  governance, 

and ensures cost transparency and consistency across service 
providers and consumers. 

The integration of the control and support functions cre-
ates a foundation to enhance the effectiveness and efficien-
cy of the new Corporate Center, as the operating models of 
individual  functions  and  cross-functional  synergies  will  be 
optimized. Overall, the integrated structure provides a strong 
platform from which we can increase efficiency, create syn-
ergies for revenue growth and enhance shareholder value. 
➔ Refer to the “UBS reporting structure and accounting 
changes” section of this report for more information 

on changes to the quarterly disclosure of the Corporate 

Center in 2010

Organizational structure

The  Corporate  Center  consists  of  the  control  functions 
Group Finance, Group Risk, and Group General Counsel and 
the shared services functions human resources, information 
technology,  premises,  supply  and  demand  management, 
communication  and  branding,  corporate  development  and 
Group offshoring.

Group Chief Financial Officer 
The  Group  CFO  is  responsible  for  transparency  in,  and  ap-
praisal of, the financial performance of the UBS Group and 
business divisions, the Group’s financial reporting, forecasting, 
planning and controlling processes and for providing advice 
on financial aspects of strategic projects and transactions. The 
Group CFO has management responsibility over the divisional 
and Group financial control functions. The Group CFO is re-
sponsible for the management and control of our tax affairs 
and for treasury and capital management, including manage-
ment and control of funding and liquidity risk and our regula-
tory capital ratios. After consultation with the audit commit-
tee, the Group CFO makes proposals to the Board of Directors 
(BoD) regarding the standards for accounting we have adopt-
ed and defines the standards for financial reporting and dis-
closure. Together with the Group CEO, the Group CFO pro-
vides external certifications under sections 302 and 404 of the 
Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002, and in coordination with the Group 
CEO manages relations with analysts and investors.

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Group Chief Operating Officer
The  Group  COO  is  responsible  for  the  management  and 
performance of the infrastructure and service functions of 
the  UBS  Group,  and  is  responsible  for  the  management 
and control of Group-wide information technology, supply 
and  demand  management,  real  estate  and  corporate  ad-
ministrative services, human resources, corporate develop-
ment  and  communications  and  branding  as  well  as  for 
physical and information security and offshoring services of 
UBS. The Group COO supports the Group CEO in strategy 
development and key strategic issues, and assumes respon-
sibility for managing the operations in ways consistent with 
the  strategic  goals  and  performance  targets  of  the  UBS 
Group.

Group Chief Risk Officer
The Group CRO is responsible for the development and im-
plementation  of  principles  and  appropriate  independent 
control  frameworks  for  credit,  market,  country  and  opera-
tional  risks  within  the  UBS  Group.  In  particular,  the  Group 
CRO is responsible for the formulation and implementation 
of the frameworks for risk capacity / appetite, risk measure-
ment, portfolio controls and risk reporting; and has manage-

ment responsibility over the divisional and Group risk control 
functions. The Group CRO is responsible for the implemen-
tation of the risk control mechanisms as determined by our 
BoD, the risk committee or the Group CEO. In addition, the 
Group  CRO  approves  transactions,  positions,  exposures, 
portfolio  limits  and  provisions  in  accordance  with  the  risk 
control  authorities  that  are  delegated,  and  monitors  and 
challenges the bank’s risk-taking activities.

Group General Counsel
The Group GC has Group-wide responsibility for legal and 
compliance matters, policies and processes and for manag-
ing  the  legal  and  compliance  function.  The  Group  GC  has 
responsibility  for  establishing  a  Group-wide  management 
and control process for our relationship with regulators, in 
close cooperation with the Group CRO and the Group CFO 
where  relevant,  and  for  maintaining  the  relationships  with 
our key regulators with respect to legal and compliance mat-
ters. The Group GC is further responsible for reporting legal 
and  compliance  risks  and  material  litigation,  for  managing 
litigation and special and regulatory investigations, and for 
ensuring that we meet relevant regulatory and professional 
standards in the conduct of our business.

104

Results

Corporate Center reporting

CHF million, except where indicated

Income

Credit loss (expense) / recovery

Total operating income

Personnel expenses

General and administrative expenses

Services (to) / from other business divisions

Depreciation of property and equipment

Amortization of intangible assets
Total operating expenses 1
Performance from continuing operations before tax

Performance from discontinued operations before tax

Performance before tax

Additional information
BIS risk-weighted assets (CHF billion) 2
Personnel (full-time equivalents) 3

As of or for the year ended

% change from

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.08

394

(5)

389

551

199

306

193

0

1,250

(860)

(7)

(867)

8.5

1,624

998

0

998

433

353

(73)

265

0

979

19

198

217

8.8

3,097

3,562

0

3,562

583

312

114

243

0

1,252

2,310

145

2,455

2,479

(61)

(61)

27

(44)

(27)

28

(3)

(48)

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1 Includes expenses for the Company Secretary, Board of Directors and Group Internal Audit.    2 BIS risk-weighted assets (RWA) are according to Basel II.    3 Personnel numbers exclude full-time 
equivalents from private equity (part of Corporate Center): 0 for 2009, 1 for 2008, 3,843 for 2007.

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2009

Results

Pre-tax profit from continuing operations declined to nega-
tive CHF 860 million from positive CHF 19 million. 

nated  debt.  In  comparison,  2008  included  an  accounting 
gain  of  CHF  3,860  million  related  to  the  MCNs  issued  in 
March 2008, which was offset by the CHF 3.4 billion nega-
tive  impact  of the transaction between  UBS and the Swiss 
National  Bank  and  the  placement  of  the  abovementioned 
MCNs with the Swiss Confederation resulting in a total gain 
of CHF 0.4 billion.

Operating income
Total operating income decreased by CHF 609 million to CHF 
389 million, mainly due to own credit related allocations of 
negative  revenues  to  the  Corporate  Center,  of  which  CHF 
222 million were related to 2008. In addition, the Corporate 
Center reported a CHF 498 million loss on the closing of the 
UBS Pactual sale in 2009, which was largely related to for-
eign  exchange  losses.  These  losses  were  partly  offset  by  a 
net gain of CHF 297 million on the valuation of the manda-
tory convertible notes (MCNs) issued in December 2008 and 
converted in August 2009, a gain of CHF 117 million on the 
revaluation of our option to acquire the SNB StabFund’s eq-
uity, an additional foreign exchange gain of CHF 430 million 
due  to  the  deconsolidation  and  liquidation  of  subsidiaries 
and a gain of CHF 304 million on the buyback of subordi-

Operating expenses
Total  operating  expenses  increased  to  CHF  1,250  million 
from CHF 979 million, mainly due to a goodwill impairment 
charge of CHF 492 million relating to the sale of UBS Pac-
tual,  which  was  reallocated  to  the  Corporate  Center  from 
the business divisions. Excluding this charge, operating ex-
penses  would  have  decreased  by  CHF  221  million,  mainly 
due to the credit related to the UBS Pactual operating result 
which  was  transferred  to  the  Corporate  Center  from  the 
business divisions; the release of a provision related to a re-
solved  tax  claim  in  connection  with  the  acquisition  of 
PaineWebber, as well as reduced advertising and sponsoring 
expenditures.  These  items  were  partly  offset  by  higher  re-
structuring costs and accruals for variable compensation in 
2009.

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2008

Results

The Corporate Center recorded a result from continuing op-
erations of positive CHF 19 million in full-year 2008, down 
from a gain of CHF 2,310 million in 2007. This decline related 
mainly to a charge of CHF 3.4 billion following a transaction 
between  UBS  and  the  Swiss  National  Bank  (SNB)  in  fourth 
quarter 2008. This charge reflected a net loss arising from the 
acquisition of the equity purchase option, and the impact of 
the contingent issuance of UBS shares in connection with the 
transaction. The total charge also included the fair valuation 
impact  of  the  MCNs  placed  with  the  Swiss  Confederation. 
The quarterly revaluation of the call component of the MCNs 
was reflected in a corresponding fluctuation in the results of 
the Corporate Center. This fluctuation was subject to the vol-
atility of our share price and continued until the conversion of 
the MCNs into UBS shares. The loss from the SNB transaction 
was  reported  in  the  Corporate  Center  as  it  benefited  the 
whole bank and not just the Investment Bank. For this pur-
pose, at the 27 November 2008 Extraordinary General Meet-
ing, shareholders approved the creation of conditional capital 
in the maximum amount of 365 million shares. Furthermore, 
2008 was impacted by losses resulting from cash flow hedge 
ineffectiveness, due to the accelerated amortization of gains 
recorded until November 2007.

On the positive side, a gain of CHF 3,860 million due to 
the accounting treatment of the MCNs issued in first quarter 
2008, and a gain of CHF 174 million on the sale of our stake 
in Bank of China in the fourth quarter assisted the 2008 re-
sult.

Operating income
Total  operating  income  decreased  to  CHF  998  million  in 
2008  from  CHF  3,562  million  in  2007,  largely  due  to  the 
abovementioned  SNB  transaction  and  fair  valuation  of  the 
MCNs in fourth quarter 2008, losses on swaps not fully eli-
gible for hedge accounting, losses of CHF 192 million due to 
currency translation differences on partial disposals of an in-
vestment in a consolidated investment fund, and a gain from 
the sale of our stake in Bank of China. The 2007 result was 
due  to  the  CHF  1,950  million  gain  from  the  sale  of  our 
20.7% stake in Julius Baer. In addition, the contribution from 
the former Industrial Holdings decreased to CHF 22 million 
in 2008, compared with CHF 689 million in 2007.

Operating expenses
Total operating expenses were CHF 979 million in 2008, down 
CHF 273 million from CHF 1,252 million in 2007, predominant-
ly due to a sharp reduction of accruals for variable compensa-
tion, declined advertising and sponsoring costs, lower project 
costs as well as decreased travel activities in 2008. These were 
partly offset by higher real estate restructuring provisions and a 
fair value adjustment in corporate real estate in 2008.

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Risk and treasury management

Audited information according to IFRS 7 and IAS 1

Risk disclosures provided in line with the requirements of the International Financial Reporting Standard 7 (IFRS 7) Financial 
Instruments: Disclosures, and disclosures on capital required by the International Accounting Standard 1 (IAS 1) Financial 
Statements: Presentation form part of the financial statements audited by UBS’s independent registered public accounting 
firm Ernst & Young Ltd., Basel. This information (the audited texts, tables and graphs) is marked by a bar on the left-hand 
side throughout this report and is incorporated by cross-reference into the financial statements of this report. 

Risk management

– Risk reduction remained a priority in 2009. As a result of our risk reduction 

initiatives, we ended the year with risk exposures commensurate with our risk 
capacity, although legacy risks remain significant and are targeted for contin-
ued reduction. Effective risk management and control are essential to our 
success and we have made further progress in implementing the risk renewal 
program we initiated in 2008. In addition, the implementation of the settle-
ment agreements relating to the US cross-border investigation remains a focus 
of management attention. Regulatory and tax authorities in a number of 
countries are focusing on cross-border banking activities, and we have 
launched a number of initiatives to improve the effectiveness of the policy and 
control framework of our cross-border wealth management business globally.

We further reduced our risk exposure, which was 
reflected in declines in our stress loss measures as well as 
decreases in our credit and market risk portfolios. We also 
reduced our exposures to residual risk positions. Our 
reduction in risk exposures contributed to significant 
decreases in the size of our balance sheet and risk-weight-
ed assets.

We made further progress in implementing our risk 
renewal program. This has resulted in enhanced risk 
governance (including changes in risk management and 
control personnel), improved risk infrastructure and 
processes and the associated capabilities to capture, 
represent and monitor risks. We have also changed the 
firm’s capital optimization model and enhanced our 
funding and balance sheet management.

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Treasury management

– We continued to further strengthen and safeguard our liquidity position and 
adjusted funding targets while our focus was maintained on continuing asset 
reductions. Combined with the broad diversity of our funding sources, our 
contingency planning processes and our global scope, these measures have 
enabled us to maintain a balanced asset / liability profile throughout the recent 
market dislocation. Additionally, signs of our return towards financial stability 
included the successful tender for certain subordinated notes in March and, in 
August, the exit of the Swiss Confederation’s stake in UBS through conversion 
of the mandatory convertible notes and immediate placement of shares in the 
market.

At year-end 2009, our BIS tier 1 ratio amounted to 15.4% 
and the BIS total capital ratio to 19.8%. We achieved this 
by continued de-risking of our assets, which is reflected in 
our 32% BIS risk-weighted assets reduction. Eligible tier 1 
capital decreased from CHF 33.2 billion to CHF 31.8 billion. 
We were able to almost compensate the effects of losses 
incurred during 2009 and further negative impacts on 
equity, by the issuance of newly created shares in June. 

In 2009 we experienced a decline in customer deposits and 
net new money outflows in our asset gathering divisions. 
The effects of client deposit outflows, as well as the 
temporary reduction in access to wholesale term debt 
markets during the first few months of 2009, were readily 
compensated by funding from alternative sources and 
ongoing balance sheet reductions.

Our total assets declined by 33% to CHF 1,341 billion on 
31 December 2009, which led to a further improvement of 
our FINMA leverage ratio from 2.45% to 3.93%.

Our funding sources were broadened by accessing an 
important new investor base through our inaugural 
European covered bond program.

 
 
 
Risk and treasury management
Risk management and control

Risk management and control

Risk reduction remained a priority in 2009. We further reduced our risk exposures, which was reflected in de-
clines in our stress loss measures as well as decreases in our credit and market risk portfolios. We also reduced 
our exposures to residual risk positions such as monoline insurers, student loan auction rate securities and 
some leveraged finance commitments. Our reduction in risk exposures contributed to significant decreases in 
the size of our balance sheet and risk-weighted assets. As a result of our risk reduction initiatives, we ended 
the year with risk exposures commensurate with our risk capacity, although legacy risks remain significant and 
are targeted for continued reduction. Effective risk management and control are essential to our success and 
we have made further progress in implementing the risk renewal program we initiated in 2008. In addition, 
the implementation of the settlement agreements relating to the US cross-border investigations remains a 
focus of management attention. Regulatory and tax authorities in a number of countries are focusing on cross-
border banking activities, and we have launched a number of initiatives to improve the effectiveness of the 
policy and control framework of our cross-border wealth management business globally. 

Summary of key developments in 2009

The important developments that took place in 2009 with 
regard to risk management and control include:
–  A  significant  reduction  in  our  risk  exposures  during  the 
year was reflected in our stress loss measures as well as 
reductions  in  our  average  and  period-end  Value-at-Risk 
(VaR),  a  decrease  in  our  credit  risk  portfolios  and  lower 
exposures to residual risk positions. We commuted trades 
with a notional value of approximately USD 7 billion with 
several monoline insurers which contributed to a reduc-
tion in our net exposures to monoline insurers after cred-
it  valuation  adjustments  to  USD  2.3  billion  (excluding 
hedges). Approximately USD 1.6 billion at par of our ag-
gregate exposures to student loan auction rate securities 
were either redeemed by issuers or sold in the secondary 
market. Our legacy leveraged finance positions were also 
reduced through sales and writedowns. 

–  The decrease in our risk exposures contributed to signifi-
cant  reductions  in  our  balance  sheet  by  33%  to  CHF 
1,341 billion and our risk-weighted assets by 32% to CHF 
206.5  billion  at  31  December  2009  compared  with  the 
end of the prior year. 

–  Our credit loss expenses were approximately 40% lower 
at CHF 1.8 billion for 2009 compared with CHF 3.0 billion 
for the prior year. 

–  We  significantly  enhanced  our  stress  testing  framework 
which comprises portfolio-specific stress tests as well as 
combined  firm-wide  stress  tests.  Our  firm-wide  stress 
testing  captures  all  major  risks  across  our  business  divi-
sions and is one of the most critical inputs for discussions 
between management, our Board of Directors (BoD) and 
our regulators on the risk profile of our firm. We carried 

out a stress test specified by the Swiss Financial Market 
Supervisory Authority (FINMA) which was designed to as-
sess the resilience of the large Swiss banks in the event of 
a  severe  economic  downturn,  and  FINMA  reported  on 
2 October 2009, “that even after the effect of a severe 
stress  event  they  (the  two  large  systemically  relevant 
banking groups in Switzerland which includes UBS) would 
still  maintain  a  stable  capital  base  with  a  Tier  1  capital 
ratio over 8%.” 

–  We  changed  the  calibration  of  our  management  VaR 
from a 10-day 99% measure to a 1-day 95% measure. 
We consider that a 1-day 95% VaR reflects the way that 
trading  risks  are  viewed  and  managed  by  the  business 
and can be more directly compared with mark-to-market 
revenues. 

–  As a result of management’s investigation into the losses 
we experienced in 2007 and 2008, we launched a com-
prehensive remediation program in the Investment Bank. 
We made further progress in implementing this program 
and  developing  sustainable  solutions.  Our  remediation 
activity has resulted in enhanced risk governance includ-
ing changes in risk management and control personnel, 
and  we  have  improved  our  risk  infrastructure  and  pro-
cesses  and  the  associated  capabilities  to  capture,  repre-
sent and monitor risks. We have also changed the firm’s 
capital  optimization  model  and  enhanced  our  funding 
and balance sheet management. 

–  In  connection  with  the  settlements  relating  to  the  US 
cross-border  matter,  we  established  a  governance  and 
control framework designed to ensure that we perform 
the  obligations  assumed  in  those  settlements  and  to 
manage related matters including the exit from the af-
fected US cross-border business activities. We have also 

112

established  new  standards,  controls  and  training  pro-
grams  for  conducting  cross-border  business  globally  in 
compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Addi-
tional  measures  to  address  operational  risks  related  to 
that  business  are  being  developed  and  put  into  effect 
under our Risk Effectiveness Project, including the com-
munication  of  clear  compliance  expectations  by  senior 
management and the implementation of new disciplin-
ary processes.

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Our  risk  management  and  control  principles  are  imple-
mented via a risk management and control framework. The 
framework  comprises  qualitative  elements  such  as  policies 
and authorities, and quantitative components including risk 
measurement and limits. 

The  framework  is  dynamic  and  is  adapted  as  the  firm’s 
businesses  and  the  market  environment  evolve.  It  includes 
clearly  defined  processes  to  deal  with  new  business  initia-
tives and complex or unusual transactions. 

–  Our  emphasis  on  risk  awareness  has  been  actively 
strengthened through the greater empowerment of our 
Control functions by our BoD and Group Chief Executive 
Officer (CEO). 

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The  risk  assessment  and  management  oversight  per-
formed by the BoD considers evolving best practices and is 
intended to conform to statutory requirements as is the re-
lated disclosure in this section.

–  Our Total Reward Principles, which summarize the com-
pensation structure for our employees, include a focus on 
sustainable profitability as well as effective risk and capital 
management. Risk Control is actively involved in our com-
pensation  processes  which  are  designed  to  support  ap-
propriate and controlled risk taking by our businesses. 
➔ Refer to the “Credit risk“, “Market risk“, “Operational risk“, 
“Risk concentration” and “Liquidity and funding manage-

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ment“ sections of this report for more information

➔ Refer to the “Compensation and shareholdings” section 
of this report for more information on our compensation 

practices

➔ Refer to “Note 21 Provisions and litigation” in the 

“Financial information” section of this report for more 

information in connection with the US cross-border matter

Risk management and control principles

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We have five key principles which are intended to support 
the  firm  in  achieving  an  appropriate  balance  between  risk 
and return. These principles are:
–  Protection of financial strength by controlling our overall 
risk exposures and assessing potential risk concentrations 
at  the  position  and  portfolio  levels,  and  in  combination 
across all risk types and business divisions. 

–  Reputation  protection  which  depends,  among  other 
things, on the effective management and control of risks. 
Our  risk  culture  demands  that  all  employees  make  the 
protection of our reputation an overriding concern. 

–  Business  management  is  accountable  for  all  risks  and  is 
responsible for the continuous and active management of 
risk exposure to ensure that risk and return are balanced. 
–  Independent control of risk through risk control functions 
which monitor the effectiveness of business risk manage-
ment and oversee risk-taking activities. 

–  Disclosure of risk to provide comprehensive, transparent 
and periodic reporting to senior management, the BoD, 
shareholders, regulators, rating agencies and other stake-
holders.

Risk management and control responsibilities

Key  roles  and  responsibilities  related  to  risk  management 
and control are: 
–  The BoD is responsible for determining the firm’s risk prin-
ciples, risk appetite and major portfolio limits, including 
the  allocation  of  certain  of  these  limits  to  the  business 
divisions. The BoD is supported by a BoD Risk Committee 
which  monitors  and  oversees  the  firm’s  risk  profile  and 
the implementation of the risk framework established by 
the BoD. The BoD Risk Committee also assesses and ap-
proves  the  firm’s  key  risk  measurement  methodologies 
and control principles. 

–  The  Group  Executive  Board  (GEB)  is  responsible  for  the 
implementation of the risk framework, controls the firm’s 
risk profile and approves major risk policies.

–  The Group CEO is responsible for the results of the firm, 
has risk control authority over transactions, positions and 
exposures,  and  is  also  responsible  for  the  allocation  of 
portfolio limits to the business divisions. 

–  The business division CEOs are accountable for the re-
sults  of  their  respective  business  divisions,  which  in-
cludes responsibility for the active and continuous man-
agement  of  risk  exposures  to  ensure  that  risks  and 
returns are balanced. 

–  The  Group  Chief  Risk  Officer  (CRO)  reports  directly  to 
the Group CEO and has functional and management au-
thority over risk control throughout the firm. Risk Con-
trol  provides  independent  oversight  of  risk  and  is  re-
sponsible for implementing the risk control processes for 
credit,  country,  market,  investment  and  operational 
risks. This includes establishing methodologies to mea-
sure  and  assess  risk,  setting  risk  limits  and  developing 
and operating an appropriate risk control infrastructure. 
The risk control process is supported by a framework of 
policies and authorities which are delegated to Risk Con-
trol  Officers  corresponding  with  their  experience  and 
scope of responsibilities. 

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Risk and treasury management
Risk management and control

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–  The Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is responsible for 
ensuring  that  disclosure  of  our  financial  performance  is 
clear and transparent and meets regulatory requirements 
and corporate governance standards. The Group CFO is 
also responsible for implementing the risk management 
and control frameworks for capital management, liquidi-
ty, funding and tax. 

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–  The Group General Counsel (GC) is responsible for im-
plementing  the  firm’s  risk  management  and  control 
principles for legal matters and for ensuring compliance 
with all laws and regulations in each of the jurisdictions 
in which we operate. 

Risk categories

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The risks faced by our businesses can be broken down into 
three different categories: primary risks, consequential risks 
and business risks. 

Primary and consequential risks result from our business 
activities and are subject to independent risk control. Primary 
risks consist of credit risk, country risk, market risk (including 
issuer risk) and investment risk. Consequential risks consist 
of  operational  risk,  liquidity  and  funding  risks,  legal  and 
compliance risks and tax risks. Further details on primary and 
consequential risks are provided below:
–  Credit risk – the risk of loss resulting from the failure of a 
client or counterparty to meet its contractual obligations.
–  Country  risk  –  the  risk  of  loss  resulting  from  country-
specific  events.  It  includes  transfer  risk,  whereby  a 
country’s authorities prevent or restrict the payment of 
an  obligation,  as  well  as  systemic  risk  events  arising 
from country-specific political or macroeconomic devel-
opments. 

–  Market risk and investment risks – the risk of loss result-
ing  from  changes  in  market  variables,  whether  to  our 
trading positions or financial investments. 

–  Operational  risk  –  the  risk  of  loss  resulting  from  inade-
quate or failed internal processes, people and systems, or 
from  external  causes,  whether  deliberate,  accidental  or 
natural.  This  includes  risks  related  to  legal  and  compli-
ance and tax matters. 

–  Liquidity and funding risks – the risk that we might be un-
able to either meet our payment obligations when due or 
borrow  funds  in  the  market  at  an  acceptable  price  to 
fund actual or proposed commitments.
Business  risks  arise  from  the  commercial  and  economic 
risks  inherent  in  our  business  activities  and  it  is  manage-
ment’s responsibility to manage these risks. 

➔ Refer to the “Credit risk”, “Market risk”, “Operational risk” 
and “Liquidity and funding management” sections of this 

report for a description of the control frameworks for 

these risk categories

Risk measurement

A  variety  of  methodologies  and  measures  are  applied  to 
quantify the risks of our portfolios and risk concentrations. 
Risks  that  are  not  well  reflected  by  standard  measures  are 
subject  to  additional  controls,  which  may  include  pre-ap-
proval  of  transactions  and  specific  restrictions.  Models  to 
quantify  risk  are  generally  developed  by  dedicated  units 
within  the  firm-wide  and  business  division-facing  control 
functions. We require that valuation and risk models which 
could impact the firm’s books and records be independently 
verified and subjected to ongoing monitoring and control by 
the Group CRO and Group CFO Organizations. 

Statistical loss and stress loss

We assess potential future losses using two complementary 
types of risk measures: statistical loss and stress loss. 

Statistical loss
Statistical loss measures include VaR, Expected Loss (EL) and 
Earnings-at-Risk (EaR). VaR estimates the losses which could 
potentially  be  realized  over  a  set  time  period  at  an  estab-
lished level of confidence. EL is used to measure the average 
annual costs that are expected to arise from our credit port-
folios  and  from  operational  risks.  EaR  comprises  a  core  of 
statistical  measures  overlaid  with  management  judgment 
and measures the potential shortfall in our earnings which 
could potentially be realized over a set time period at an es-
tablished level of confidence. 

➔ Refer to the “Credit risk”, “Market risk” and “Operational 
risk” sections of this report for a description of the firm's 

key statistical loss measures 

Stress loss
As  a  complement  to  our  statistical  loss  measures,  we  per-
form  stress  testing.  Stress  loss  is  the  loss  that  could  result 
from extreme events under specified scenarios. We use stress 
testing  to  quantify  our  exposures  to  extreme  and  unusual 
market movements and to enable us to identify, understand 
and manage our potential vulnerabilities and risk concentra-
tions. During 2009 we significantly enhanced our stress test-
ing framework, which incorporates a comprehensive range 
of  portfolio-specific  stress  tests  as  well  as  combined  firm-
wide stress tests. 

Portfolio-specific  stress  tests  are  measures  that  focus  on 
risks  of  specific  portfolios  within  the  business  divisions.  Our 
portfolio stress loss measures are characterized by past events 
but also include forward-looking elements. Our stress scenari-
os for trading risks were enhanced in 2009 to more accurately 
capture  the  liquidity  characteristics  of  different  markets  and 
positions. Our stress frameworks include a scenario which re-

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flects the extreme market conditions that were experienced at 
the height of the financial crisis in fourth quarter 2008. 

Combined firm-wide stress tests were further developed 
in  2009  to  capture  the  firm’s  exposure  to  global  systemic 
events, including a severe global recession. These stress tests 
are based on forward-looking macro-economic and market 
event scenarios calibrated to different levels of severity. The 
evolution of economic variables and market indicators under 
these scenarios is defined and applied to our entire risk port-
folio.  The  impact  of  primary,  consequential  and  business 
risks is assessed with the aim of calculating the loss and cap-
ital implications were these stress scenarios to be realized. 

Stress test results are included in risk reporting and are fully 
integrated  into  the  risk  control,  risk  appetite  and  business 
planning processes of the firm. Our firm-wide stress testing, 
which captures all major risks across our business divisions, is 
one of the key inputs for discussions between management, 
our BoD and our regulators on the risk profile of our firm. In 
2009 we carried out a FINMA specified stress test which was 
designed to assess the resilience of the two large Swiss banks 
in the event of a severe economic downturn, encompassing a 
deep worldwide recession, accompanied by a significant dete-
rioration in the financial and property markets. FINMA report-
ed on 2 October 2009 “that even after the effect of a severe 
stress event they [the two large systemically relevant banking 
groups in Switzerland which includes UBS] would still maintain 
a stable capital base with a Tier 1 capital ratio over 8%.” We 
continue to provide detailed stress analyses to FINMA in accor-
dance with their requirements. 

Our stress scenarios are reviewed, updated and expanded 
regularly in the context of the macro-economic and geopo-
litical environment by a committee comprised of representa-
tives from the business divisions, Risk Control and Economic 
Research. Our stress testing therefore attempts to provide a 
control framework that is forward-looking and responsive to 
changing  market  conditions.  However,  the  market  moves 
experienced  in  actual  stress  events  may  differ  from  moves 
envisaged in our scenario specifications. 

Most major financial firms employ stress tests, but their 
approaches  vary  significantly,  and  there  are  no  industry 
standards defining stress scenarios or the way they are ap-
plied  to  a  firm’s  positions.  Consequently,  comparisons  of 
stress  results  between  firms  can  be  misleading  and  there-
fore we, like most of our peers, do not publish quantitative 
stress test results. 

Group risk appetite framework

Our risk appetite framework was enhanced in 2009. We have 
established risk appetite objectives in respect of earnings and 
capital levels that we seek to maintain even after experiencing 
severe losses over a defined time horizon. In order to monitor 

our risk profile against our risk appetite, we use our two com-
plementary firm-wide risk measurement frameworks; EaR (to-
gether  with  its  extension  Capital-at–Risk  or  CaR)  and  Com-
bined  Stress  Testing  (CST).  Both  frameworks  capture  risks 
across all of our business divisions and from all major risk cat-
egories – primary risks, consequential risks and business risks. 
These measures are significant components of our risk con-
trol,  capital  management  and  business  planning  processes 
and are described in more detail as follows: 
–  EaR is measured as the potential shortfall in earnings at a 
95% confidence level and is evaluated over both 3-month 
and 1-year periods. 

–  CaR extends EaR to consider the impact on BIS tier 1 cap-
ital of a more severe earnings shortfall and is measured at 
confidence levels higher than 95%. 

–  CST was incorporated into the risk appetite framework in 
2009  to  supplement  EaR  and  CaR.  As  described  under 
“Stress  loss”  above,  our  firm-wide  stress  tests  evaluate 
the impact across our risk portfolios (and thereby on our 
earnings and capital) based on specified macro-economic 
stress scenarios. 
Our risk appetite is established by the BoD. Risk appetite is 
based on our risk capacity, which is in turn based on our capital 
and budgeted earnings resources. Our overall risk appetite is 
set as an upper limit covering the aggregate risk exposure for 
each risk appetite objective (taking into account inherent limi-
tations in the precision of risk exposure measures that focus on 
extreme  market  and  economic  events).  Comparison  of  the 
firm’s risk exposure with our risk capacity under prevailing op-
erating conditions as well as prospective business plans serves 
as an input to the risk limit framework. This comparison is also 
a key tool to support management decisions on potential ad-
justments to the risk profile of our firm. 

Risk  reduction  remained  a  priority  for  the  firm  in  2009, 
and we further reduced our risk exposure which was reflect-
ed in our stress measures and decreases in our market and 
credit risk portfolios, including reductions in our residual risk 
positions. As a result, we ended the year with risk exposures 
commensurate with our operating risk capacity. 

➔ Refer to the “Credit risk”, “Market risk” and “Risk 

concentration” sections of this report for more information 

on our risk exposures

Risk disclosures

The  measures  of  risk  exposure  that  we  use  may  differ  de-
pending on the purposes for which exposures are calculated: 
financial accounting under IFRS, determination of our regu-
latory capital, or our internal management of the firm. The 
exposures  detailed  in  the  “Credit  risk”  and  “Market  risk” 
sections below are typically based on our internal manage-
ment view of risk exposure. 

➔ Refer to the “Basel II Pillar 3” section of this report for 
further information on the exposures we use in the 

determination of our required regulatory capital 

115

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Risk and treasury management
Risk management and control

Credit risk

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Credit risk is the risk of loss resulting from the failure of a client 
or counterparty to meet its contractual obligations to UBS. This 
can be caused by factors directly related to the counterparty, 
such as business or management problems, or from failures in 
the settlement process, for example in foreign exchange trans-
actions where we have honored our obligation but the counter-
party fails to deliver the counter-value (“settlement risk”). Alter-
natively, it can be triggered by economic or political difficulties 
in the country in which a counterparty or issuer of a security is 
based or where it has substantial assets (“country risk”). 

Sources of credit risk

Credit risk arises from traditional banking products such as 
loans, commitments to lend and contingent liabilities (for ex-
ample, letters of credit) as well as from “traded products”: 
OTC  derivative  contracts;  exchange-traded  derivatives;  and 
securities  financing  transactions  such  as  repurchase  agree-
ments  (repos  and  reverse  repos)  and  securities  borrowing 
and lending transactions. The risk control processes applied 
to these products are generally the same, although the ac-
counting treatment may vary as products can be carried at 
amortized cost or fair value depending on the product type 
and  the  nature  of  the  exposure.  A  form  of  credit  risk  also 
arises on securities and other obligations in tradable form, as 
their  fair  values  are  affected  by  changing  expectations  re-
garding the probability of issuers failing to meet these obli-
gations or when actual failures occur. Where these securities 
and obligations are held in connection with a trading activity, 
we view the risk as a market risk. 

Many of the business activities of Wealth Management & 
Swiss Bank and the Investment Bank expose us to credit risk, 
while credit risk exposures from Wealth Management Amer-
icas and Global Asset Management are less material. Wealth 
Management  &  Swiss  Bank  offers  private  and  corporate 
 clients in Switzerland and wealth management clients inter-
nationally  (except  those  served  by  Wealth  Management 
Americas) a variety of credit products. The Investment Bank 
provides  corporate,  institutional,  intermediary  and  alterna-
tive asset management clients access to a full range of cred-
it  and  capital  markets  instruments  across  many  product 
classes, and engages with other professional counterparties 
in trading and risk management activities.

Credit risk control

Limits and controls
Limits are established for individual counterparties and coun-
terparty  groups  covering  banking  and  traded  products,  as 

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well as settlement amounts. These limits put constraints not 
only on the current outstanding amount but also on contin-
gent commitments and the potential future exposure of trad-
ed  products.  Credit  engagements  may  not  be  entered  into 
without the appropriate approvals and adherence to limits. 

In  the  Investment  Bank,  a  distinction  is  made  between 
exposures intended to be held to maturity (“take and hold 
exposures”) and those which are intended to be held for a 
short term, pending distribution or risk transfer (“temporary 
exposures”). 

Credit risk concentrations can arise if clients are engaged in 
similar activities, are located in the same geographical region 
or have comparable economic characteristics such that their 
ability to meet contractual obligations would be similarly af-
fected by changes in economic, political or other conditions. 
To avoid credit risk concentrations, we seek to establish limits 
and  operational  controls  to  constrain  risk  concentrations  at 
portfolio and sub-portfolio levels, for example with regard to 
sector exposures, country risk or specific product exposures. 

Risk mitigation
We actively manage the credit risk in our portfolios by taking 
collateral against exposures and utilizing credit hedging. In 
Wealth Management & Swiss Bank, the majority of loans are 
extended  on  a  secured  basis.  For  real  estate  financing,  a 
mortgage  over  the  property  is  taken  to  secure  the  claim. 
Commercial  loans  may  also  be  secured  by  mortgages  on 
business premises or other real estate. We apply measures to 
evaluate  collateral  and  determine  maximum  loan-to-value 
ratios including an assessment of income cover. 

“Lombard loans” are made against the pledge of eligible 
marketable  securities  or  cash.  The  Investment  Bank  also 
takes collateral in the form of marketable securities and cash 
in  its  OTC  derivatives  and  securities  financing  businesses. 
Discounts  (“haircuts”)  are  generally  applied  to  reflect  the 
quality, liquidity and volatility of the underlying collateral. Ex-
posure and collateral values are continuously monitored and 
margin calls or close-out procedures are enforced when the 
market  value  of  collateral  falls  below  a  predefined  trigger 
level.  Concentrations  within  individual  collateral  portfolios 
and  across  clients  are  also  monitored  where  relevant  and 
may affect the haircut applied to a specific collateral pool. 

Our OTC derivatives trading is generally conducted under 
bilateral  International  Swaps  and  Derivatives  Association 
(ISDA) or ISDA-equivalent master trading agreements, which 
allow for the close-out and netting of all transactions in the 
event  of  default.  We  also  have  two-way  collateral  agree-
ments  with  major  market  participants  under  which  either 
party  can  be  required  to  provide  collateral  in  the  form  of 

116

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cash or marketable securities when exposure exceeds a pre-
defined level. Our OTC derivatives activity with lower-rated 
counterparties is typically conducted under one-way collat-
eral agreements where only the counterparty is required to 
provide  us  with  collateral.  For  certain  counterparties,  like 
hedge  funds,  we  may  also  use  two-way  collateral  agree-
ments.  We  have  clearly  defined  processes  for  netting  and 
collateral agreements, including the requirement to have a 
legal opinion regarding the enforceability of contracts in rel-
evant jurisdictions in the case of insolvency.

We actively manage the credit risk of our portfolios using 
credit hedging, primarily in the Investment Bank, with the aim 
of reducing concentrations to specific counterparties, sectors 
or  portfolios.  Hedging  measures  include  single  name  credit 
default swaps (CDS), index CDS, credit linked notes and total 
return swaps. Single name CDS are generally executed under 
bilateral  netting  and  collateral  agreements,  with  high-grade 
market counterparties. We observe strict standards for recog-
nizing credit hedges; for example, we do not typically recog-
nize credit risk mitigants such as proxy hedges (credit protec-
tion on a correlated but different name) or index CDS for the 
purposes of monitoring exposures against limits. Buying cred-
it  protection  creates  credit  exposure  against  the  hedge  pro-
vider. We monitor our exposures to credit protection providers 
and the effectiveness of credit hedges as part of our overall 
credit exposures to the relevant counterparties. Where there is 
significant correlation between a counterparty and the hedge 
provider (so-called “wrong-way risk”), our policy is to discour-
age such activity, but in any event not to recognize any hedge 
benefit in credit risk measures.

➔ Refer to the “Basel II Pillar 3” section of this report for 

more information on credit derivatives

Credit risk measurement

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We have developed tools and models to measure credit risk. 
Exposures to individual counterparties are measured based on 
three  generally  accepted  parameters:  probability  of  default, 
exposure at default and loss given default. These parameters 
are the basis for the majority of our internal measures of cred-
it risk and are key inputs to the regulatory capital calculation 
under the Advanced Internal Rating-Based approach of Basel 
II. We also use models to derive the portfolio credit risk mea-
sures of expected loss, statistical loss and stress loss.

Probability of default
The  probability  of  default  (PD)  is  an  estimate  of  the  likeli-
hood of a counterparty defaulting on its contractual obliga-
tions. This probability is assessed using rating tools tailored 
to the various categories of counterparties. These categories 
are  also  calibrated  to  our  proprietary  credit  rating  scale 
(“Masterscale”) designed to ensure a consistent assessment 
of  default  probabilities  across  counterparties.  We  regularly 
assess  the  performance  of  our  rating  tools  and  adjust  our 

model parameters as necessary. In addition to using ratings 
for credit risk measurement, we use them as an important 
input to determine credit risk approval authorities. 

In the Investment Bank, rating tools are applied by broad 
segments  including  banks,  sovereigns,  corporates,  funds, 
hedge funds and commercial real estate. We determine our 
choice  of  the  relevant  assessment  criteria  (for  example,  fi-
nancial ratios and qualitative factors) for the rating tools on 
the  basis  of  various  statistical  analyses,  externally  available 
information and expert judgment. 

Within our retail and corporate banking business in Swit-
zerland,  we  rate  our  business  and  corporate  clients  in  the 
small-to-medium  enterprise  segment  (SMEs)  using  statisti-
cally developed scorecards. The underlying data used in our 
scorecards  is  predominantly  based  on  a  combination  of  fi-
nancial information relating to clients, qualitative criteria and 
our credit loss history over several years. In order to rate our 
large  corporate  clients  domiciled  in  Switzerland,  Wealth 
Management  &  Swiss  Bank  uses  templates  established  for 
this segment by our Investment Bank. We assess the proba-
bility  of  default  from  loans  secured  on  owner-occupied  or 
investment properties with a model that takes loan-to-value 
ratios and debt service capacity of the obligor into account. 
We rate lombard loan exposures by means of a model simu-
lating potential changes in the value of the collateral and the 
probability that it may be lower than the loan amount. 

Our Masterscale expresses default probabilities that we de-
termine through our various rating tools by means of distinct 
classes  whereby  each  class  incorporates  a  range  of  default 
probabilities. Counterparties migrate between rating classes as 
our assessment of their probability of default changes. 

The ratings of the major credit rating agencies and their 
equivalent on our Masterscale are shown in the “UBS inter-
nal rating scale and mapping of external ratings” table. The 
mapping is based on the long-term average one-year default 

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 UBS internal rating scale and mapping 
of external ratings

UBS  
Rating Description

Moody’s Investor 
Services equivalent

Standard & Poor’s 
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0 and 1 Investment grade

Aaa

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

Sub-investment grade

Aa1 to Aa3

A1 to A3

Baa1 to Baa2

Baa3

Ba1

Ba2

Ba2

Ba3

B1

B2

B3

AAA

AA+ to AA–

A+ to A –

BBB+ to BBB

BBB –

BB+

BB

BB

BB –

B+

B

B –

Defaulted

Caa to C

D

CCC to C

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117

 
 
 
Risk and treasury management
Risk management and control

rates that we observed for each external rating grade. Ob-
served defaults by rating agency may vary through econom-
ic cycles, and we do not necessarily expect the actual num-
ber  of  defaults  in  our  equivalent  rating  band  to  equal  the 
rating agency average in any given period. We periodically 
assess  the  long-term  average  default  rates  of  credit  rating 
agencies’ grades and we adjust their mapping to our Mas-
terscale as necessary to reflect any material changes. 

Exposure at default
Exposure at default (EaD) represents the amount that we ex-
pect to be owed by a counterparty at the time of default. We 
derive  EaD  from  our  current  exposure  to  the  counterparty 
and the possible future development of that exposure. 

The EaD of a loan is the drawn or face value of the loan. 
For  loan  commitments  and  contingent  liabilities,  the  EaD 
 includes  the  amount  drawn  as  well  as  potential  future 
amounts that may be drawn, which are estimated based on 
historical observations. 

For traded products, we derive the EaD by modeling the 
range of possible exposure outcomes at the time the coun-
terparty  defaults.  For  securities  financing  transactions,  we 
assess the net amount that may be owed to us or that we 
may owe to others taking into account the impact of market 
moves  over  the  potential  time  it  takes  to  close  out  all  our 
positions. For exchange-traded derivatives, our calculation of 
EaD takes into account daily cash margining. We derive the 
EaD for OTC derivatives by modeling the potential develop-
ment  of  replacement  values  of  the  portfolio  of  trades  by 
counterparty (“potential credit exposure”), after taking into 
account legally enforceable netting agreements. For collater-
alized OTCs, our potential credit exposure takes into account 
the  development  of  collateral  values  and  models  the  price 
correlation between the various instruments. 

When measuring individual counterparty exposure against 
credit limits, we consider the maximum likely exposure mea-
sured to a high confidence level over the full life of outstand-
ing obligations. However, when aggregating exposures to dif-
ferent counterparties for portfolio risk measurement purposes, 
we use the expected exposure to each counterparty at a given 
time period (usually one year) generated by the same model. 
We monitor the performance of our exposure models by 
backtesting  and  benchmarking  them,  whereby  model  out-
comes are compared against actual results based on our in-
ternal experience as well as externally observed results. 

We assess our exposures where there is a material correla-
tion  between  the  factors  driving  the  credit  quality  of  the 
counterparty and those driving the potential future value of 
our  traded  product  exposure  (“wrong-way  risk”)  and  we 
have established specific controls to address these risks. 

Loss given default
We  determine  loss  given  default  (LGD)  based  on  the  likely 
recovery  rate  of  claims  against  defaulted  counterparties, 

which is a function of the type of counterparty and any cred-
it mitigation or support by way of security interest or guaran-
tee. LGD estimates include loss of principal and interest and 
other amounts, such as workout costs, including the cost of 
carrying an impaired position during the workout process. In 
our Investment Bank, LGD estimates are based on an assess-
ment of key risk drivers such as industry segment, collateral 
and seniority of a claim, and a country’s legal environment 
and bankruptcy procedures, supported by our internal loss 
data and external information where available. In our Swiss 
portfolio, the LGD differs by counterparty and collateral type 
and is statistically estimated based on our internal loss data. 
Where we hold collateral, such as marketable securities or a 
mortgage over a property, loan-to-value ratios are a key fac-
tor in determining LGD. 

Expected loss
Credit losses are an inherent cost of doing business, but the 
occurrence and amount of credit losses can be erratic. In or-
der to quantify future credit losses that may be implicit in our 
current portfolio, we use the concept of expected loss (EL).

EL is a statistical measure which we use to estimate the 
annual costs that we expect to experience on average from 
positions  in  our  current  credit  portfolio  that  become  im-
paired. The EL for a given credit facility is a function of the 
three components described above: PD, EaD and LGD. We 
aggregate the ELs for individual counterparties to derive our 
expected portfolio credit losses.

EL is a basis for quantifying credit risk in all our portfolios. 
It is also the starting point for the measurement of our port-
folio statistical loss and stress loss, and may be used as an 
input to value certain products.

➔ Refer to the discussion on “Impairment and default 
– distressed claims” below for more information

Statistical and stress loss
We  use  a  statistical  modeling  approach  to  estimate  the 
loss profile of our credit portfolios over a one-year period 
to a specified level of confidence. The mean value of this 
loss  distribution  is  the  expected  loss  and  the  variation 
around  it  is  driven  by  systematic  default  relationships 
amongst  counterparties  within  and  between  segments 
and is sensitive to concentration risks on individual coun-
terparties and groups. The results of this analysis provide 
an  indication  of  the  level  of  risk  in  our  portfolio  and  the 
way it may develop over time. 

Stress  loss  is  a  scenario-based  measure  which  comple-
ments our statistical modeling approach. We use it to assess 
our potential loss in various stress scenarios in which we as-
sume that one or more of the three key credit risk parame-
ters  will  deteriorate  substantially.  We  run  stress  tests  on  a 
regular  basis  and  use  them  to  monitor  our  portfolios  and 
identify potential risk concentrations. For certain of our port-
folios and segments, stress loss may also be subject to limits.

118

Composition of credit risk – UBS Group

The exposures detailed in the tables in this section are based 
on our management view of credit risk. 

➔ Refer to the “Basel II Pillar 3” section of this report for 
more information on the credit exposures used in the 

determination of our required regulatory capital and 

additional information on credit derivatives

➔ Refer to “Note 23 Derivative instruments and hedge 

accounting“ and “Note 29c Measurement categories of 

financial assets and liabilities“ in the “Financial infor-

mation” section of this report for further information on  

IFRS required disclosures on derivatives and credit risk

The table “Credit exposure by business division” shows a 
breakdown  of  our  banking  and  traded  product  exposures 
before and after impairments, credit valuation adjustments 
and specific hedges. Portfolio hedges such as index CDS are 
not included for this analysis. Exposures to OTC derivatives 
are  shown  in  the  table  as  net  positive  replacement  values 
after  the  application  of  legally  enforceable  netting  agree-
ments and the deduction of cash collateral. ETD exposures 
take into account initial and variation margin, and securities 
financing exposures are shown net of the collateral we re-
ceived. Comparatives for 2008 are also shown on this basis. 
Our total credit exposure before deductions amounted to 
CHF  451  billion  on  31  December  2009,  a  significant  de-

crease  of  CHF  123  billion  since  the  end  of  2008.  This  de-
crease reflects the measures we took in 2009 to actively re-
duce  our  risk  exposures  in  addition  to  market  movements 
which  drove  down  the  positive  replacement  values  of  our 
derivatives.  Our  banking  product  exposures  decreased  by 
CHF  40  billion  to  CHF  355  billion  at  31  December  2009 
mainly driven by reductions in loans and balances with cen-
tral banks. Our traded products exposures, which arise large-
ly in our Investment Bank, reduced by CHF 82 billion to CHF 
96 billion at 31 December 2009 due to the significant de-
crease of CHF 68 billion in the replacement values of OTC 
derivatives.  The  largest  component  of  our  credit  exposure 
before  deductions  at  31  December  2009  was  our  lending 
portfolio (due from banks and loans) at CHF 262 billion or 
58%  of  our  total  credit  exposure.  Of  this,  CHF  200  billion 
was attributable to Wealth Management & Swiss Bank. 

Further information on the composition and credit quality 
of Wealth Management & Swiss Bank’s lending portfolio and 
the Investment Bank’s lending and OTC derivatives portfolios is 
provided in this section. Analysis of our Wealth Management & 
Swiss Bank’s portfolios is typically based on gross exposure (i.e. 
before deduction of hedges) as the majority of our exposure is 
secured by collateral or mortgages against property. Analysis of 
our Investment Bank’s portfolios is generally based on net ex-
posure (i.e. after deduction of hedges) because we actively uti-
lize credit hedging to manage our risks in this portfolio.

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Credit exposure by business division

CHF million

Balances with central banks

Due from banks

Loans

Contingent claims

Undrawn irrevocable credit facilities

Banking products

OTC Derivatives

Exchange traded derivatives

Securities financing transactions

Traded products

Total credit exposure
Total credit exposure, net 4

Wealth Management & 
Swiss Bank

Wealth Management 
Americas

Investment Bank

Other 1

UBS

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.09

31.12.08

8,589

2,683

17,629

5,510

197,178

206,704

11,908

7,236

14,282

2,775

0

1,074

21,496

385

498

0

1,096

19,479

405

13

227,594

246,899

23,453

20,994

3,583

1,059

0

4,642

5,637

1,281

2,942

9,860

44

611

185

840

232,236

256,759

230,173

255,565

24,293

24,289

9,525

13,959

25,351

4,881

49,356
103,072 2
58,121

14,933

16,939

11,528

12,044

43,806

4,056

54,201
125,636 2
124,393

21,560

20,203

0

282

101

141

0

524

947

0

0

63

948

91

1,102

22,096

22,071

89,993

166,157

193,065

291,793

141,838

229,597

947

1,471

1,466

0

382

730

149

0
1,261 3
817

0

844

1,661

2,922

2,922

18,114

17,998

29,157

19,032

244,126

270,719

17,315

57,090

354,643

62,695

16,603

17,124

18,892

56,990
394,789 3
130,910

23,789

24,080

96,422

178,780

451,065

573,569

397,766

510,155

1 Includes Global Asset Management and Corporate Center.    2 IB banking products excluding money market and nostro accounts amount to CHF 82,084 million (31.12.2008: CHF 105,595 million).  
3 Does not include financial assets designated at fair value for an amount of CHF 961 million.    4 Net of allowances, provisions, credit valuation adjustments, hedges.

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Risk management and control

Composition of credit risk – business divisions

Wealth Management & Swiss Bank
The total gross banking products exposure of Wealth Man-
agement & Swiss Bank was CHF 228 billion on 31 December 
2009  down  by  CHF  19  billion  since  the  end  of  2008.  The 
high quality of this portfolio is illustrated by the rating and 
LGD  distributions  shown  in  the  “Wealth  Management  & 
Swiss Bank: distribution of gross banking products exposure 
across  UBS  internal  rating  and  loss  given  default  buckets” 
table. Approximately 60% of Wealth Management & Swiss 
Bank’s banking product portfolio is rated investment grade 
and over 80% of it is categorized in the lowest LGD bucket 
of 0 – 25%. The reduction in exposures rated 0 related large-
ly to a reduction in our balances with central banks. 

At  31  December  2009,  Wealth  Management  &  Swiss 
Bank’s gross lending portfolio (comprised of due from banks 
and loans) decreased to CHF 200 billion compared with CHF 
212  billion  at  31  December  2008.  The  decrease  resulted 
largely from lower lombard lending due to continued dele-
veraging by our clients. Over 90% of Wealth Management 
& Swiss Bank’s lending portfolio was secured by collateral, of 
which CHF 142 billion was secured by real estate and CHF 
39 billion by marketable securities. The majority of the real 
estate exposure is secured by a diversified portfolio of resi-
dential property (single and multi-family homes), which have 
typically exhibited a low risk profile. 

Wealth  Management  &  Swiss  Bank’s  gross  unsecured 
loan portfolio amounted to CHF 15.6 billion at 31 December 
2009 down by CHF 2.7 billion since the end of 2008, and 

Wealth Management & Swiss Bank:  
distribution of gross banking products exposure across UBS internal rating and loss given default (LGD) buckets

CHF million

UBS internal rating

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

Total non-defaulted

Investment grade

Sub-investment grade
Defaulted 1
Gross banking products exposure
Net banking products exposure 2

31.12.09

Loss given default (LGD) buckets

0–25%

26–50%

51–75%

76–100%

31.12.08

Weighted 
average 
LGD (%)

Gross 
exposure

Weighted 
average LGD 
(%)

5

28

25,523

18,503

21,502

43,013

38,265

15,577

12,738

7,652

1,478

897

167

48

185,398

108,575

76,823

185,398

N/A

3,708

5,987

3,432

4,367

3,261

5,017

2,540

2,348

2,078

1,993

613

281

56

28

35,710

25,773

9,937

35,710

N/A

9

129

481

214

460

991

233

439

7

2,965

1,294

1,671

2,965

N/A

1

1

1

999

1

1,003

1,003

1,003

N/A

38

39

22

22

12

12

13

15

16

22

21

20

21

21

17

13,625

5,232

27,750

29,938

24,830

50,657

44,346

18,735

14,810

9,447

1,875

1,990

155

93

243,483

152,032

91,451

3,416

246,899

245,705

39

39

21

22

14

13

13

15

17

23

20

19

19

30

18

Gross 
exposure

3,713

6,024

29,084

23,351

24,978

48,491

41,797

18,160

15,256

10,651

2,092

1,179

224

76

225,076

135,641

89,434

2,518

227,594

225,531

1 Includes CHF 24 million of off-balance sheet items.    2 Net of allowances and provisions for credit losses amounting to CHF 1,053 million and credit hedges notional amount of CHF 1,010 million.

120

half of this portfolio is rated investment grade. Approximate-
ly 60% of the unsecured portfolio related to cash-flow based 
lending to corporate counterparties and 20% of the unse-
cured loans related to loans to central or local governments 
at 31 December 2009.

Wealth Management Americas
The total gross banking products exposure of Wealth Man-
agement Americas increased to CHF 23 billion on 31 Decem-
ber  2009  compared  with  CHF  21  billion  on  31  December 
2008. This portfolio consists mainly of loans secured by mar-
ketable securities. These loans are of high quality with 88% 
rated investment grade. 

Wealth Management & Swiss Bank: composition of lending portfolio, gross

CHF million

Secured by residential property

Secured by commercial / industrial property

Secured by securities

Lending to banks

Unsecured loans

Total lending portfolio, gross
Total lending portfolio, net 1

1 Net of allowances and credit hedges.

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31.12.09

122,106

20,378

39,136

2,683

15,558

199,861

198,714

31.12.08

121,551

20,181

46,743

5,510

18,228

212,214

211,044

Wealth Management & Swiss Bank: unsecured loans (excluding mortgages) by industry sector

CHF million

Construction

Financial institutions

Hotels and restaurants

Manufacturing

Private households

Public authorities

Real estate and rentals

Retail and wholesale

Services

Other

Total

31.12.09

31.12.08

263

895

74

2,599

1,984

4,176

778

1,778

2,768

243

302

2,045

61

2,700

2,941

4,533

878

2,249

2,287

232

15,558

18,228

121

 
 
 
Risk and treasury management
Risk management and control

Investment Bank
The “Investment Bank: credit exposure by industry segment 
and rating” table shows the Investment Bank’s credit expo-
sures to banking products and OTC derivatives before and 
after  allowances,  credit  valuation  adjustments  and  specific 
hedges. Portfolio hedges such as index CDS are not included 
for this analysis. The gross banking product exposures shown 
in this table exclude nostro accounts and money market bal-
ances  which  are  included  in  the  “Credit  exposure  by  busi-
ness division” table. 

Almost 90% of the Investment Bank’s net OTC derivative 
portfolio  was  traded  with  counterparties  rated  investment 
grade, the majority of which were banks and regulated fi-
nancial institutions where trading was conducted on a col-
lateralized basis. 64% of the Investment Bank’s net banking 
products portfolio was rated investment grade, with the ma-
jority of exposures related to its lending activities with corpo-
rates and other non-banks. 

The “Net banking products exposure to corporates and 
other non-banks” table provides additional information on 
this  portfolio,  and  provides  a  bridge  from  the  Investment 
Bank’s total banking products (loans, contingent claims and 
undrawn  irrevocable  credit  facilities)  according  to  IFRS  to 
our internal management view of this exposure. The subse-
quent tables provide additional analysis of the portfolio by 
our internal rating and LGD, industry sector and geograph-
ical region. 

The Investment Bank’s net banking products exposure to 
corporates and other non-banks decreased by CHF 17.7 bil-
lion to CHF 41.3 billion at 31 December 2009 as a result of 
reduced lending activity, sales and writedowns of residual lev-
eraged finance positions. The Investment Bank continued to 
actively manage the credit risk on this portfolio and at 31 De-
cember 2009 it held CHF 39 billion of single name CDS hedg-
es against its exposures to corporates and other non-banks. 

Investment Bank: credit exposure by industry segment and rating

CHF million
Total exposure 1
less: allowances / credit valuations adjustment (CVA)

less: credit protection bought (credit default swaps, notional)

Net exposure after allowances and after application of credit hedges

of which: banks and regulated financial institutions

of which: sovereigns and supranationals

of which: corporates

of which: monoline insurers

of which: others

of which: investment grade

of which: sub-investment grade

Banking products

31.12.09

82,084

(1,520)

(39,314)

41,250

4,283

1,053

20,825

15,088

26,273

14,977

31.12.08

105,595

(1,526)

(45,106)

58,963

4,447

1,043

28,727

24,746

39,659

19,304

OTC derivatives

31.12.09

58,121

(4,475)

(5,741)

47,905

20,373

7,435

3,119

2,730

14,248

42,883

5,022

31.12.08

124,393

(9,907)

(5,506)

108,980

45,131

16,820

9,554

6,153

31,322

100,345

8,635

1 Banking products: risk view; OTC derivatives: net replacement value, includes the impact of netting agreements (including cash collateral) in accordance with Swiss Federal Banking law, based on the 
IFRS scope of consolidation.

Investment Bank: net banking products exposure to corporates and other non-banks

CHF million

Loans

Contingent claims and undrawn irrevocable credit facilities

Total (IFRS view)

less: internal risk adjustments margin accounts, cash collateral posted, other 1
less: internal risk adjustments reclassified securities 2
less: internal risk adjustments acquired auction rate securities

less: internal risk adjustments traded loan commitments and funded risk participations

Gross banking products exposure 3

less: specific allowances for credit losses and loan loss provisions 4

Net banking products exposure

less: credit protection bought (credit default swaps)

Net banking products exposure to corporates and other non-banks, after application of credit hedges

31.12.09

90,700

56,228

146,928

(36,455)

(19,255)

(7,982)

(1,152)

82,084

(1,520)

80,564

(39,314)

41,250

31.12.08

111,798

62,391

174,189

(40,129)

(21,840)

(4,500)

(2,125)

105,595

(1,526)

104,069

(45,106)

58,963

1 Includes margin accounts for ETD transactions, cash collateral posted by us against negative replacement values for OTC derivatives, cash / current accounts from prime brokerage (cash legs) and valu-
ation differences caused by a different exposure treatment in Risk Control than in IFRS.    2 Includes reclassified auction rate securities in the amount of CHF 8.2 billion (31.12.08: CHF 8.4 billion).  
3 IB banking products including money market and nostro accounts amount to CHF 103,072 million (31.12.2008: CHF 125,636 million).    4 Does not include other allowances for credit losses for an 
amount of CHF 188 million (31.12.08: CHF 226 million).

122

The Investment Bank’s net banking products exposure to 
corporates and other non-banks continued to be diversified 
across industry sectors and based on our assessment, the vast 
majority of the sub-investment grade exposures in this portfo-
lio had a loss given default of 0–50% on 31 December 2009. 

➔ Refer to “Note 29b Reclassification of financial assets” in 

the “Financial information” section of this report for more 

information on reclassified securities including carrying 

values of student loan auction rate securities, monoline 

protected assets and US commercial real estate positions

Investment Bank: distribution of net banking products exposure to corporates and other non-banks,  
across UBS internal rating and loss given default buckets

CHF million

UBS internal rating

Investment grade

Sub-investment grade

of which: 6

of which: 7

of which: 8

of which: 9

of which: 10

of which: 11

of which: 12

of which: 13

of which: defaulted

Net banking products exposure to 
corporates and other non-banks,  
after application of credit hedges

31.12.09

31.12.08

Loss given default (LGD) buckets

Exposure

0–25%

26–50%

51–75%

76–100%

Weighted 
average 
LGD (%)

26,273

14,977

1,407

2,044

1,293

2,151

1,486

2,168

1,684

357

2,386

9,850

6,492

102

1,210

342

896

525

1,104

1,287

158

870

10,689

5,571

3,107

2,330

942

339

705

965

720

661

277

133

830

302

338

228

265

139

396

65

63

535

2,628

583

62

157

18

26

102

7

55

3

151

41,250

16,342

16,260

5,437

3,211

39

34

47

33

37

31

32

30

18

31

44

37

Weighted 
average  
LGD (%)

36

31

32

43

45

19

36

28

23

21

33

35

Exposure

39,659

19,304

2,199

2,307

1,370

3,811

1,674

4,422

687

221

2,612

58,963

Investment Bank: banking products exposure 1 by industry sector

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CHF million

Chemicals

Electricity, gas, water supply

Financial institutions

Manufacturing

Mining

Public authorities

Retail and wholesale

Transport, storage and communication

Other

Total

1 Net banking products exposure to corporates and other non-banks, after application of credit hedges.

Investment Bank: banking products exposure 1 by geographical region

CHF million

Switzerland

Other Europe

North America

Latin America

Asia / Pacific

Africa / Middle East

Total

1 Net banking products exposure to corporates and other non-banks, after application of credit hedges.

31.12.09

31.12.08

1,347

2,120

16,316

6,695

2,284

2,657

1,530

4,057

4,243

3,072

3,685

25,716

7,978

2,588

3,246

1,855

5,794

5,030

41,250

58,963

31.12.09

31.12.08

543

6,759

29,222

152

4,014

559

41,250

1,437

9,354

42,100

1,550

3,833

689

58,963

123

 
 
 
Risk and treasury management
Risk management and control

Loan to BlackRock fund

In second quarter 2008, we sold a 
portfolio of US residential mortgage 
backed securities (RMBSs) for proceeds 
of USD 15 billion to the RMBS 
Opportunities Master Fund, LP (the 
“RMBS fund”), a special purpose 
entity managed by BlackRock Financial 
Management, Inc. The RMBS fund 
was capitalized with approximately 
USD 3.75 billion in equity raised by 
BlackRock from third-party investors 
and an eight-year amortizing USD 
11.25 billion senior secured loan 
provided by UBS. 

The RMBS fund amortizes the loan 
through monthly payments drawn 
from amounts collected in respect of 
the underlying assets. These collec-
tions are allocated to the payment of 
interest and principal of the loan and 
to the holders of equity interests in the 
RMBS fund in accordance with the 
terms of the loan agreement. Alloca-
tions to equity holders may be 

reduced or suspended in the event of 
specified declines in the aggregate 
notional balance of the portfolio, and 
we may assume control of the 
underlying assets in the event of a 
specified further decline in the 
notional balance.

As of 31 December 2009, the loan 
had a balance outstanding of USD 7.1 
billion (USD 9.2 billion at 31 Decem-
ber 2008), taking into account 
amounts held in escrow. This loan 
balance is also reflected in the 
Investment Bank’s credit exposures 
shown in the tables on previous 
pages. Collections have been slower in 
2009 than in 2008, primarily due to 
lower levels of voluntary prepayments 
and reductions in floating rate interest 
payments, in addition to the fact that 
the portfolio has amortized over time. 
The aggregate notional balance of the 
RMBS fund’s assets collateralizing the 
loan on 31 December 2009 was USD 

16.0 billion. By notional balance, the 
portfolio was comprised primarily of 
Alt-A (52%) and sub-prime (32%) 
credit grades. In terms of priority, the 
portfolio was dominated by senior 
positions (92%). 

The RMBS fund is not consolidated  
in our financial statements. We 
continue to monitor the RMBS fund 
and its performance and will reassess 
the consolidation status if events 
warrant and deterioration of the 
underlying RMBS mortgage pools 
indicates that the equity investors in 
the fund no longer receive the 
majority of the risks and rewards. We 
also continue to assess the loan to 
the RMBS fund to determine whether 
it has been impaired. Developments 
through the year ended 31 December 
2009 have not altered our conclusion 
that consolidation is not required, 
and the loan is not considered 
impaired.

124

Credit loss expenses

Under IFRS our credit loss expenses charged to the income 
statement  represent  the  total  credit  losses  actually  experi-
enced  in  the  period  from  banking  products  and  securities 
financing transactions. 

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In 2009, we experienced net credit loss expenses of CHF 
1,832 million, of which CHF 425 million was due to impair-
ment  charges  taken  on  reclassified  securities  in  the  Invest-
ment Bank. In comparison, we recorded net credit loss ex-
penses of CHF 2,996 million in 2008.

The Investment Bank recorded net credit loss expenses of 
CHF 1,698 million for 2009, compared with net credit loss 
expenses of CHF 2,575 million in 2008. Excluding the credit 
loss expenses from reclassified securities of CHF 425 million, 
the Investment Bank’s net credit loss expenses amounted to 
CHF 1,273 million in 2009.

Wealth Management & Swiss Bank reported net credit loss 
expenses  of  CHF  133  million  for  2009,  compared  with  CHF 
392 million in 2008. Releases of allowances made against lom-
bard loans in 2009 contributed to this positive development.

➔ Refer to “Note 1 Summary of significant accounting 

policies” in the “Financial information” section of this 

report for more information on “incurred loss” concept

Impairment and default – distressed claims

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With  respect  to  distressed  claims  resulting  from  banking 
products, we distinguish between loans that are “past due” 
and “impaired”. We consider a loan to be past due when a 
contractual payment has been missed. We consider a loan as 
impaired if it is probable that we will not fully recover all con-
tractual payments due under the loan as a result of the bor-
rower’s  inability  to  meet  its  obligations  after  realization  of 
available  collateral.  Past  due  but  not  impaired  loans  have 
suffered missed payments but are not considered impaired 
because we expect to collect all amounts due under the con-
tractual terms of the loans or the equivalent value. 

We also assess derivative counterparties and claims from 
securities financing transactions for default and impairment 
using  generally  the  same  principles  and  processes  that  we 
use for banking products. 

We have processes to ensure that the carrying values of 
impaired claims are determined in compliance with IFRS re-
quirements.  Our  credit  controls  applied  to  valuation  and 
workout are the same for both amortized cost and fair-val-
ued credit products. We assess each case and our workout 
strategy  and  estimation  of  recoverable  amounts  are  inde-
pendently approved.

We also assess our portfolios of claims carried at amor-
tized cost with similar credit risk characteristics for collective 
impairment to consider if these portfolios contain impaired 
obligations where the individual impaired items cannot yet 
be identified. 

Our  portfolios  considered  impaired  on  a  collective  basis 
are not included in the totals of impaired loans in the tables 
shown in the discussion of the composition of credit risk for 
business divisions in the “Credit risk” section of this report.
Our assessment of collective impairment differs depend-
ing on the nature of the underlying obligations. In our retail 
and  corporate  banking  business  in  Switzerland  where  de-
layed  payments  are  routinely  observed,  we  typically  review 
individual positions for impairment only after they have been 
in arrears for a certain time. To cover the time lag between 
the occurrence of an impairment event and its identification, 
we establish collective loan loss allowances based on the ex-
pected loss for the portfolio over the average period between 
trigger  events  and  the  identification  of  individual  impair-
ment. Collective loan loss allowances of this kind are typically 
not required for our investment banking businesses because 
we continuously monitor individual counterparties and expo-
sures to identify impairment events at an early stage.

Additionally, for all our portfolios we assess whether there 
have been any unforeseen developments which might result in 
impairments  that  cannot  be  immediately  identified.  These 
events could be stress situations such as a natural disaster or a 
country  crisis,  or  they  could  result  from  structural  changes  in 
the legal or regulatory environment. To determine whether an 
event-driven collective impairment exists, we use a set of global 
economic drivers to regularly assess the most vulnerable coun-
tries and review the impact of any potential impairment event. 
The recognition of impairment in our financial statements 
depends on the accounting treatment of the claim. For prod-
ucts  carried  at  amortized  cost,  impairment  is  recognized 
through the creation of an allowance or provision, which is 
charged to the income statement as credit loss expense. For 
products  recorded  at  fair  value  such  as  derivatives,  impair-
ment  is  recognized  through  a  credit  valuation  adjustment, 
which is charged to the income statement through the Net 
trading income line.

➔ Refer to “Note 27a Valuation principles” in the “Financial 

information” section of this report for more information on 

credit valuation adjustments

Impaired loans, allowances and provisions
The  credit  risk  exposures  reported  in  the  “Allowances  and 
provisions for credit losses” table represent the IFRS balance 
sheet view of our gross lending portfolio comprising the bal-
ance sheet line items Due from banks and Loans. The table 
also shows the IFRS reported allowances for credit losses and 
impairments as well as our impaired lending portfolio.

The  table  shows  that  our  allowances  and  provisions  for 
credit losses decreased by 8.4% to CHF 2,680 million at 31 De-
cember 2009 from CHF 2,927 million at the end of 2008. 

As reported in second quarter 2009, we implemented a 
threshold  for  designating  a  reclassified  security  as  an  im-
paired loan. Under this policy a reclassified security is consid-
ered impaired if the carrying value at balance sheet date is 

125

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Risk and treasury management
Risk management and control

Allowances and provisions for credit losses

CHF million

As of

Due from banks

Loans

Wealth Management & 
Swiss Bank

Wealth Management 
Americas

Investment Bank

Others 1

UBS

31.12.09

31.12.08 31.12.09

31.12.08 31.12.09

31.12.08 31.12.09

31.12.08 31.12.09

31.12.08

2,683

5,510

1,074

1,096

42,568

57,485

197,178

206,704

21,496

23,981

90,700

111,798

of which: related to reclassified securities 2

19,255

21,840

Total lending portfolio, gross 3
Allowances for credit losses

199,861

212,214

22,569

25,077

133,268

169,282

(1,034)

(1,169)

(4)

(25)

(1,642)

(1,733)

(162)

(130)

282

101

383

0

382

730

46,606

64,473

309,475

343,213

19,255

21,840

1,113

356,081

407,685

0

(2,680)

(2,927)

(162)

(130)

of which: related to reclassified securities

Total lending portfolio, net 4
Impaired lending portfolio, gross 5

of which: related to reclassified securities

Estimated liquidation proceeds of collateral for 
impaired loans

of which: related to reclassified securities

Impaired lending portfolio,  
net of collateral

Allocated allowances for impaired  
lending portfolio

Other allowances and provisions

Total allowances and provisions for  
credit losses in lending portfolio

Allowances and provisions for  
credit losses outside of lending  
portfolio

Ratios

Allowances and provisions as a % of  
total lending portfolio, gross

Impaired lending portfolio as a % of  
total lending portfolio, gross

Impaired lending portfolio excluding 
reclassified securities as a % of  
total lending portfolio, gross excluding  
reclassified securities

Allocated allowances as a % of impaired 
lending portfolio, gross

Allocated allowances as a % of impaired 
lending portfolio, net of collateral

198,827

211,044

22,566

25,052

131,625

167,550

383

1,113

353,402

404,758

1,805

2,959

(530)

(1,576)

1,275

1,383

984

49

1,146

24

1,034

1,169

19

24

4

0

4

4

0

4

0

39

5,056

1,090

(18)

(1,670)

(958)

4,436

200

(945)

(94)

21

25

0

25

3,386

3,491

1,642

1,733

0

0

1,642

1,733

0

117

119

0.5

0.9

0.6

1.4

0.0

0.0

0.1

0.2

1.2

3.8

3.5

54.5

38.7

100.0

64.1

32.5

77.2

82.9

100.0

119.0

48.5

1.0

2.6

2.9

39.1

49.6

0

0

0

0

0

0

5

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

6,865

1,090

7,434

200

(2,200)

(2,539)

(958)

(94)

4,665

4,895

2,630

49

2,904

24

2,680

2,927

141

143

0.8

1.9

1.7

38.3

56.3

0.7

1.8

1.9

39.1

59.3

1 Includes Global Asset Management and the Corporate Center.    2 This excludes reclassified loan underwriting positions with a value of CHF 1,789 million as of 31.12.09 (31.12.08: CHF 3,713 million), 
which are included in the risk view of loan exposures.    3 Excludes loans designated at fair value, but includes margin accounts for exchange-traded derivatives transactions, cash collateral delivered for 
OTC derivatives and cash current accounts from prime brokerage (cash leg) of total CHF 70,121 million (of which Due from banks: CHF 29,770 million, of which Loans: CHF 40,351 million) (31.12.08: 
CHF 95,610 million of which due from banks: CHF 46,757 million, of which loans: CHF 48,853 million).    4 Reconciles to the balance sheet carrying values of Due from banks and Loans, which are re-
ported net of allowances for credit losses.    5 Excludes reclassified securities with adverse cash flow estimate revisions cumulatively below 5% of the carrying value at reclassification date, adjusted for 
redemptions. 31.12.08 numbers have been adjusted to reflect this change.

Impaired assets by type of financial instrument

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CHF million

Impaired loans

Impaired contingent claims

Defaulted derivatives contracts

Defaulted securities financing transactions

Total 31.12.09
Total 31.12.08 1

Impaired exposure

6,865

350

4,607

98

11,920

13,947

Estimated liquidation 
proceeds of collateral

(2,200)

(47)

(2,247)

(2,539)

Specific allowances, 
provisions and credit 
valuation adjustments

Net impaired exposure

(2,630)

(90)

(3,061)

(51)

(5,831)

(7,252)

2,035

260

1,546

0

3,841

4,156

1 Impaired exposure was restated from CHF 15,658 million originally reported in our Annual Report for 2008, estimated liquidation proceeds of collateral was restated from CHF 3,930 million. In 2009, 
we implemented a threshold for designating a reclassified security as an “impaired loan”. Under this policy, a reclassified security is considered impaired if the carrying value at balance sheet date is on 
a cumulative basis 5% or more below the carrying value at reclassification date adjusted for redemptions. 

126

 
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on a cumulative basis 5% or more below the carrying value 
at  reclassification  date  adjusted  for  redemptions.  In  order 
to ensure year-on-year comparability, we have restated our 
31  December  2008  Investment  Bank  and  the  Group  gross 
impaired lending portfolio accordingly. 

Our  gross  impaired  lending  portfolio  decreased  to  CHF 
6,865 million on 31 December 2009 from CHF 7,434 million 
on 31 December 2008. 

The  ratio  of  the  impaired  lending  portfolio  to  the  total 
lending portfolio (both measured gross) was 1.9% on 31 De-
cember 2009 compared with 1.8% on 31 December 2008. 
We  reclassified  loans  and  receivables  with  a  carrying 
amount  of  CHF  58  million  and  CHF  224  million  from  im-
paired  to  performing  during  2009  and  2008,  respectively. 
This  reclassification  occurred  because  the  loans  had  either 
been  renegotiated  and  the  new  terms  and  conditions  met 
normal market criteria for the quality of the obligor and type 
of loan, or because the financial position of the obligor im-
proved, enabling it to repay any past due amounts such that 
we deemed future principal and interest to be fully collect-
ible in accordance with the original contractual terms. 

Collateral  held  against  our  impaired  loans  portfolio 
 mainly consisted of real estate and multi-asset-backed secu-
rities. It is our policy to dispose of foreclosed real estate as 
soon as practicable. The carrying amount of foreclosed prop-
erty recorded in our balance sheet under Other assets at the 
end of 2009 and 2008 amounted to CHF 245 million and 
CHF 280 million, respectively.

We seek to liquidate collateral held in the form of finan-
cial  assets  expeditiously  and  at  prices  considered  fair.  This 
may  require  us  to  purchase  assets  for  our  own  account, 
where permitted by law, pending orderly liquidation.

The  table  “Impaired  assets  by  type  of  financial  instru-
ment”  includes  impaired  loans,  impaired  off-balance  sheet 
claims  and  defaulted  derivatives  and  repurchase / reverse 

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repo contracts, which are subject to the same workout and 
recovery  processes.  Our  impaired  assets  decreased  by  CHF 
2.0 billion to CHF 11.9 billion at 31 December 2009. 

After deducting allocated specific allowances, provisions 
and credit valuation adjustments of CHF 5.8 billion and the 
estimated liquidation proceeds of collateral of CHF 2.2 bil-
lion,  net  impaired  assets  amounted  to  CHF  3.8  billion  in 
2009.

➔ Refer to “Note 9b Due from banks and loans” in the 

“Financial information” section of this report for more 

information on the changes in allowances and provisions 

for credit losses 

Past due but not impaired loans
The table below shows a breakdown of our total loan bal-
ances  on  loans  where  payments  have  been  missed  but 
which we do not consider impaired because we expect to 
collect the amounts due. The loan balances in the table re-
late to our Wealth Management & Swiss Bank, where de-
layed  payments  are  routinely  observed.  The  past  due  but 
not  impaired  categorization  is  not  typically  applicable  to 
our Investment Bank lending businesses because we con-
tinuously monitor individual counterparties and exposures 
to  identify  impairment  events  at  an  early  stage,  including 
missed payments. 

Compared with 31 December 2008, our past due but not 
impaired loan exposures decreased by 47% to CHF 0.9 bil-
lion on 31 December 2009. This decrease resulted primarily 
from recoveries in lombard lending exposures and lower lev-
els of excesses experienced by Wealth Management & Swiss 
Bank in 2009. Our past due but not impaired loans in the 
greater-than-90-day category related primarily to mortgage 
loans. However, our overall past due but not impaired levels 
on mortgage loans were not significant in the context of the 
size of the mortgage portfolio. 

Past due but not impaired loans

CHF million

1–10 days

11–30 days

31–60 days

61–90 days

> 90 days

of which: past due but not impaired mortgage loans > 90 days

Total

Past due but not impaired mortgage loans

CHF million

Total

31.12.09

31.12.08

138

62

78

17

635

511

930

522

89

272

331

547

425

1’761

31.12.09

31.12.08

Total mortgage 
exposure

130,348

of which: past due 
but not impaired 
> 90 days

511

Total mortgage 
exposure

128,441

of which: past due 
but not impaired 
> 90 days

425

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Risk and treasury management
Risk management and control

Settlement risk

Settlement risk arises in transactions involving exchange of 
value when we must honor our obligation to deliver without 
first being able to determine with certainty that we will re-
ceive  the  counter-value.  We  use  multilateral  and  bilateral 
agreements with counterparties to reduce our actual settle-
ment volumes. 

Our most significant source of settlement risk is foreign 
exchange  transactions.  UBS  is  a  member  of  Continuous 
Linked Settlement (CLS), a foreign exchange clearing house 
which allows transactions to be settled on a delivery versus 
payment  basis,  thereby  significantly  reducing  foreign  ex-
change-related  settlement  risk  relative  to  the  volume  of 
business. 

The avoidance of settlement risk through CLS and other 
means,  such  as  payment  netting,  does  not  eliminate  our 
credit  risk  on  foreign  exchange  transactions  resulting  from 
changes in exchange rates prior to settlement. We measure 
and  control  such  counterparty  risk  on  forward  foreign  ex-
change transactions as part of our overall credit risk on OTC 
derivatives.

Country risk

Country risk is the risk of loss arising from country-specific 
events. We have an established country risk control frame-
work to actively manage and limit, as necessary, our trading 
risk, lending risk, issuer risk and investment risk in a coun-
try. This framework is intended to ensure that our exposure 
to a country is commensurate with the credit rating we as-

sign to it and is not disproportionate to our overall country 
risk profile. 

We assign ratings to all countries where we have expo-
sure. Sovereign ratings express the probability of a country 
risk event that would lead to impairment of our claims. The 
default probabilities that we use and our mapping of exter-
nal  ratings  of  the  major  rating  agencies  are  based  on  our 
counterparty rating classes as described in Probability of de-
fault above. With respect to our country ratings, the rating 
classes 10 to 13 are designated “very high risk” while the 
lowest rating class contains countries in default. 

For  all  countries  rated  three  and  below,  we  set  country 
risk ceilings approved either by the BoD or under delegated 
authority. A country risk ceiling applies to all our exposures 
to counterparties or issuers of securities and financial invest-
ments in the respective country. Our country risk measures 
cover  cross-border  transactions  and  investments  as  well  as 
our local operations, branches and subsidiaries in countries 
where  the  risk  is  material.  We  may  limit  the  extension  of 
credit, transactions in traded products or positions in securi-
ties  based  on  a  country  ceiling,  even  if  our  exposure  to  a 
counterparty is otherwise acceptable. 

Losses due to counterparty or issuer defaults resulting from 
multiple insolvencies (systemic risk) or general prevention or 
restriction  of  payments  by  authorities  (transfer  risk)  are  the 
most significant effects of a country crisis. For internal mea-
surement and control of country risk, we also consider the fi-
nancial impact of market disruptions arising prior to, during 
and following a country crisis. These may take the form of a 
severe  deterioration  in  a  country’s  debt  and  equity  markets 
and asset prices or a sharp depreciation of the currency.

Emerging markets exposure by UBS internal country rating category

CHF million

Investment grade

Sub-investment grade

Distressed

Total

31.12.09

31.12.08

18,847

3,568

3

22,418

24,616

8,095

4

32,715

Emerging markets exposure by major geographical area and product type

CHF million

As of

Emerging Europe

Emerging Asia

Emerging America

Middle East / Africa

Total
Temporary exposures 1

Total

Banking products

Traded products

Financial investments

Tradable assets

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.09

31.12.08

2,117

13,725

3,077

3,499

22,418

340

3,706

16,460

6,802

5,747

32,715

738

664

4,299

309

1,131

6,403

1,454

3,594

1,491

1,338

7,877

542

4,949

485

1,894

7,870

1,177

7,059

2,157

3,980

14,373

136

652

100

23

911

211

879

167

1,257

775

3,825

2,183

451

7,234

864

4,928

2,987

429

9,208

1 Temporary exposures are loan underwritings which are held short-term, pending syndication, sale or hedging. They are not included in the regional subtotals or overall total.

128

Additional  information  on  our  exposures  to  countries 
that we categorize as emerging markets is provided in the 
“Emerging markets exposure by UBS internal country rating 
category” and “Emerging markets exposure by major geo-
graphical area and product type” tables. 

temporary exposures arising from loan underwriting in these 
markets are shown separately in the table.

Debt investments

We use stress testing to assess the potential financial im-
pact of a severe emerging markets crisis. This involves iden-
tifying  countries  that  may  potentially  be  subject  to  a  crisis 
event, determining potential losses and making assumptions 
about recovery rates depending on the types of transactions 
involved  and  their  economic  importance  to  the  affected 
countries.

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Debt investments classified for IFRS as Financial investments 
available-for-sale  can  be  broadly  categorized  as  money 
market  instruments  and  debt  securities  which  are  mainly 
held for statutory, regulatory or liquidity reasons. Debt in-
vestments  may  also  include  non-performing  loans  which 
were purchased in the secondary market by the Investment 
Bank. 

Country risk exposure
Our exposures to emerging market countries amounted to 
CHF 22.4 billion on 31 December 2009, compared with CHF 
32.7  billion  on  31  December  2008.  The  reduction  of  CHF 
10.3 billion in our total emerging markets exposure occurred 
across all markets.

Based on the main country rating categories, 84% of our 
emerging market country exposures (excluding those which 
are temporary exposures) on 31 December 2009 were rated 
investment  grade,  compared  with  75%  on  31  December 
2008.  The  change  in  our  risk  profile  in  these  markets  was 
due to the fact that a large proportion of the exposure re-
duction  was  related  to  sub-investment  grade  countries,  in 
particular Brazil, following the sale of UBS Pactual. The table 
“Emerging  markets  exposure  by  major  geographical  area 
and  product  type”  analyzes  our  emerging  market  country 
exposures by major geographical area and product type on 
31 December 2009 compared with 31 December 2008. Our 

The risk control framework that we apply to debt instru-
ments  classified  as  Financial  investments  available-for-sale 
varies depending on the nature of the instruments and the 
purpose for which we hold them. Our exposures may be in-
cluded in market risk limits or subject to specific monitoring, 
which may include interest rate sensitivity analysis, and firm-
wide  earnings-at-risk,  capital-at-risk  and  combined  stress 
test metrics. 

Composition of debt investments
Debt financial instruments classified as Financial investments 
available-for-sale increased significantly to CHF 80.4 billion 
at  31  December  2009  compared  with  CHF  3.6  billion  at 
31 December 2008. This increase resulted from the strategic 
decision  to  rebalance  our  liquidity  reserve,  which  led  to  a 
shift from repurchase agreements and trading portfolios into 
debt  instruments  available-for-sale.  These  instruments  pri-
marily comprised highly liquid short-term securities issued by 
governments and government-controlled institutions. 

➔ Refer to “Note 13 Financial investments available-for-sale” 
in the “Financial information” section of this report for 

more information

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Risk and treasury management
Risk management and control

Market risk

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Market risk is the risk of loss from changes in market vari-
ables.  There  are  two  broad  categories  of  market  variables: 
general market risk factors and specific components. Gen-
eral  market  risk  factors  include  interest  rates,  equity  index 
levels, exchange rates, commodity prices and general credit 
spreads. The volatility of these risk factors and the correla-
tions  between  them  are  also  general  market  risk  factors. 
Specific components relate to the prices of debt and equity 
instruments which result from factors and events particular 
to individual companies or entities.

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ditional risks as the hedge instrument and the position being 
hedged may not always move in parallel (often referred to as 
“basis risk”). We also actively manage such basis risks. Man-
agement and Risk Control may also give instructions for risk 
to be reduced, even when limits are not exceeded. 

The  asset  management  and  wealth  management  busi-
nesses  carry  small  trading  positions,  principally  to  support 
client  activity.  The  market  risk  from  these  positions  is  not 
material to UBS as a whole. 

Sources of market risk

We take general and specific market risks both in our trading 
activities and in some non-trading businesses.

Trading
Most of our market risk arises from our trading activities in 
the Investment Bank, which include market-making, facilita-
tion of client business and associated position taking in cash 
and  derivative  markets  for  equities,  fixed  income,  interest 
rates, foreign exchange and commodities. 

Our trading businesses are subject to multiple market risk 
limits. Traders are required to manage their risks within these 
limits, which may involve utilizing hedging and risk mitiga-
tion strategies. These strategies can expose the firm to ad-

Non-trading
Market  risk  exposures  –  primarily  general  interest  rate  and 
foreign  exchange  risks  –  may  arise  from  non-trading  ac-
tivities  such  as  retail  banking  and  lending  in  our  wealth 
 management  businesses  and  retail  and  corporate  banking 
business in Switzerland, the Investment Bank’s lending busi-
nesses  and  our  treasury  activities  (primarily  from  funding, 
balance sheet, liquidity and capital management needs). Eq-
uity and certain debt investments can also give rise to spe-
cific market risks. 

In  the  Investment  Bank,  non-trading  foreign  exchange 
risks are managed under market risk limits and non-trading 
interest rate risk is either managed under market risk limits 
or  subject  to  specific  monitoring.  For  example,  the  market 
risks associated with the portfolio of assets that were reclas-
sified  to  Loans  and  receivables  from  Held-for-trading  in 

130

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fourth  quarter  2008  and  first  quarter  2009  are  subject  to 
specific monitoring, which includes interest rate and credit 
spread sensitivity analysis, as well as being reported in firm-
wide  earnings-at-risk,  capital-at-risk  and  combined  stress 
test metrics. 

In our other business divisions, exposures to market risks 
also arise from non-trading activities, the largest being the 
interest rate risks arising from customer deposits and mort-
gage business in Wealth Management & Swiss Bank. These 
market risks are generally transferred to the Investment Bank 
or  Group  Treasury,  which  manage  the  positions  as  part  of 
their trading risk portfolios within their allocated market risk 
limits. Market risks that are retained by our other business 
divisions are not significant relative to the firm’s overall risk, 
and exposures are either subject to market risk measures and 
controls or specific monitoring. 

In  addition  to  managing  market  risks  transferred  from 
other business divisions, Group Treasury also assumes mar-
ket risk from its funding, balance sheet, liquidity and capital 
management responsibilities. The risks resulting from these 
activities are either covered by market risk limits allocated to 
Group Treasury or subject to specific monitoring.

➔ Refer to the “Treasury management” section of this report 
for more information on Group Treasury’s risk manage-

ment activities

Market risk limits

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We  have  a  limit  framework  to  control  our  market  risks. 
We  have  two  major  portfolio  measures  of  market  risk  – 
VaR and stress loss – which are common to all our busi-

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ness  divisions  and  subject  to  limits  that  are  approved  by 
the BoD. 

In  the  Investment  Bank,  these  portfolio  measures  are 
complemented  by  concentration  and  other  supplementary 
limits on portfolios, asset classes and products, and also cov-
er exposures to general market risk factors and single name 
risk. Single name risk (or issuer risk) is a measure of our ex-
posure to the tradable instruments (debt, equity and deriva-
tives) of a single issuer (or issuer group) were that issuer sub-
ject  to  a  credit  event  including  default.  Our  concentration 
and  other  supplementary  limits  take  a  variety  of  forms  in-
cluding  values  (market  or  notional)  and  risk  sensitivities, 
which are measures of exposure to a given risk factor such as 
interest  rates,  credit  spreads,  equity  indices,  foreign  ex-
change rates or volatilities. These limits take into account the 
extent of market liquidity and volatility, available operational 
capacity, valuation uncertainty, and for our single name ex-
posures the credit quality of issuers. 

Our exposures from security underwriting commitments 
are subject to the same measures and controls as secondary 
market positions. Underwriting commitments are also gen-
erally reviewed by our Commitment Committee, which in-
cludes representation from both business and control func-
tions.  Underwriting  commitments  are  approved  under 
specific  delegated  risk  management  and  risk  control  au-
thorities. 

Market  risk  limits  are  set  for  each  of  the  business  divi-
sions and Group Treasury. The limit framework in the Invest-
ment Bank is more detailed than in the other business divi-
sions,  reflecting  the  nature  and  magnitude  of  the  risks  it 
takes. 

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131

 
 
 
Risk and treasury management
Risk management and control

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Value-at-risk definition and limitations

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directly to our current positions – a method known as his-
torical simulation.

VaR is a statistical measure of market risk, representing the 
market risk losses that potentially could be realized over a 
set time horizon at an established level of confidence. This 
assumes no change in our trading positions over the rele-
vant time horizon. We use a single VaR model for both in-
ternal  management  purposes  and  for  determining  market 
risk  regulatory  capital  requirements,  although  the  confi-
dence levels and time horizons differ. 

Our VaR model is approved by FINMA and ongoing sig-
nificant  revisions  to  our  VaR  methodology  and  model  are 
also subject to regulatory approval. 

The firm’s VaR model makes use of five years of historical 
data and is calibrated to a 1-day 95% measure for our inter-
nal management purposes. However, in accordance with Ba-
sel II and FINMA requirements, we use a 1-day 99% VaR for 
backtesting and a 10-day 99% VaR for determining market 
risk regulatory capital. We calculate VaR on a daily basis on 
our  end-of-day  positions.  Our  VaR  calculation  is  based  on 
the  application  of  historical  changes  in  market  risk  factors 

Actual  realized  losses  may  differ  from  those  implied  by 
our  VaR.  All  VaR  measures  are  subject  to  limitations  and 
must  be  interpreted  accordingly.  The  limitations  of  VaR  in-
clude the following:
–  The  five-year  historical  period  used  in  creating  our  VaR 
measure will include fluctuations in market rates and pric-
es  that  differ  from  those  observed  in  future  periods.  In 
particular, the use of a five-year window means that sud-
den increases in market volatility will not tend to increase 
VaR as quickly as the use of shorter historical observation 
periods,  but  the  impact  of  the  increase  will  impact  our 
VaR for a longer period of time. 

–  The VaR measure is calibrated to a specified level of con-
fidence and may not indicate potential losses beyond this 
confidence level. 

–  The 1-day time horizon in the VaR measure (or 10-day in 
the case of regulatory VaR) may not fully capture the mar-
ket risk of positions that cannot be closed out or hedged 
within the specified period. 

UBS: Value-at-Risk (1-day, 95% confidence, 5 years of historical data)

CHF million

Business divisions

Investment Bank
Wealth Management & Swiss Bank 1
Wealth Management Americas 1
Global Asset Management

Corporate Center

Diversification effect
Total management VaR 3
Diversification effect (%)

Year ended 31.12.09

Year ended 31.12.08

Min.

Max.

Average

31.12.09

Min.

Max.

Average

31.12.08

43

0

2

0

2
2

44

75

0

3

1

16
2

78

55

0

3

0

5

(8)

55

(13)

54

0

3

0

4

(7)

54

(11)

57

0

0

3
2

59

105

3

2

25
2

106

79

1

1

9

(11)

79

(12)

74

3

1

6

(6)

78

(7)

1 Split of former Global Wealth Management & Business Banking into Wealth Management & Swiss Bank and WM Americas not available for 2008, therefore all 2008 Global Wealth Management & 
Business Banking figures are shown under WM Americas.    2 As the minimum and maximum occur on different days for different risk types, it is not meaningful to calculate a portfolio diversification 
effect.    3 Includes all positions subject to internal management VaR limits.

Investment Bank: Value-at-Risk (1-day, 95% confidence, 5 years of historical data)

CHF million

Risk type

Equities

Interest rates

Credit spreads

Foreign exchange

Energy, metals & commodities

Diversification effect
Total management VaR2
Diversification effect (%)

Year ended 31.12.09

Year ended 31.12.08

Min.

Max.

Average

31.12.09

Min.

Max.

Average

31.12.08

13

16

33

2

2
1

43

36

38

65

12

5
1

75

22

24

46

6

4

(47)

55

(46)

21

23

50

4

3

(47)

54

(47)

18

27

35

5

3
1

57

63

85

88

15

13
1

105

38

46

56

8

6

(75)

79

(49)

19

31

61

9

5

(51)

74

(41)

1 As the minimum and maximum occur on different days for different risk types, it is not meaningful to calculate a portfolio diversification effect.    2 Includes all positions subject to internal management VaR limits.

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–  In certain cases, VaR calculations approximate the impact 
of changes in risk factors on the values of positions and 
portfolios. This may happen because the number of risk 
factors included in the VaR model is necessarily limited – 
for  example,  yield  curve  risk  factors  do  not  exist  for  all 
future dates. 

–  The effect of extreme market moves is subject to estima-
tion errors which may result from non-linear interaction 
effects and the potential for actual volatility and correla-
tion levels to differ from assumptions implicit in the VaR 
calculations. 
We continue to review the performance of our VaR imple-
mentation which includes a review of risks not included in VaR. 
We will continue to enhance our VaR model in order to more 
accurately capture the relationships between the market risks 
associated with our risk positions, as well as the revenue impact 
of large market movements for particular trading positions. 

Value at risk developments in 2009
We made a number of changes to our VaR model and meth-
odology in 2009, while also changing the scope of the regu-

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latory  and  internal  management  VaR  to  better  reflect  our 
underlying risks. 

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These changes were approved by FINMA and are summa-

rized below.
–  In third quarter 2009, we changed the calibration of our 
management VaR from a 10-day 99% measure to a 1-day 
95% measure. We consider that a 1-day 95% measure 
reflects the way that trading risks are viewed and man-
aged by the business and can be more directly compared 
with daily mark-to-market revenues. We continue to use 
a 10-day 99% VaR to determine regulatory capital and a 
1-day 99% measure to backtest our VaR model in accor-
dance with Basel II and FINMA requirements. 

–  We increased the scope of regulatory VaR in third quarter 
2009 to incorporate a significant proportion of our mar-
ket risk exposures to credit valuation adjustments (CVA). 
CVA is the mark-to-market cost of protection required to 
hedge  credit  risk  from  counterparties  in  our  over-the-
counter derivatives portfolio. This change more accurate-
ly represents the underlying risk exposures alongside their 
related hedges in our regulatory VaR. The same enhance-

UBS: Value-at-Risk (10-day, 99% confidence, 5 years of historical data)

CHF million

Business divisions

Investment Bank
Wealth Management & Swiss Bank 1
Wealth Management Americas 1
Global Asset Management

Corporate Center

Diversification effect

Total regulatory VaR

Diversification effect (%)

Year ended 31.12.09

Year ended 31.12.08

Min.

Max.

Average

31.12.09

179

0

15

0

2
2

541

1

32

7

67
2

187

545

315

0

21

2

14

(37)

315

(11)

286

0

30

1

7

(23)

301

(7)

Min.

240

1

1

3
2

246

Max.

Average

31.12.08

601

17

7

93
2

609

374

4

2

26

(34)

373

(8)

485

16

6

10

(25)

492

(5)

1 Split of former Global Wealth Management & Business Banking into Wealth Management & Swiss Bank and WM Americas not available for 2008, therefore all 2008 Global Wealth Management & Busi-
ness Banking figures shown under WM Americas.    2 As the minimum and maximum occur on different days for different risk types, it is not meaningful to calculate a portfolio diversification effect.

Investment Bank: Value-at-Risk (10-day, 99% confidence, 5 years of historical data)

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Year ended 31.12.09

Year ended 31.12.08

Min.

Max.

Average

31.12.09

Min.

Max.

Average

31.12.08

CHF million

Risk type

Equities

Interest rates

Credit spreads

Foreign exchange

Energy, metals & commodities

Diversification effect

Total regulatory VaR

Diversification effect (%)

55

64

216

4

9
1

179

115

149

489

55

25
1

541

71

98

332

27

16

(229)

315

(42)

57

116

322

27

12

(248)

286

(46)

82

112

151

12

14
1

240

185

364

613

58

60
1

601

131

198

322

28

30

(335)

374

(47)

1 As the minimum and maximum occur on different days for different risk types, it is not meaningful to calculate a portfolio diversification effect.

117

131

412

30

22

(226)

485

(32)

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Risk management and control

UBS: Value-at-Risk (1-day, 99% confidence, 5 years of historical data) 1

Year ended 31.12.09

Year ended 31.12.08

CHF million

Investment Bank

UBS

Regulatory VaR 2
Regulatory VaR 2

Min.

63

64

Max.

Average

31.12.09

167

170

103

104

78

79

Min.

96

97

Max.

210

207

Average

31.12.08

132

133

162

163

1 10-day 99% regulatory VaR and 1-day 99% regulatory VaR results are calculated separately from underlying positions and historical market moves. They cannot be inferred from each other.    2 Backtesting 
is based on 1-day 99% regulatory VaR.

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ment was implemented for our management VaR during 
third quarter 2008. Monoline CVA and related exposures 
were not included as part of this implementation and also 
remain outside the scope of management VaR. 

–  Concurrently  with  the  abovementioned  changes,  we 
changed our VaR methodology to an equivalent expected 
tail  loss  (ETL)  measure.  The  ETL  measure  considers  the 
overall distribution of losses in the VaR tail to determine 
the VaR loss at any given confidence level. We therefore 
consider the ETL measure to be more stable and to better 
identify  losses  around  the  VaR  tail  than  a  pure  quantile 
measure based on a single observation in the VaR distri-
bution. 
The tables in this section show our 1-day 95% manage-
ment VaR, 10-day 99% management VaR and 1-day 99% 
backtesting VaR for the Group and the Investment Bank. We 
have provided additional granularity in the tables related to 
the Investment Bank by splitting out VaR for interest rate risk 
and credit spread risk. As at 31 December 2008 we disclosed 
an aggregate VaR for our interest rate and credit spread risk. 
The Investment Bank’s average management VaR (1-day 
95%) decreased to CHF 55 million in 2009 compared with 
CHF 79 million in 2008. Period-end VaR was also lower at 
CHF 54 million at 31 December 2009 compared with CHF 74 
million at 31 December 2008. 

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This  decrease  was  driven  by  our  active  risk  reduction 
across all risk types in 2009. Credit spread VaR remained the 
dominant component of the Investment Bank’s VaR. 

VaR for the Group as a whole followed a similar pattern 

to Investment Bank VaR. 

➔ Refer to “Note 27c Fair value of financial instruments” in 
the “Financial information” section of this report for 

valuation sensitivities on certain portfolios and positions

Backtesting
Backtesting compares 1-day 99% regulatory VaR calculated 
for  positions  at  the  close  of  each  business  day  with  the 
 revenues  which  actually  arise  on  those  positions  on  the 
 following  business  day.  Our  backtesting  revenues  exclude 
 non-trading  revenues,  such  as  fees  and  commissions,  and 
estimated revenues from intraday trading. A backtesting ex-
ception occurs when backtesting revenues are negative and 
the absolute value of those revenues is greater than the pre-
vious day’s VaR. 

We  experienced  four  backtesting  exceptions  in  2009 
compared with 50 backtesting exceptions in 2008. This sig-
nificant  reduction  resulted  among  other  reasons  from  im-
provements made in the granularity of risk representation in 
our VaR model (particularly related to credit spread risk) and 
more  frequent  update  of  VaR  parameters  as  well  as  lower 
market volatility experienced in 2009. 

134

Investment Bank: backtesting revenue¹ distribution
Frequency in number of days 

1 January 2009–31 December 2009

Investment Bank: analysis of negative 
backtesting revenues1
CHF million 

Source: management accounts

1 January 2009–31 December 2009

120

  90

  60

  30

    0

> 180

150–180

120–150

90–120

60–90

30–60

0–30

(30)–0

(60)–(30)

(90)–(60)

(120)–(90)

(150) –(120)

)
0
0
3
(

<

)
0
5
2
(
–
)
0
0
3
(

)
0
0
2
(
–
)
0
5
2
(

)
0
5
1
(
–
)
0
0
2
(

)
0
0
1
(
–
)
0
5
1
(

)
0
5
(
–
)
0
0
1
(

0
–
)
0
5
(

0
5
–
0

0
0
1
–
0
5

0
5
1
–
0
0
1

0
0
2
–
0
5
1

0
5
2
–
0
0
2

0
0
3
–
0
5
2

0
0
3
>

Revenues in CHF million

1 Backtesting revenues exclude non-trading revenues, such as commissions and fees, and 
revenues from intraday trading.

(180)–(150)

3RM125_e

Source: revenues management accounts

(210)–(180)

(240)–(210)

(270)–(240)

(300)–(270)

< (300)

The  first  histogram  above  shows  daily  backtesting  reve-
nues in the Investment Bank for the whole of 2009. In the 
second histogram, the daily backtesting revenues are com-
pared with the corresponding VaR over the same 12-month 
period for days when backtesting revenues were negative. A 
positive  result  in  this  histogram  represents  a  loss  less  than 
VaR  while  a  negative  result  represents  a  loss  greater  than 
VaR and therefore a backtesting exception. 

We  investigate  all  backtesting  exceptions  and  any  ex-
ceptional revenues on the profit side of the VaR distribu-
tion. In addition, we report all backtesting results to senior 
business management, the Group CRO and business divi-
sion CROs.

Backtesting exceptions are also reported to internal and 

external auditors and relevant regulators. 

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10

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Frequency in number of days

Negative backtesting revenue less than VaR
Negative backtesting revenue greater than VaR

1 Backtesting revenues exclude non-trading revenues, such as commissions and 
fees, and revenues from intraday trading. Analysis for loss days only.

120

90

3RM125_e

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30

60

0

135

 
 
 
Risk and treasury management
Risk management and control

Stress loss

As a complement to VaR, we run macro stress scenarios com-
bining  various  market  moves  to  reflect  the  most  common 
types  of  potential  stress  events,  and  more  targeted  stress 
tests for our concentrated exposures and vulnerable portfo-
lios. We enhanced our market risk stress framework in 2009 
to increase the scope and granularity of our analysis. This in-
cluded updating stress scenarios to more accurately capture 
the liquidity characteristics of different markets, asset classes 
and positions, and implementing a stress scenario to reflect 
the extreme market conditions that were experienced at the 
height of the financial crisis in fourth quarter 2008. 

Our market risk stress testing framework attempts to pro-
vide  a  control  framework  that  is  forward-looking  and  re-
sponsive to changing market conditions. Our stress scenarios 
are therefore reviewed regularly in the context of the macro-
economic  and  geopolitical  environment  by  a  committee 
comprised  of  representatives  from  the  business  divisions, 
Risk Control and Economic Research. 

➔ Refer to the discussion on stress loss in the “Risk manage-

ment and control” section of this report

Equity investments

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We  make  investments  for  a  variety  of  purposes,  including 
revenue generation or as part of strategic initiatives. Other 
investments, such as exchange and clearing house member-
ships, are held in support of our business activities. We may 
also make investments in funds that we manage to fund or 
“seed”  them  at  inception  or  to  demonstrate  alignment  of 
our interests with those of investors. We have also bought 
and may be required to buy securities and units from funds 
that we have sold to clients. These include purchases of il-
liquid assets such as interests in hedge funds. 

We may make direct investments in a variety of entities or 
buy equity holdings in both listed and unlisted companies, 
where such investments tend to be illiquid. The fair value of 
equity investments tends to be dominated by factors specific 

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to the individual stocks, and our equity investments are gen-
erally intended to be held for the medium- or long-term and 
may  be  subject  to  lock-up  agreements.  For  these  reasons, 
we do not generally control these exposures using the mar-
ket  risk  measures  applied  to  trading  activities.  Such  equity 
investments are, however, subject to controls, including pre-
approval of new investments by business management and 
risk control, and regular monitoring and reporting. They are 
also included in our firm-wide earnings-at-risk and capital-
at-risk, and combined stress test metrics.

Investments made as part of an ongoing business are also 
subject  to  our  standard  controls,  including  portfolio  and 
concentration  limits.  Seed  money  and  co-investments  in 
UBS-managed  funds  made  by  Global  Asset  Management 
are, for example, subject to a portfolio limit. All investments 
must  be  approved  according  to  delegated  authorities,  and 
are monitored and reported to senior management. 

Under IFRS, equity investments may be classified as Finan-
cial investments available-for-sale, Financial assets designat-
ed at fair value through profit or loss or Investments in as-
sociates.

Composition of equity investments
At 31 December 2009, we held equity investments totaling 
CHF 3.1 billion, of which CHF 1.4 billion were classified as 
Financial  investments  available-for-sale,  CHF  0.8  billion  as 
 Financial assets designated at fair value and CHF 0.9 billion 
as Investments in associates.

As  of  31  December  2008,  we  held  equity  investments 
 totaling CHF 3.7 billion, of which CHF 1.7 billion were clas-
sified as Financial investments available-for-sale, CHF 1.1 bil-
lion as Financial assets designated at fair value and CHF 0.9 
billion as Investments in associates.

The vast majority of the CHF 0.8 billion of Financial assets 
designated at fair value represented the assets of trust enti-
ties associated with employee compensation schemes. They 
are broadly offset by liabilities to plan participants included 
in Other liabilities. The equivalent positions at 31 December 
2008 amounted to CHF 1.1 billion. 

➔ Refer to “Note 12 Financial assets designated at fair value” 
in the “Financial information” section of this report for 

further information

➔ Refer to “Note 13 Financial investments available-for-sale” 
in the “Financial information” section of this report for 

further information

➔ Refer to “Note 14 Investment in associates” in the 

“Financial information” section of this report for further 

information

136

Operational risk

Operational risk is the risk of loss resulting from inadequate 
or failed internal processes, people and systems (for exam-
ple, failed IT systems or fraud perpetrated by an employee), 
or  from  external  causes,  whether  deliberate,  accidental  or 
natural. We monitor our operational risks and, to the extent 
possible, control and mitigate them to levels considered ac-
ceptable by senior management. The Group Head of Opera-
tional Risk Control is responsible for the effective design of 
the operational risk framework.

All this information is reviewed by functional managers to 
assess the operational risk exposure of their function and to 
determine the actions needed to address any specific issues. 
These issues are captured in a risk inventory, which forms the 
basis of operational risk reporting to senior management. 

Operational  risk  control  units,  reporting  functionally  to 
the Group Head of Operational Risk Control, confirm the ef-
fectiveness  of  the  implementation  of  the  operational  risk 
framework, and perform independent oversight of the con-
clusions reached by functional management. 

Operational risk framework

All the firm’s functions (whether business, control or logistics 
functions) must manage the operational risks that arise from 
their activities. The basis of our operational risk framework is 
that all functions adequately define their roles and responsi-
bilities to ensure they have adequate segregation of duties, 
complete  coverage  of  risks  and  clear  accountability.  From 
this  analysis,  the  functions  develop  control  objectives  and 
standards based on the types of operational risk events that 
might arise from their activities ranging, for example, from 
daily  reconciliation  problems  to  potentially  severe  events 
such as fraud. We recognize that we cannot eliminate all our 
operational risks because errors and accidents will happen, 
and that even where it is possible to eliminate certain risks, it 
is not always cost effective to do so.

Our functions apply controls to monitor compliance and 
assess  the  operating  effectiveness  of  their  control  frame-
works in a number of ways. These include self-certification 
by staff, monitoring a wide range of metrics (for example, 
the  number  and  characteristics  of  client  complaints,  deal 
cancellations  and  corrections,  un-reconciled  items  on  cash 
and customer accounts and systems failures) and analysis of 
internal and external audit findings. As major financial and 
non-financial operational risk events occur, we evaluate their 
causes and the implications for our control framework. This 
includes an assessment of events affecting third parties that 
may be relevant to our businesses, provided that sufficient 
information is publicly available.

Operational risk measurement

We  have  developed  a  model  for  the  quantification  of  our 
operational risk which meets the regulatory capital standard 
specified by the Basel II Advanced Measurement Approach 
(AMA). Our model has two main components:
–  The  expected  loss  component  is  a  statistical  measure 
based on our own historical loss experiences (which have 
been collected since 2002) and is used primarily to deter-
mine the expected loss portion of our capital requirement. 
–  The unexpected loss component is based on a set of ge-
neric  scenarios  that  represent  categories  of  operational 
risks that are relevant to our firm. The scenarios used are 
based on analysis of internal and external event informa-
tion,  the  prevailing  business  environment  and  our  own 
internal control environment. This component is used to 
determine the unexpected loss portion of our capital re-
quirement. 
We  calculate  our  operational  risk  regulatory  capital  re-
quirement using the AMA model for the consolidated Group 
and the parent bank in accordance with the requirements of 
FINMA.  For  regulated  subsidiaries,  the  basic  indicator  or 
standardized  approaches  are  adopted  as  agreed  with  local 
regulators. Currently, we do not reflect mitigation through 
insurance in our AMA model.

➔ Refer to “Capital management” section of this report for 

more information on the development of RWA for 

operational risk

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137

 
 
 
Risk and treasury management
Risk management and control

Risk management and control renewal program

In third quarter 2008, FINMA conclud-
ed its investigation into the causes of 
the significant writedowns that we 
incurred in 2007 and 2008. It 
confirmed our own conclusions in all 
material respects and we developed a 
comprehensive and detailed plan to 
eliminate the weakness we identified. 

We have made further progress in 
completing remediation activities and 

developing sustainable solutions in 
2009. This includes strategic planning 
and business reviews (including 
enhancements to our new business 
approval process); integrated executive 
reporting combining risk, treasury and 
financial information; changes to  
the risk governance framework and 
the Risk Management and Control 
organization; enhancements to our 
risk measurement and methodologies; 

changes to our capital optimization 
model; improvements in front office 
controls around trade capture and 
valuation; and enhancements to our 
funding and balance sheet manage-
ment. 

Remediation activities will continue in 
certain areas requiring more significant 
or strategic changes to processes, 
systems and infrastructure. 

138

Risk concentrations

Risk concentrations

Previously disclosed risk concentrations

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A risk concentration exists where: (i) a position in financial 
instruments is affected by changes in a group of correlated 
factors, or a group of positions is affected by changes in the 
same risk factor or a group of correlated factors; and (ii) the 
exposure could, in the event of large but plausible adverse 
developments, result in significant losses.

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The identification of risk concentrations requires judgment 
as potential future developments cannot be predicted and may 
vary from period to period. In determining whether we have a 
risk concentration, we consider a number of elements, both 
individually and collectively. These elements include: the shared 
characteristics of the instruments and counterparties; the size 
of the position or group of positions; the sensitivity of the posi-
tion or group of positions to changes in risk factors; and the 
volatility  and  correlations  of  those  factors.  Also  important  in 
our assessment is the liquidity of the markets in which the in-
struments are traded, and the availability and effectiveness of 
hedges or other potential risk mitigants. The value of a hedge 
instrument may not always move in line with the position be-
ing hedged, and this mismatch is referred to as basis risk.

If we identify a risk concentration, we assess it to deter-
mine  whether  it  should  be  reduced  or  mitigated,  and  we 
also  evaluate  the  available  means  to  do  so.  Our  identified 
risk concentrations are subject to increased monitoring.

Identified risk concentrations

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Based on our assessment of our portfolios and asset classes 
with potential for material loss in a stress scenario relevant to 
the  current  environment,  we  believe  that  our  exposures  to 
monoline  insurers  and  student  loan  auction  rate  securities 
shown below can be considered risk concentrations on 31 De-
cember 2009, according to the abovementioned definition.

It is possible that material losses could occur on asset class-
es, positions and hedges other than those disclosed in this sec-
tion of the report, particularly if the correlations that emerge in 
a stressed environment differ markedly from those we antici-
pated. We are exposed to price risk, basis risk, credit spread risk 
and default risk, and other idiosyncratic and correlation risks on 
both our equities and fixed income inventories. We also have 
price risk on our option to acquire the SNB StabFund’s equity. 

In  addition,  we  have  lending,  counterparty  and  country 
risk  exposures  that  could  sustain  significant  losses  if  eco-
nomic conditions were to worsen. 

➔ Refer to the discussion of credit risk, market risk and 

operational risk above for more information on the risks  

to which we are exposed

In 2009, we significantly reduced exposures to our residual 
leveraged finance commitments, which were defined as loan 
commitments  entered  into  with  the  intent  to  syndicate  or 
distribute  that  we  assigned  an  internal  credit  rating  corre-
sponding  with  external  corporate  credit  ratings  of  BB–  or 
worse at the time of reporting. We achieved these reductions 
through both sales and writedowns, and as a result our re-
maining positions in leveraged finance commitments are no 
longer considered as a risk concentration. We previously re-
ported exposures on 31 December 2008 to leveraged finance 
commitments  of  USD  4.0  billion,  net  of  cumulative  gross 
writedowns, impairment charges and effective hedges. 

Exposure to monoline insurers
The vast majority of our direct exposures to monoline in-
surers  arise  from  OTC  derivative  contracts,  mainly  CDSs 
purchased  to  hedge  specific  positions.  The  “Exposure  to 
monoline insurers, by rating” table shows the CDS protec-
tion we bought from monoline insurers to hedge specific 
positions. It illustrates the notional amounts of the protec-
tion held, the fair value of the underlying instruments and 
the fair value of the CDSs both prior to and after the CVA 
taken  on  these  contracts.  As  a  result  of  trade  commuta-
tions and because a significant portion of the underlying 
assets are classified as Loans and receivables for account-
ing  purposes,  the  change  in  CVA  reported  in  the  table 
does  not  equal  the  profit  and  loss  associated  with  this 
portfolio during the year to 31 December 2009. 

Our exposure under CDS contracts with monoline insur-
ers is calculated as the sum of the fair values of individual 
CDSs  after  credit  valuation  adjustments.  This,  in  turn,  de-
pends  on  the  valuation  of  the  instruments  against  which 
protection has been bought. A positive fair value, or a valu-
ation gain, on the CDS is recognized if the fair value of the 
instrument  it  is  intended  to  hedge  decreases.  Changes  in 
CVA  are  driven  by  changes  in  CDS  fair  value  and  also  by 
movements in monoline credit spreads. 

We actively reduced our exposures to monoline insurers 
in 2009 by commuting trades with several monoline insur-
ers. The trade commutations related primarily to US RMBS 
collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) that we had substan-
tially written down on a fair value basis. Combined with the 
improved performance and composition of the portfolio, the 
fair  values  of  our  remaining  assets  hedged  with  monoline 
insurers increased over the period with a corresponding de-
crease in the fair values of the related CDSs. As at 31 Decem-
ber 2009, approximately 75% of the remaining assets were 

139

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Risk and treasury management
Risk management and control

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collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), 20% were collateral-
ized mortgage-backed securities and other asset-backed se-
curities, and 5% related to US RMBS CDOs. The vast major-
ity of our CLO positions were rated AA and above. 

As at 31 December 2009, the total fair value of CDS pro-
tection purchased from monoline insurers decreased signifi-
cantly  to  USD  2.3  billion  (USD  5.3  billion  at  31  December 

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2008) after cumulative CVAs of USD 2.8 billion (USD 7.0 bil-
lion  at  31  December  2008).  These  exposures  do  not  take 
into account any hedging benefits. 

In addition to credit protection bought on the positions 
detailed in the table above, we held direct derivative expo-
sure to monolines of USD 329 million after CVAs of 199 mil-
lion on 31 December 2009. 

➔ Refer to “Note 27c Fair value of financial instruments“ in the 

 “Financial information” section of this report for more informa-

tion on CVA valuation and sensitivities

Exposure to auction rate securities

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Auction rate securities held by  
the Investment Bank
Approximately USD 1.6 billion at par 
value of student loan auction rate 
securities (ARS) were redeemed by 
issuers, or sold by us in the secondary 
market in 2009.

We repurchased USD 3.7 billion at 
par value of student loan ARS in 
2009, including approximately USD 
0.5 billion of student loan ARS where 
we accelerated the repurchase from 
our clients to facilitate redemptions 
with issuers or resales. Combined 
with other redemptions directly with 
clients and amortizations, this 
resulted in an overall decrease of 
USD 3,958 million to USD 7,817 
million as of 31 December 2009 
compared with 31 December 2008, 
in our commitment to repurchase 
student loan ARS from clients as 
described below. 

Our inventory of student loan ARS 
increased by USD 1,985 million to USD 
10,347 million in 2009 as a result of 
student loan ARS repurchased in the 
period which were partially offset by 

140

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the abovementioned redemptions, 
resales and amortizations. 

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At 31 December 2009 approximately 
69% of the collateral underlying our 
inventory of student loan ARS was 
backed by Federal Family Education 
Loan Program (FFELP) collateral, which 
was reinsured by the US Department 
of Education for not less than 97% of 
principal and interest. All of our 
student loan ARS positions are held as 
Loans and receivables and are subject 
to an impairment test that includes a 
detailed review of the quality of the 
underlying collateral. Impairment 
charges incurred on our inventory of 
student loan ARS in 2009 were not 
significant. 

Approximately 90% of the USD 7,817 
million student loan ARS that we 
committed to purchase from clients 
were backed by FFELP-guaranteed 
collateral. 

As at 31 December 2009, we also 
held inventory with a carrying value of 
USD 1,423 million in US municipal 
ARS, USD 1,097 million in US taxable 

auction preferred securities (APS) and 
USD 2,729 million in US tax-exempt 
APS. The vast majority of our inventory 
of municipal ARS were rated invest-
ment grade with approximately 85% 
rated A or higher. The vast majority of 
our inventory of taxable and tax-
exempt APS were rated AAA. On 
31 December 2009, we had not 
incurred any impairment charges on 
our inventory of municipal ARS or 
taxable and tax-exempt APS. As at  
31 December 2008, we held USD 451 
million in US municipal ARS, USD 782 
million in US taxable APS and USD 
3,167 million in US tax-exempt APS. 

Commitment to repurchase client 
auction rate securities
We have committed to restore liquidity 
to certain client holdings of ARS. This 
commitment is in line with previously 
announced agreements in principle 
with various US state agencies, and the 
final settlements entered into with the 
Massachusetts Securities Division, the 
US Securities and Exchange Commis-
sion and the New York State Attorney 
General. The table on the next page 
shows the maximum repurchase 

Exposure to auction rate securities

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Exposure to monoline insurers, by rating 1

USD million

31.12.09

Fair value of 
underlying CDOs 4

Fair value of 
CDSs prior to 
credit valuation 
adjustment 5
Column 2 Column 3 (=1–2)

Credit valuation 
adjustment as of 
31.12.09

Fair value of 
CDSs after 
credit valuation 
adjustment

Column 4 Column 5 (=3–4)

Notional amount 3
Column 1

Credit protection on US sub-prime residential mortgage-
backed securities (RMBS) CDOs high grade 2

of which: from monolines rated investment grade (BBB and above)

of which: from monolines rated sub-investment grade (BB and below)

Credit protection on other assets 2

of which: from monolines rated investment grade (BBB and above)

of which: from monolines rated sub-investment grade (BB and below)

Total 31.12.09

Total 31.12.08

2,352

0

2,352

11,835

2,345

9,490

14,187

21,535

457

0

457
8,626 6
1,911

6,715

9,083

9,204

1,895

0

1,895

3,208

433

2,775

5,103

12,329

1,463

0

1,463

1,332

72

1,260

2,795

6,994

432

0

432

1,876

361

1,514

2,308

5,335

1 Excludes the benefit of credit protection purchased from unrelated third parties.    2 Categorization based on the lowest insurance financial strength rating assigned by external rating agencies.  
3 Represents gross notional amount of credit default swaps (CDSs) purchased as credit protection.    4 CDOs: collateralized debt obligations.    5 CDSs: credit default swaps.    6 Includes USD 5.6 billion 
(CHF 5.8 billion) at fair value / USD 6.0 billion (CHF 6.2 billion) at carrying value of assets that were reclassified to Loans and receivables from Held-for-trading in fourth quarter 2008 and first quarter 
2009. Refer to “Note 29b Reclassification of financial assets” in the “Financial information” section of this report for more information.

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amount at par of student loan ARS 
required by the regulatory settlements, 
which would occur over various time 
periods according to client type, but 
not later than 2 July 2012. 

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had committed to repurchase from 
clients up to a maximum of USD 
2,041 million of municipal ARS and 
USD 1,723 million of taxable and 
tax-exempt APS. 

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In future periods, we will no longer 
disclose our inventory of and commit-
ments to repurchase municipal ARS 
and taxable and tax-exempt APS, as 
we do not consider that they involve 
material risk exposure. 

Over the same time periods, we also 
committed to repurchase from clients 
up to a maximum amount of USD 374 
million of municipal ARS, and USD 
212 million of taxable and tax-exempt 
APS at par value on 31 December 
2009. As at 31 December 2008, we 

We anticipate that the maximum 
required repurchase amount of ARS is 
likely to decline over time, as issuers refi-
nance their debt obligations and we 
work with issuers, industry peers and US 
government officials on restructuring 
initiatives and redemption opportunities.

We will continue to disclose our 
inventory of and commitment to 
repurchase student loan ARS as our 
assessment of this exposure indicates 
that we consider it a risk concentra-
tion. 

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Student loan auction rate securities inventory

USD million

US student loan auction rate securities

Carrying value as of 
31.12.09
10,347 1

Carrying value as of 
31.12.08

8,362

1 Includes USD 7.5 billion (CHF 7.7 billion) at carrying value of student loan auction rate securities that were reclassified to Loans and receivables from Held-for-trading in fourth quarter 2008 and first 
quarter 2009. Refer to “Note 29b Reclassification of financial assets” in the “Financial information” section of this report for more information.

Client holdings: student loan auction rate securities

USD million

Buy-back period

Par value of maximum 
required purchase as of 
31.12.09

Remaining unpurchased 
holdings of private clients

Holdings of  Institutional 
clients

period ends 4.1.11

30.6.10–2.7.12

Par value of maximum 
required purchase as of 
31.12.08

US student loan auction rate securities

7,817

93

7,724

11,775

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Risk and treasury management
Treasury management

Treasury management

Group treasury is responsible for overseeing the usage of our critical financial resources including liquidity and 
funding, capital and balance sheet. Treasury manages key portions of these resources including the interest 
rate and currency risks arising from balance sheet and capital management activities.

Liquidity management

Capital ratios, risk-weighted assets and  
eligible capital

Stressed market conditions experienced in the latter half of 
2008, continued in the first few months of 2009 but then 
began to ease noticeably in the second half of the year as 
the  effects  of  central  bank  support  and  government  assis-
tance were felt in the market. High credit spreads contracted 
and  the  general  tone  of  the  money  markets  improved  as 
flows in longer- term tenors increased. 

We continued to further strengthen and safeguard our li-
quidity position and adjusted funding targets while our focus 
was  maintained  on  continuing  asset  reductions.  Combined 
with the broad diversity of our funding sources, our contin-
gency planning processes and our global scope, these mea-
sures have enabled us to maintain a balanced asset / liability 
profile  throughout  the  recent  market  dislocation.  Addition-
ally,  signs  of  our  return  towards  financial  stability  included 
the successful tender for certain subordinated notes in March 
and, in August, the exit of the Swiss Confederation’s stake in 
UBS through conversion of the mandatory convertible notes 
(MCNs) and immediate placement of shares in the market.

Funding management

Despite challenging conditions throughout 2009, we main-
tained  our  access  to  funding  primarily  as  a  result  of  our 
broadly diversified funding base. In addition, we accessed an 
important new investor base through our inaugural Europe-
an covered bond program.

At year-end 2009, the BIS tier 1 ratio amounted to 15.4% 
and  the  total  capital  ratio  to  19.8%,  up  from  11.0%  and 
15.0%, respectively, on 31 December 2008. BIS risk-weight-
ed assets declined from CHF 302.3 billion in December 2008 
to CHF 206.5 billion in December 2009, while eligible tier 1 
capital decreased from CHF 33.2 billion to CHF 31.8 billion 
over the same period, reflecting the effects of losses incurred 
during  2009  and  further  negative  impacts  on  equity,  only 
partially offset by the positive effects from issues of capital 
instruments.

Shares

As of 31 December 2009, we had a total of 3,558,112,753 
shares issued. In 2009, the issued shares were increased by a 
total of 625,532,204 due to the issuance of newly created 
shares  for  a  share  placement  with  institutional  investors  in 
June (293,258,050 shares placed at CHF 13 each), the early 
conversion  of  MCNs  by  the  Swiss  Confederation  in  August 
(332,225,913 shares) plus a small number of exercises of em-
ployee options (48,241 shares). The remaining CHF 13 bil lion 
MCNs will expire on 5 March 2010 leading to an expected 
issuance of 272,651,005 shares from conditional capital.

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Liquidity and funding management

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We define liquidity risk as the risk of being unable to raise 
funds  to  meet  payment  obligations  when  they  fall  due. 
Funding risk is the risk of being unable, on an ongoing basis, 
to borrow funds in the market at an acceptable price to fund 
actual  or  proposed  commitments  and  thereby  support  our 
current business and desired strategy. Liquidity and funding 
are not the same, but they are closely related and both are 
critical for a financial institution.

Liquidity and funding must be continuously managed to 
ensure  that  we  can  successfully  adjust  to  sudden  adverse 
changes in market conditions or our operating environment, 
whether it is a general market crisis, a localized difficulty af-
fecting a smaller number of institutions, or a problem unique 
to an individual firm. An institution that is unable to meet its 
liabilities when they fall due may collapse, even though it is 
not insolvent, because it is unable to borrow sufficient funds 
on an unsecured basis, or does not have sufficient high qual-
ity  assets  to  borrow  against  or  liquid  assets  to  sell  to  raise 
immediate cash.

Market liquidity overview: 2009

The  first  few  months  of  2009  saw  a  continuation  of  the 
stressed  financial  market  conditions  that  had  prevailed 
throughout the latter part of 2008. Economic fundamentals 
continued  to  deteriorate,  developing  into  the  worst  eco-
nomic recession in the post-war era; average credit spreads 
for  high-quality  corporate  bonds  reached  historically  high 
levels; most markets remained fragile and suffered from very 
limited liquidity and the banking and wider financial sector 
remained under considerable pressure. For the financial sec-
tor, access to financing from the public term-debt markets 
was  mostly  limited  to  government-guaranteed  bonds.  On 
the back of large amounts of additional special central bank 
support  and  government  assistance,  signs  of  improvement 
emerged during the second quarter and high credit spreads 
for financial institutions contracted. The general tone of the 
money markets began to improve noticeably during the sec-
ond quarter, with flows no longer being effectively limited to 
very short tenors. Public term-debt markets became broadly 
accessible  to  banks  for  unsecured  bond  issuances  for  the 
first time since late third quarter 2008, across various curren-
cies  and  a  range  of  tenors.  More  signs  of  stabilization 
emerged  in  the  third  quarter  on  improved  earnings  in  the 
financial sector, leading to further declines in financial insti-
tutions’  credit  spreads  and  improved  access  to  public  debt 
markets. Volumes of new long-term debt issuance increased, 
particularly  in  senior  unsecured  debt  and  covered  bonds, 
while government-guaranteed bond issuances contracted. 

The policy responses by governments and central banks 
mirrored  market  developments  during  the  year.  The  focus 
had initially remained on maintaining the extraordinary mea-
sures designed to reinforce country-specific financial systems 
and  support  their  economies.  As  the  year  progressed,  de-
clines were registered in utilization levels of these facilities. 
With the intensity of the financial crisis beginning to abate 
during the first half of the year, and as signs of stabilization 
gradually emerged, policymakers around the world began to 
shift their attention toward tightening their regulatory capi-
tal and liquidity frameworks with a view to reducing the sys-
temic risks posed by the largest financial institutions. There 
are many new regulatory and legislative initiatives applicable 
to large financial firms that have been proposed in Switzer-
land,  the  US,  UK,  European  Union  and  other  jurisdictions 
where  we  operate.  These  proposals  and  their  interactions 
may  significantly  impact  our  future  liquidity  and  funding 
management processes, if and when they are enacted.

Our measures taken in managing out of the crisis 

Despite challenging conditions throughout 2009, we main-
tained our access to funding with a broadly diversified fund-
ing base, and continued with measures to further strengthen 
and safeguard our liquidity position. Throughout this period, 
funding targets were adjusted and focus was maintained on 
continuing  asset  reductions.  Combined  with  the  broad  di-
versity  of  funding  sources,  global  scope  and  contingency 
planning processes, these measures enabled us to maintain 
a balanced asset and liability profile. We also maintain a sub-
stantial  multi-currency  portfolio  of  unencumbered  high-
quality  short-term  assets,  and  also  have  unutilized  secured 
liquidity facilities available with several major central banks. 
In addition to these centralized Group resources, like many 
other  internationally  active  banks,  we  maintain  several  ad-
ditional dedicated liquidity reserves where these are required 
by  local  regulation.  Additionally,  we  have  taken  significant 
steps during 2009 including further de-risking and reducing 
the balance sheet, including the completion of the remain-
ing  transfers  of  assets  to  the  SNB  StabFund  announced  in 
2008, and the sale of UBS Pactual, as well as additional me-
dium- and long-term debt issuance, including accessing an 
important new investor base through our inaugural Europe-
an covered bond program. The successful tender for certain 
subordinated notes in March and, in August, the exit of the 
Swiss  Confederation’s  stake  in  UBS  through  conversion  of 
the MCNs and immediate placement of shares in the market 
were widely regarded as additional signs of our return to fi-
nancial stability. 

143

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Risk and treasury management
Treasury management

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While further signs of stabilization in the market emerged 
throughout  2009,  and  although  access  to  wholesale  term 
funding improved, we continued to experience a decline in 
customer deposits and net new money outflows in our cli-
ent-asset-gathering divisions. Regarding the net outflows of 
client assets, only the cash deposit component of these con-
stitutes a direct loss of funding for us. We were able to read-
ily compensate for the effects of these outflows, as well as 
for the periodic reductions in access to wholesale term debt 
markets,  through  ample  funding  from  alternative  sources 
within  our  diversified  funding  base  and  our  ongoing  bal-
ance  sheet  asset  reductions.  As  part  of  these  asset  reduc-
tions,  the  funded  balance  sheet  mainly  in  the  Investment 
Bank was reduced by CHF 242 billion compared with year-
end 2008.

➔ Refer to the “Balance Sheet“ section of this report for 

more information 

Implementation of the new liquidity and funding risk 
management framework

We  made  progress  in  implementing  the  new  liquidity  and 
funding risk management framework which was approved 
by  the  BoD  in  late  2008.  Significant  enhancements  to  our 
existing  systems  and  tools  used  for  liquidity  and  funding 
management  were  implemented,  allowing  us  to  forecast 
more accurately potential liquidity and funding demands un-
der both going concern and stressed conditions. The Group 
Asset and Liability Management Committee (Group ALCO) 
was established as the primary body for managing our finan-
cial  resources.  Furthermore,  governance  over  the  liquidity 
and funding management process was improved and docu-
mented in a complete overhaul of our policies. In addition to 
balance  sheet  targets,  new  supply  side  limits  were  intro-
duced to control the funding of the balance sheet, and ad-
ditional limits on the off-balance sheet exposures were im-
plemented. Our liquidity reserve, a pool of highly liquid cash 
and cash equivalent assets, was put under the direct man-
agement of Group Treasury.

Further strategic work is underway to improve the opera-
tional setup of the liquidity and funding management pro-
cess and to refine the funds transfer pricing mechanism. We 
are  also  reviewing  the  technical  landscape  of  our  liquidity 
and funding risk management tools, and have projects un-
derway to upgrade our systems infrastructure.

Liquidity approach

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Our  approach  to  liquidity  management,  which  covers  all 
branches and subsidiaries, aims to ensure that we will always 
have sufficient liquidity to meet liabilities when due, under 
both normal and stressed conditions, without incurring un-
acceptable losses or risking sustained damage to our various 
businesses.

Central  to  the  integrated  framework  is  an  assessment 
and regular testing of all material, known and expected cash 
flows  and  the  level  of  high-grade  collateral  that  could  be 
used to raise additional funding. Limits are set at Group and 
Division level by the BoD and the Group ALCO. These limits 
are monitored by Group Treasury, which reports the results 
and trends on a regular basis to the BoD Risk Committee and 
the Group ALCO. Contingency plans for a liquidity crisis are 
incorporated into our wider crisis management process.

Our major sources of liquidity are channeled through en-
tities  that  are  fully  consolidated.  The  liquidity  position  and 
asset  and  liability  profile  are  continuously  tracked.  This  in-
volves monitoring the balance sheet contractual and behav-
ioral  maturity  profiles  and  projecting  and  modeling  the  li-
quidity  exposures  of  the  firm  under  a  variety  of  potential 
scenarios – encompassing both normal and stressed market 
conditions.  We  consider  the  possibility  that  our  access  to 
markets could be impacted by a stress event affecting some, 
or all, parts of our business. The results are factored into our 
overall contingency plans.

Liquidity management
We manage our liquidity position in order to be able to sur-
vive a UBS-specific liquidity crisis combined with a generally 
stressed market environment. This is complemented by our 
funding risk management, which aims to achieve the opti-
mal liability structure to finance our businesses cost-efficient-
ly and reliably. 

Our business activities generate asset and liability port-
folios which are intrinsically highly diversified with respect 
to market, product and currency. This reduces our exposure 
to  individual  funding  sources,  and  also  provides  a  broad 
range  of  investment  opportunities,  which  in  turn  reduces 
liquidity risk.

Our funding diversification and global scope in turn help 
protect  our  liquidity  position  in  the  event  of  a  crisis.  We 
adopt a centralized approach to liquidity and funding man-
agement to exploit these advantages in full. The liquidity and 
funding process is undertaken jointly by Group Treasury and 
the foreign exchange and money market (FXMM) unit within 
the  Investment  Bank’s  fixed  income,  currencies  and  com-
modities (FICC) business area. Group Treasury establishes a 
comprehensive  control  framework,  while  FICC  undertakes 
operational cash and collateral management within the es-
tablished limits.

This centralization permits close control of both our glob-
al cash position and its stock of high-quality liquid securities. 
Our treasury processes also ensure that the firm’s general ac-
cess  to  wholesale  cash  markets  is  concentrated  in  FICC. 
Funds raised externally are largely channeled into FICC, in-
cluding  the  proceeds  of  debt  securities  issued  by  UBS,  an 
activity for which Group Treasury is responsible. FICC in turn 
meets all internal demands for funding by channeling funds 
from  units  generating  surplus  cash  to  those  requiring  fi-

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nance.  In  this  way,  we  reduce  our  external  borrowing  and 
use of available credit capacity, and present a consistent and 
coordinated face to the market.

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Liquidity modeling and contingency planning
For the purpose of monitoring our liquidity situation, we em-
ploy the following main measures:
–  A  cash  ladder  which  is  used  to  manage  our  funding  re-
quirements on a daily basis within limits that are set by the 
Group CFO and Group Treasurer. This cumulative cash lad-
der shows the daily liquidity position – the net cumulative 
funding requirement for a specific day – projected for each 
business day from the current day forward three months.
–  A  stressed  version  of  the  cash  ladder  which  is  overlaid 
with  behavioral  assumptions  that  model  a  severe  UBS-
specific liquidity crisis combined with a generally stressed 
market environment. This stress scenario is updated daily 
and  used  to  monitor  potential  outflows  out  to  a  one-
month time horizon. 

–  A contractual maturity gap analysis of our assets and lia-

bilities out to a one-year time horizon.

–  A behavioral maturity gap analysis under an assumed UBS-
specific liquidity crisis combined with a generally stressed 
market environment out to a one-year time horizon.
–  A cash capital model which measures the amount of sta-
ble funding in relation to the amount and composition of 
our assets.
The breakdown of the contractual maturity of our assets 
and liabilities serves as a starting point for stress testing anal-
yses.  A  partial  breakdown  as  of  year-end  is  shown  in  the 
“Maturity analysis” table at the end of this section. This ma-
turity analysis is an accounting view. It does not fully repre-
sent a liquidity risk management perspective, which would 
also include behavioral stress analyses and a more detailed 
breakdown of asset and liability types.

The liquidity crisis scenario combines a firm-specific crisis 
with  market  disruption  and  focuses  on  a  time  horizon  ex-
tending up to one year. This UBS-specific scenario envisages 
large drawdowns on otherwise stable client deposits, an in-
ability  to  renew  or  replace  maturing  unsecured  wholesale 
funding and limited capacity to generate liquidity from trad-
ing assets. Liquidity crisis scenario analysis and contingency 
planning supports the liquidity management process so that 
immediate corrective measures, such as the use of a liquidity 
buffer to absorb potential sudden liquidity shortfalls, can be 
put into effect.

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 Since a liquidity crisis could have a myriad of causes, we 
focus on a scenario that encompasses potential stress effects 
across all markets, currencies and products.

The assessment includes the likelihood of maturing assets 
and liabilities being rolled over in a UBS-specific crisis within 
an otherwise stressed market environment, and gauges the 
extent  to  which  the  potential  crisis-induced  shortfall  could 
be covered by available funding. This would be raised on a 

secured  basis against available collateral, which includes se-
curities eligible for pledging at the major central banks, or by 
selling inventory. In both cases we apply crisis-level discounts 
to the value of assets. We assume that we would generally 
be unable to renew any of our wholesale unsecured debt, 
including all our maturing money market paper (CHF 52 bil-
lion  outstanding  on  31  December  2009).  Since  liquidity 
needs may also result from commitments and contingencies, 
including credit lines extended to secure the liquidity needs 
of  customers,  we  regularly  monitor  undrawn  committed 
credit  facilities  and  other  latent  liquidity  risks  and  factor 
these into the scenario analysis. Particular emphasis is placed 
on potential drawdowns of committed credit lines.

If our credit rating were to be downgraded, “rating trig-
ger” clauses, especially in derivative contracts, could result in 
an immediate cash outflow due to the unwinding of deriva-
tive positions or the need to deliver additional collateral. 

We also take into account the potential impact on our net 
liquidity position of adverse movements in the replacement 
value of our OTC derivative transactions, which are subject 
to collateral arrangements. Given the diversity of our deriva-
tives  business  and  that  of  our  counterparties,  there  is  not 
necessarily a direct correlation between the factors influenc-
ing  net  replacement  values  with  each  counterparty  and  a 
UBS-specific crisis scenario.

➔ Refer to the “Note 23 Derivative instruments and hedge 
accounting” in the “Financial information” section of this 

report for more information

Liquidity limits and controls
Liquidity and funding limits and targets are set by the BoD, 
the Group ALCO, the Group CFO and the Group Treasurer, 
taking into consideration our business model and strategy, 
the prevailing market conditions and our tolerance for risk. 
The principles underlying our limit and target framework aim 
to maximize and sustain the value of our business franchise 
and appropriately balance the asset / liability structure in light 
of prevailing market conditions. Structural limits and targets 
focus on the composition and profile of the balance sheet, 
while supplementary limits and targets are designed to drive 
the utilization and allocation of funding resources. Together 
the  limits  and  targets  focus  on  structural  liquidity  risk  for 
terms from intra-day out to one year, including stress testing, 
and on the liability mix, including diversification by source, 
currency  and  tenor.  Group  Treasury  is  responsible  for  the 
oversight of the liquidity and funding limits and targets. Per-
formance  versus  limits  and  targets  is  monitored  and  regu-
larly communicated to senior management. 

To complement and support the limit framework, mem-
bers  of  our  regional  and  divisional  treasuries  monitor  the 
markets in which we operate for potential threats and regu-
larly report significant findings to Group Treasury.

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Risk and treasury management
Treasury management

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reserves, including a large multi-currency portfolio of unen-
cumbered high-quality short-term assets and available and 
unutilized liquidity facilities at several major central banks.

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pendence  on  any  particular  source.  A  maturity  breakdown 
of our long-term straight debt portfolio of CHF 64 billion is 
shown at the end of this section.

The  liquidity  contingency  plan  is  an  integral  part  of  the 
global crisis management concept, which covers all types of 
crisis events. Its implementation falls under the responsibility 
of a core crisis team with representatives from Group Trea-
sury, FICC, and related areas including the functions respon-
sible  for  payments  and  settlements,  market  and  credit  risk 
control,  collateral  and  margin  management,  and  informa-
tion  technology  and  infrastructure.  Our  centralized  global 
management model lends itself naturally to efficient liquidity 
crisis management. Should a crisis require contingency fund-
ing measures to be invoked, Group Treasury takes responsi-
bility for coordinating liquidity generation together with rep-
resentatives from FICC and the relevant business areas. 

Funding

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Our  wealth  management  businesses  continue  to  represent 
valuable  and  cost-efficient  sources  of  funding.  These  busi-
nesses contributed CHF 323 billion, or 79%, of the CHF 410 
billion  total  customer  deposits  shown  in  the  “UBS  asset 
funding” graph. Compared with the CHF 307 billion of net 
loans as of 31 December 2009, customer deposits provided 
134%  coverage  compared  with  140%  on  31  December 
2008.  In  terms  of  secured  funding  (i.e.  repurchase  agree-
ments  and  securities  lent  against  cash  collateral  received), 
we borrow less cash on a collateralized basis than we lend, 
leading to a surplus of net securities sourced – shown as the 
CHF  108  billion  cash-equivalent  surplus  in  the  “UBS  asset 
funding” graph. Furthermore, funding is provided through 
numerous  short-,  medium-  and  long-term  funding  pro-
grams, which provide specialized investments to institutional 
and  private  clients  in  Europe,  the  US  and  Asia.  These  pro-
grams can efficiently raise funds globally, reducing our de-

Verküpung

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UBS asset funding

As of 31.12.09

67

82

180

Cash, balances with central 
banks and due from banks    
Financial investments 
available-for-sale

Cash collateral on securities 
borrowed and 
reverse repurchase agreements

232

Trading portfolio assets

CHF 
108 billion
surplus

Due to Banks

Money market paper issued
Cash collateral on securities lent 
and repurchase agreements
Trading portfolio liabilities

Financial liabilities designated 
at fair value

Demand deposits

307

Loans

62

Other assets (incl. net RVs)

Time deposits

Fiduciary deposits

Retail savings/deposits

134%
coverage

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Long-term debt

Other liabilities
Total Equity

Assets

Liabilities and equity

65

52

72

47

113

187

79

43
102

80

43
48

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Through broad diversification of our funding sources (by 
market, product and currency), we maintain a well-balanced 
portfolio of liabilities, which provide protection in the event 
of  market  disruptions.  This,  together  with  our  centralized 
funding  management,  enables  us  to  efficiently  fund  our 
business activities.

Funding approach
Medium- and long-term funding activities are planned by as-
sessing the overall funding profile of the balance sheet. The 
ability to continue to fund ongoing business activities through 
periods of difficult market conditions is also factored in. Since 
the beginning of 2007, prior to the outbreak of the recent 
financial  crisis,  we  have  maintained  our  funding  profile 
through  public  issuance  of  senior,  straight,  and  long-term 
debt.  As  part  of  these  continuing  diversification  efforts,  in 
third quarter 2009, we launched our inaugural covered bond 
program,  from  which  we  issued  euro-denominated  bonds 
that  are  indirectly  covered  by  a  pool  of  prime,  Swiss  franc-
denominated Swiss residential mortgages originated and ser-
viced by UBS AG through our branch network in Switzerland. 
In addition to continuing to raise medium- and long-term 
funds through medium-term notes and private placements, 
during 2009 we raised over CHF 11 billion through bench-
mark public senior debt issuance, following the CHF 24 bil-
lion  raised  from  these  sources  during  2008.  This  included 
two  covered  bonds  totaling  around  the  equivalent  of  CHF 
4.5  billion  under  the  aforementioned  new  covered  bond 
program.  We  raised  a  further  CHF  6  billion  through  Swiss 
covered bond (Pfandbrief) issuances via the Swiss Mortgage 
Bond Bank during 2009. Additionally, the placement of new 
shares from authorized capital in June 2009 generated ap-
proximately CHF 3.8 billion of long-term funds.

To  ensure  that  a  well-balanced  and  diversified  liability 
structure is preserved, Group Treasury routinely monitors our 
funding status and reports its findings on a monthly basis to 
the Group ALCO. A key measure employed among our main 
analysis tools is the assessment of our “cash capital“ posi-
tion,  this  concept  is  designed  to  ensure  that  illiquid  assets 
can be financed by long-term sources of funding.

The cash capital supply consists of long-term sources of 
funds:  unsecured  funding  with  remaining  time  to  maturity 
of at least one year; shareholders’ equity; and core deposits 
– the portion of customer deposits deemed to have a “be-
havioral“  maturity  of  at  least  one  year.  Cash  capital  con-
sumption  reflects  the  illiquid  portion  of  the  assets  which 
could not be transformed into cash by secured funding. For 
a given asset, the illiquid portion is the difference (the “hair-
cut“) between the carrying value of an asset on the balance 
sheet, and its effective cash value when used as collateral in 
a secured funding transaction.
3CM014a_e

UBS: funding by product and currency

In %

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.09

31.12.08

All currencies

CHF

EUR

USD

Others

Securities lending

Repurchase agreements

Interbank

Money market paper

Retail savings / deposits

Demand deposits

Fiduciary

Time deposits
Long-term debt 1
Total

1.0

8.1

8.2

6.5

12.8

23.7

5.4

9.9

24.3

100.0

1 Including financial liabilities designated at fair value.

1.4

10.2

12.5

11.1

9.1

14.8

6.1

16.3

18.6

0.0

1.0

0.8

0.2

8.4

4.8

0.3

0.8

3.2

0.0

0.9

0.8

0.3

6.0

2.8

0.3

1.6

2.7

0.2

1.4

2.6

0.6

0.8

5.1

1.5

1.3

9.7

0.4

1.6

4.9

1.0

0.1

3.1

2.0

2.7

6.0

100.0

19.4

15.4

23.4

21.7

0.5

4.5

2.4

5.0

3.6

10.5

2.9

4.8

7.8 

42.0

0.6

6.7

4.9

8.6

3.0

6.8

3.0

8.9

5.1

47.6

0.3

1.2

2.4

0.7

0.0

3.3

0.6

3.0

3.6 

15.2

0.4

1.1

1.8

1.2

0.0

2.1

0.7

3.1

4.8

15.3

We also regularly monitor our main funding portfolios for 

any concentration risks.

Funding position and diversification
We  continue  to  maintain  a  balanced  portfolio  of  liabilities 
that is broadly diversified by market, product and currency. 
The vast product offerings and global scope of our business 
activities are the primary reasons for funding stability. Fund-
ing  is  provided  through  numerous  short-,  medium-  and 
long-term  funding  programs  in  Europe,  the  US  and  Asia, 
which  provide  specialized  investments  to  institutional  and 
private clients. Our domestic retail and global wealth man-
agement businesses are also a valuable source of funding.

The overall composition of our funding sources at the end 
of 2009 is shown in the table above and the pie-charts be-
low. These funding sources amounted to CHF 792 billion on 
the balance sheet, down from CHF 1,007 billion a year be-
fore, and comprise repurchase agreements, securities lend-
ing  against  cash  collateral  received,  due  to  banks,  money 
market paper issued, due to customers and long-term debt 
including financial liabilities at fair value. While the composi-
tion was broadly similar to the prior year-end, there was a 
discernible shift away from time deposits, short-term money 

market  paper  and  interbank  debt  towards  higher  propor-
tions  of  demand  deposits,  long-term  debt  and  savings  de-
posits. Money market paper issuance accounted for 7% of 
our funding sources on 31 December 2009, compared with 
11% a year before, and at the same time the relative share 
of  short-term  interbank  borrowing  dropped  to  8%  from 
13%. Customer time and demand deposits (excluding fidu-
ciary deposits) accounted for 34%, up from 31% on 31 De-
cember 2008, and savings deposits for 13%, up from 9% on 
31  December  2008,  of  these  funding  sources.  Compared 
with the prior year-end, the proportion of funding from fidu-
ciary deposits was down slightly to 5% from 6%. The pro-
portion of our funding from long-term debt including finan-
cial liabilities designated at fair value was up to 24% from 
19% a year earlier, reflecting our continued increased focus 
on medium- to long-term debt issuances. During 2009, we 
decreased our secured funding, with the proportion declin-
ing  to  9%  from  11%  at  prior  year-end,  primarily  through 
decreased repurchase agreements.

Credit Ratings
Credit  ratings  generally  affect  the  cost  and  availability  of 
funding, in particular with regard to funding from wholesale 

UBS: funding by product type¹  
In %

As of 31.12.09 

UBS: funding by currency¹  
In %

As of 31.12.09 

5

10

24

13

7

8

1

8

Fiduciary

Time deposits

Long-term debt

Securities lending

Repurchase agreements

Interbank

24

Money market paper

Retail savings/deposits

Demand deposits

1 Excluding trading portfolio liabilities, negative replacement values, other liabilities and equity.

15

19

CHF

EUR

USD

Other

23

43

3CM003_e
1 Excluding trading portfolio liabilities, negative replacement values, other liabilities and equity.

3CM004_e

147

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Risk and treasury management
Treasury management

Credit ratings

As of 31.12.09

Short-term debt rating

Long-term senior debt rating

Standard & Poor’s

Moody’s

Rating

Outlook

Rating

A–1

A+

stable

stable

P–1

Aa3

Outlook

negative

negative

Fitch Ratings

Rating

Outlook

F1+

A+

stable

stable

Service  downgraded  our  long-term  senior  unsecured  debt 
rating from Aa2 to Aa3 in November 2009, while Fitch Rat-
ings and Standard & Poor’s long-term senior unsecured debt 
ratings remained unchanged during 2009 at A+. The table 
above summarizes our short- and long-term debt ratings as 
of 31 December 2009. 

Maturity breakdown of long-term straight debt portfolio
The graph on the left-hand side shows a contractual maturity 
breakdown  of  our  long-term  straight  debt  portfolio,  and 
therefore excludes all structured debt, which is predominantly 
booked  as  Financial  liabilities  designated  at  fair  value.  The 
long-term straight debt portfolio amounted to CHF 64 billion 
on  31  December  2009,  and  is  part  of  the  CHF  131  billion 
shown on the Debt issued line on the balance sheet (which in 
addition includes money market paper issued). It is composed 
of CHF 53 billion of senior debt including both publicly and 
privately placed notes and bonds as well as Swiss cash bonds, 
and  CHF  11  billion  of  subordinated  debt.  Of  the  positions 
shown in the graph, CHF 11 billion, or 17%, will mature dur-
ing 2010.

23.0

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24.5

Maturity analysis of financial liabilities
Contractual maturity information of our assets and liabilities 
serves as a starting point for the stress testing analyses which 
are described above. Following IFRS guidance, the disclosure 
of  contractual  maturities  includes  financial  liabilities  only. 
Our  liquidity  risk  management  framework  includes,  beside 
many  other  measures,  a  behavioral  stress  analysis,  a  more 
3CM004c_e

unsecured sources. Our credit ratings can also influence the 
performance  of  some  of  our  businesses  and  contribute  to 
maintaining  client  and  counterparty  confidence.  Important 
factors used by rating agencies to assess a firm’s creditwor-
thiness and determine its credit ratings include stability and 
quality of earnings, capital adequacy, risk profile and man-
agement,  liquidity  management,  diversification  of  funding 
sources, asset quality and corporate governance. Credit rat-
ings  reflect  opinions  of  the  rating  agencies  and  can  be 
changed at any time.

Our short-term credit ratings from all three major rating 
agencies  (Standard  &  Poor’s,  Moody’s  and  Fitch  Ratings) 
were  unchanged  and  affirmed  in  2009.  Moody’s  Investors 

Long-term straight debt – contractual maturities
CHF billion

As of 31.12.09

2010 

2011 

2012 

2013–14 

2015–19 

2020–29 

after 2029

Year of maturity

Senior debt

Subordinated debt

24

18

12

  6

  0

148

19.200001

14.400001

9.600000

4.800000

0.000000

 
    
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detailed breakdown and assessment of asset and liability po-
sitions, and it also considers cash inflows from assets as well 
as outflows from various off-balance sheet exposures. 

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The contractual maturities of our non-derivative and non-
trading financial liabilities as of 31 December 2009 present-
ed in the table below are based on the earliest date on which 
we are required to pay. The total amounts contractually ma-

turing in each time-band are also shown for 31 December 
2008. Derivative positions and trading liabilities, which pre-
dominantly include short sale transactions, are assigned to 
the column On demand as management believes that such 
presentation most accurately reflects the short-term nature 
of  trading  activities.  The  contractual  maturity  may  extend 
over significantly longer periods.

Maturity analysis of financial liabilities 1

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CHF billion

On demand 2

Financial liabilities recognized on balance sheet

Due 
within 
1 month 2

Due 
between 
1 and 3 
months 2

Due 
between 
3 and 12 
months 2

Due 
between 
1 and 5 
years 3

Due after 
5 years 3

Due to banks

Cash collateral on securities lent

Repurchase agreements
Trading portfolio liabilities 4, 5
Negative replacement values 4
Financial liabilities designated at fair value

Due to customers

Accrued expenses and deferred income

Debt issued

Other liabilities

Total 31.12.09

Total 31.12.08

Financial liabilities not recognized on balance sheet

Irrevocable loan commitments

Guarantees

Underwriting commitments

Total 31.12.09

Total 31.12.08

50.3

8.0

7.2

47.5

409.9

0.0

261.6

0.0

0.0

21.7

806.3

1,212.3

57.2

16.1

0.0

73.3

59.9

7.1

0.0

46.6

0.0

0.0

2.3

119.8

8.5

21.9

7.4

213.5

449.4

1.1

0.3

1.8

3.2

0.2

1.9

0.0

6.6

0.0

0.0

4.7

14.5

0.0

15.8

0.0

43.4

80.6

0.3

0.2

0.2

0.8

0.0

3.2

0.0

3.8

0.0

0.0

22.3

13.6

0.0

26.5

0.0

69.4

60.7

0.5

0.2

0.2

0.9

0.1

1.3

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

44.7

0.9

0.0

36.9

0.0

83.8

75.9

0.2

0.1

0.0

0.3

0.1

1.4

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

38.7

0.1

0.0

30.4

0.0

70.6

87.0

0.0

0.1

0.0

0.1

0.0

Total

65.2

8.0

64.2

47.5

409.9

112.7

410.5

8.5

131.4

29.1

1,286.9

1,965.9

59.3

17.1

2.3

78.6

60.3

1 Only financial instruments (as disclosed in note 29a) are required to be disclosed in the maturity analysis, therefore, not all numbers in the table reconcile to the line items in the balance sheet. The 
differences relate to accrued expenses, deferred income and other liabilities and also comprise, deferred tax liabilities, provisions and liabilities from employee compensation plans.    2 Our liquidity risk 
management focus is on short and mid-term cash flows. In these time periods, the carrying values of non-derivative financial liabilities largely approximate the undiscounted cash flows.    3 Represents 
carrying values.    4 Carrying value is fair value. Management believes that this best represents the cash flows that would have to be paid if these positions had to be settled or closed out. Refer to 
“Note  23  Derivative  instruments  and  hedge  accounting”  in  the “Financial  information”  section  of  this  report  for  undiscounted  cash  flows  of  derivatives  designated  in  hedge  accounting  relation-
ships.    5 Contractual maturities of trading portfolio liabilities are: CHF 45.9 billion due within one month; and CHF 1.6 billion due between one month and one year.

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149

 
 
 
Risk and treasury management
Treasury management

Interest rate and currency management

Management of non-trading interest rate risk

Market risk arising from management of  
consolidated capital

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Our largest non-trading interest rate exposures arise within 
our wealth management business divisions. These exposures 
are transferred from the originating business into one of two 
centralized interest rate risk management units: Group Trea-
sury or the Investment Bank’s FICC unit. These units manage 
the  risks  on  an  integrated  basis,  exploiting  the  full  netting 
potential across risks from different sources.

Risks  from  fixed-maturity,  short-term  Swiss  franc  and  all 
non-Swiss franc transactions are generally transferred to FICC. 
Risks from Swiss franc transactions with fixed maturities great-
er than one year are transferred to Group Treasury by individu-
al back-to-back transactions. These fixed-rate products do not 
contain embedded options, such as early prepayment, which 
would  allow  clients  to  prepay  at  par.  All  prepayments  are 
therefore subject to market-based unwinding costs.

Current and savings accounts and many other retail prod-
ucts of Wealth Management & Swiss Bank have no contrac-
tual maturity date or direct market-linked rate, and therefore 
their interest rate risk cannot be transferred by simple back-
to-back  transactions.  Instead,  they  are  transferred  on  a 
pooled basis via “replicating” portfolios. A replicating port-
folio is a series of loans or deposits at market rates and fixed 
terms between the originating business unit and Group Trea-
sury, structured to approximate, on average, the interest rate 
cash flow and repricing behavior of the pooled client trans-
actions. The portfolios are rebalanced monthly. Their struc-
ture and parameters are based on long-term market obser-
vations and client behavior, and are regularly reviewed and 
adjusted as necessary. The originating business units are thus 
immunized  as  far  as  possible  against  market  interest  rate 
movements, but retain and manage their product margin.

A significant amount of interest rate risk also arises from 
the financing of non-monetary-related balance sheet items, 
such  as  the  financing  of  bank  property  and  equity  invest-
ments  in  associated  companies.  These  risks  are  generally 
transferred to Group Treasury through replicating portfolios 
which, in this case, are designed to approximate the tenor 
profile mandated by senior management.

Group  Treasury  manages  its  residual  open  interest  rate 
exposures,  taking  advantage  of  any  offsets  that  arise  be-
tween positions from different sources, within its approved 
market risk limits which include VaR and stress loss. The pre-
ferred  risk  management  instrument  is  interest  rate  swaps, 
for which there is a liquid and flexible market. All transac-
tions are executed via the Investment Bank. Group Treasury 
does not directly access the external market.

➔ Refer to the “Market risk“ section of this report for further 

details on our market risk measures and controls

150

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The  relationship  between  our  capital  and  RWA,  BIS  tier  1 
ratio,  is  monitored  by  regulators  and  analysts  and  is  a  key 
indicator of our financial strength.

The  majority  of  our  capital  and  many  of  our  assets  are 
denominated  in  Swiss  francs,  but  we  also  hold  RWA  and 
some eligible capital in other currencies, primarily US dollar, 
euro  and  UK  sterling.  Any  significant  depreciation  of  the 
Swiss franc against these currencies would adversely impact 
our BIS tier 1 ratio. Group Treasury’s mandate is to minimize 
adverse currency impacts on this ratio. 

On an overall Group basis, Group Treasury’s target profile 
is  based  on  a  currency  mix  which  broadly  reflects  the  cur-
rency  distribution  of  the  consolidated  RWA.  As  the  Swiss 
franc depreciates or appreciates against these currencies, the 
consolidated RWA increase or decrease relative to our capi-
tal. These currency fluctuations also lead to translation gains 
or losses on consolidation, which are recorded through eq-
uity. Thus, our consolidated equity rises or falls in line with 
the fluctuations in the RWA, stabilizing the BIS tier 1 ratio. 
The capital of the parent bank itself is held predominantly in 
Swiss francs in order to avoid any significant effects of cur-
rency fluctuations on its standalone financial results.

Furthermore, Group Treasury has the mandate to gener-
ate a stable interest income flow from the capital. The cap-
ital of the parent bank and its subsidiaries is placed via in-
terest-bearing cash deposits internally within our network. 
Group Treasury further maintains a portfolio of interest rate 
swaps  to  achieve  a  target  tenor  profile  and  return  on  in-
vested equity. 

To provide a benchmark for investments of equity, Group 
Treasury defines a replicating portfolio of target tenors and 
currencies. The effective investment position created by both 
internal cash deposits and interest rate swaps are then mea-
sured  against  this  benchmark  tenor  replication  portfolio. 
Mismatches between the two are measured, together with 
other non-trading interest rate risk positions, against Group 
Treasury’s market risk limits (VaR and stress loss).

The structural foreign currency exposures (to hedge our 
BIS tier 1 ratio) are controlled by senior management but are 
not subject to internal market risk limits and are not included 
in Group Treasury’s reported VaR.

On 31 December 2009, our consolidated equity was de-
ployed as follows: in Swiss francs (including most of the cap-
ital of the parent bank) with an average duration of approx-
imately three years and an interest rate sensitivity of CHF 8.0 

Group Treasury: Value-at-Risk (1-day, 95% confidence, 5 years of historical data)

CHF million

Interest rates

Foreign exchange

Diversification effect

Total management VaR

Year ended 31.12.09

Year ended 31.12.08

Min.

Max.

Average

31.12.09

Min.

Max.

Average

31.12.08

1

0
1

2

7

15
1

16

3

3

(1)

5

3

2

(1)

4

2

1
1

3

9

24
1

25

5

7

(3)

9

5

3

(2)

6

1 As the minimum and maximum occur on different days for different risk types, it is not meaningful to calculate a portfolio diversification effect.

million per basis point; in US dollars with an average dura-
tion of approximately four years and a sensitivity of CHF 7.1 
million per basis point; in euros with an average duration of 
approximately three years and a sensitivity of CHF 1.0 million 
per  basis  point;  and  in  UK  sterling  with  a  duration  of  ap-
proximately three years and a sensitivity of CHF 0.4 million 
per basis point. The interest rate sensitivity of these positions 
is directly related to the chosen duration – targeting signifi-
cantly shorter tenors would reduce the apparent interest rate 
sensitivity but would lead to greater fluctuations in interest 
income.

Corporate currency management

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Our corporate currency management activities are designed 
to reduce the impact of adverse currency fluctuations on our 
reported  financial  results,  given  regulatory  constraints.  We 
specifically  focus  on  three  principal  areas  of  currency  risk 
management: match funding and investment of non-Swiss 
franc assets and liabilities; sell-down of non-Swiss franc prof-
its  and  losses;  and  selective  hedging  of  anticipated  non-
Swiss franc profits and losses.

Match funding and investment of non-Swiss franc assets 
and liabilities
For monetary balance sheet items and non-core investments, 
we follow the principle of matching the currency of our as-
sets  with  the  same  currency  of  the  liabilities  which  fund 
them, as far as it is practical and efficient to do so. A US dol-
lar asset thus is typically funded in US dollars, while a euro 

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liability  is  typically  offset  by  an  asset  in  euros.  This  avoids 
profits  and  losses  arising  from  the  retranslation  of  foreign 
currency  assets  and  liabilities  at  the  prevailing  exchange 
rates to the Swiss franc at quarter ends. 

Sell-down of reported profits and losses
For  accounting  purposes,  reported  profit  and  losses  are 
translated  each  month  from  their  original  transaction  cur-
rencies into Swiss francs at exchange rates fixed at the pre-
vailing month end. In order to eliminate earnings volatility on 
the retranslation of previously recognized earnings in foreign 
currencies, Group Treasury centralizes the profits and losses 
arising in the parent bank and sells or buys them for Swiss 
francs. Our other operating entities follow a similar monthly 
sell-down  process  into  their  own  reporting  currencies.  Re-
tained  earnings  in  operating  entities  with  a  reporting  cur-
rency other than the Swiss franc are integrated and managed 
as part of our consolidated equity.

Hedging of anticipated future reported profits and losses
Our  corporate  currency  management  executes  a  dynamic 
and cost-efficient hedging strategy to protect anticipated fu-
ture profit and losses in foreign currencies against a negative 
impact of adverse trends of foreign exchange rates from one 
reporting  period  to  the  next.  At  any  point  in  time  Group 
Treasury may hedge according to market perception part or 
all of the anticipated next three months’ earnings. 
Although intended to hedge future earnings, these transac-
tions are accounted as open currency positions and are sub-
ject to internal market risk VaR and stress loss limits.

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Risk and treasury management
Treasury management

Capital management

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Sufficient capital must be available to support business ac-
tivities,  in  accordance  with  both  our  own  internal  assess-
ment  and  the  requirements  of  our  regulators,  in  particular 
our lead regulator FINMA.

We aim to maintain sound capital ratios at all times, and 
we therefore consider not only the current situation but also 
projected developments in both our capital base and capital 
requirements. The main tools by which we manage our cap-
ital ratios are active management of own shares, capital in-
struments, dividends, and risk-weighted assets (RWAs).

Capital adequacy management 

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Ensuring  compliance  with  minimum  regulatory  capital  re-
quirements and target capital ratios is central to capital ad-
equacy management. In this ongoing process, we manage 
towards  tier  1  and  total  capital  target  ratios.  In  the  target 
setting  process  we  take  into  account  the  regulatory  mini-
mum capital requirements, regulators’ expectations that we 
hold additional capital above minimum requirements, our in-
ternal  assessment  of  aggregate  risk  exposure  in  terms  of 
capital-at-risk, the views of rating agencies and comparisons 
with peer institutions considering our business mix and mar-
ket presence.

➔ Refer to the “Risk management and control“ section of this 

report for more information on earnings-at-risk and 

capital-at-risk

Regulatory requirements

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We  are  subject  to  FINMA  regulatory  capital  requirements, 
which result in higher RWA than under BIS guidelines. 

➔Refer to the additional capital management disclosure in 

the “Basel II Pillar 3” section of this report

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To  allow  for  comparability,  published  RWA  are  deter-
mined in accordance with the BIS guidelines. For the deter-
mination of the eligible capital, there are no differences be-
tween the BIS guidelines and FINMA regulations.

In 2009, we complied with all externally imposed capital 

requirements.

Regulatory developments
In July 2009, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision 
(the  Committee)  published  the  revised  Basel  II  market  risk 
framework and issued enhancements to the Basel II frame-
work. Swiss banks are expected to comply with the revised 
requirements by 1 January 2011.

The revisions to the Basel II market risk framework aim to 
address  perceived  shortcomings  in  the  current  VaR  frame-
work, most notably by introducing new capital requirements 
to incorporate effects of “stressed markets”. This is achieved 
by introducing a new incremental risk charge that accounts 
for default and migration risk of trading book positions and 
a stressed VaR requirement taking into account a one-year 
observation period relating to significant losses, which must 
be calculated in addition to the VaR based on the most re-
cent  one-year  observation  period.  Furthermore,  securitiza-
tion  positions,  even  though  held  for  trading,  will  attract 
banking book capital charges.

The enhanced Basel II framework introduces higher risk 
weights  for  resecuritization  exposures,  to  better  reflect 
the inherent risk in these products, and requires banks to 
conduct more rigorous credit analyses of externally rated 
securitization exposures. The Committee also issued valu-
ation  guidance  for  all  illiquid  positions  accounted  for  at 
fair value. 

Additionally,  the  Group  of  Central  Bank  Governors  and 
Heads of Supervision (the oversight body of the Committee) 
met  in  September  2009  to  review  a  comprehensive  set  of 
measures to strengthen the regulation, supervision and risk 
management of the banking sector. In December 2009, the 
Committee  issued  a  package  of  proposals  to  strengthen 
global  capital  and  liquidity  regulations  to  promote  a  more 
resilient banking sector. Based on the above, the Committee 
initiated a comprehensive impact assessment of the capital 
and liquidity standards, which will be carried out in the first 
half of 2010. The Committee will also consider appropriate 
transition and grandfathering arrangements. Together, these 
measures are intended to promote a better balance between 
financial  innovation,  economic  efficiency,  and  sustainable 
growth in the long run.

As  disclosed  in  our  2008  financial  report,  FINMA  intro-
duced  a  minimum  leverage  ratio  and  higher  target  capital 
ratios for the two largest Swiss banks. Public statements by 
FINMA officials and by the Swiss National Bank suggest that 
Swiss authorities are actively considering what further mea-
sures should be taken to reduce the systemic risk associated 
with Switzerland’s two largest banks, including measures re-
lating to capital, liquidity and structure. It would be prema-
ture to  conclude whether these considerations will lead to 
further changes, and what effect such changes might have 
on  our  business  and  strategic  direction.  We  continue  to 
monitor all regulatory developments and will take necessary 
steps as required.

152

BIS Capital ratios

UBS: BIS capital ratios¹  
In %

Basel I

Basel II

The BIS capital ratios compare eligible capital (tier 1 and total 
capital) with total RWA.

At year-end 2009, the tier 1 ratio amounted to 15.4% and 
the total capital ratio to 19.8%, up from 11.0% and 15.0%, 
respectively, on 31 December 2008. In this period, RWA de-
clined to CHF 206.5 billion from CHF 302.3 billion, while tier 
1 capital decreased to CHF 31.8 billion from CHF 33.2 billion. 
➔ Refer to the discussion on “Capital adequacy” and “Eligible 

capital” in this section for more information

Capital requirements 

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Our capital requirements are based on our consolidated fi-
nancial statements in accordance with IFRS, adjusted for reg-
ulatory differences. Under IFRS, subsidiaries and special pur-
pose entities that are directly or indirectly controlled by UBS 
must  be  consolidated,  whereas  for  regulatory  capital  pur-
poses, different consolidation principles apply. For example, 
subsidiaries  that  are  not  active  in  the  banking  and  finance 
business are not consolidated. 

➔ Refer to the additional capital management disclosure in 

the “Basel II Pillar 3” section of this report

On  31  December  2009  BIS  RWA  were  CHF  206.5  billion, 
compared  with  CHF  302.3  billion  at  year-end  2008.  The 
analysis by component is as follows:

Credit risk
RWA for credit risk amounted to CHF 140.5 billion on 31 De-
cember 2009, compared with CHF 222.6 billion on 31 De-
cember 2008. The reduction was primarily related to lower 
derivatives RWA of CHF 42.1 billion and reduced loan book 
RWA of CHF 25.8 billion. The loan book decrease occurred 
mainly in the Investment Bank and Wealth Management & 
Swiss Bank. Further, RWA declined for security finance trans-
actions,  committed  credit  lines  and  guarantees  as  well  as 
seed money exposures. In addition, a CHF 2.0 billion RWA 
reduction stemmed from the UBS Pactual sale.

➔ Refer to the “Credit risk” section of this report for more 

4
0
Q
1

4
0
Q
2

4
0
Q
3

4
0
Q
4

5
0
Q
1

5
0
Q
2

5
0
Q
3

5
0
Q
4

6
0
Q
1

6
0
Q
2

6
0
Q
3

6
0
Q
4

7
0
Q
1

7
0
Q
2

7
0
Q
3

7
0
Q
4

8
0
Q
1

8
0
Q
2

8
0
Q
3

8
0
Q
4

9
0
Q
1

9
0
Q
2

9
0
Q
3

9
0
Q
4

14.2

13.9

13.9

14.1

14.2

13.4

12

12.8

12.5

12.1

12.3

12.6

11.9

12.8

11.6

19.4

19.8

17.7

15.5

14.8

14.5 14.5

15.8

16.2

15.0 15.0

13.9

15.0 15.0 14.7

15.4

15.0

13.3

13.3

12.6

12.7

12.7

12.2 12.0

12.2

12.2

13.2

11.0

11.1

11.0

11.0

10.5

9.1

7.4

20

16

  8

  4

BIS tier 1 capital ratio

BIS total capital ratio

1 Prior to and including 4Q07 the capital ratios above are based on Basel I capital 
regulations, thereafter on Basel II rules.

3CM010_e

Non-counterparty related assets
RWA for non-counterparty related assets amounted to CHF 
7.0 billion on 31 December 2009, compared with CHF 7.4 
billion on 31 December 2008.

Market risk
In 2009, RWA for market risk decreased by CHF 14.8 billion 
to CHF 12.9 billion on 31 December 2009. This was due to 
the  inclusion  of  credit  valuation  adjustments  in  regulatory 
VaR,  reduced  risk  positions  in  the  trading  book  as  well  as 
lower regulatory VaR multipliers.

➔ Refer to the “Market risk” section of this report for 

further information

Operational risk
RWA for operational risk increased to CHF 46.1 billion on 31 
December 2009 from CHF 44.7 billion on 31 December 2008. 
This  was  related  to  the  recognition  of  the  US  cross-border 
case and the regular scenario recalibration of operational risk 
events during 2009, which were partly offset by comparably 
low other operational risk losses experienced during 2009.
➔ Refer to the “Operational risk” section of this report 

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information

for further information

153

 
 
 
Risk and treasury management
Treasury management

Eligible capital 

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Eligible capital, the capital available to support RWA, consists 
of tier 1 and tier 2 capital. To determine eligible tier 1 and total 
capital, specific adjustments must be made to equity attribut-
able to our shareholders as defined by IFRS and as shown on 
our balance sheet. The most notable adjustments are the de-
ductions for goodwill, intangible assets, investments in uncon-
solidated  entities  engaged  in  banking  and  financial  activities 
and own credit effects on liabilities designated at fair value. 

Tier 1 capital
BIS tier 1 capital amounted to CHF 31.8 billion on 31 Decem-
ber  2009,  down  from  CHF  33.2  billion  on  31  December 
2008. The decrease in BIS tier 1 capital of CHF 1.4 billion is 
attributable  to  the  CHF  2.7  billion  loss  recognized  under 
IFRS, CHF 1.8 billion of own shares related components, CHF 
2.8 billion capital impact related to coupon payments in con-
nection with the mandatory convertible notes (MCNs) issued 
in March 2008 and the MCNs issued in December 2008, of 
which the latter was redeemed in August 2009. Further CHF 
1.0 billion was due to changes in tier 1 deduction items and 
CHF 0.2 billion from other effects including FX. These nega-
tive impacts were partly offset by the CHF 3.8 billion share 
issuance in June 2009, an adjustment for capital purposes of 
CHF 2.1 billion for losses on own credit and the positive ef-
fect of CHF 1.2 billion from the sale of UBS Pactual.

Hybrid tier 1 capital
These instruments are perpetual and can only be redeemed 
if they are called by the issuer after having received regula-

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tory approval. The payment of interest is subject to compli-
ance  with  minimum  capital  ratios  and  other  requirements. 
Any missed payment is non-cumulative. As of 31 December 
2009,  our  hybrid  tier  1  instruments  amounted  to  CHF  7.2 
billion. Under IFRS, these instruments are accounted for as 
equity attributable to minority interests.

Tier 2 capital
These instruments consist mainly of our subordinated long-
term debt that ranks senior to both our shares and hybrid 
tier 1 instruments but is subordinated to all our senior obli-
gations. Tier 2 capital net of tier 2 deductions accounted for 
CHF 9.1 billion in total capital as of year-end 2009.

➔ Refer to the “Shares and capital instruments“ section of 

this report for details about our issuance of capital 

securities during 2009, including hybrid tier 1 instruments 

and tier 1 instruments

Transfer of capital within UBS Group
Under  Swiss  company  law,  UBS  is  organized  as  a  limited 
company, a corporation that has issued shares of common 
stock  to  investors.  UBS  AG  is  the  parent  company  of  UBS 
Group. The legal entity structure of the Group is designed to 
support our businesses within an efficient legal, tax, regula-
tory  and  funding  framework.  We  enter  into  intragroup 
transactions in order to provide funding and capital to indi-
vidual UBS entities. As of 31 December 2009, we were not 
aware  of  any  material  restrictions,  or  other  major  impedi-
ments, concerning the transfer of funds or regulatory capital 
within the Group apart from those which apply to these en-
tities by way of local laws and regulations.

Capital adequacy

CHF million, except where indicated

BIS tier 1 capital

of which: hybrid tier 1 capital

BIS total capital

BIS tier 1 capital ratio (%)

BIS total capital ratio (%)

BIS risk-weighted assets
of which: credit risk 1
of which: non-counterparty related risk

of which: market risk

of which: operational risk

1 Includes securitization exposures and equity exposures not part of the trading book and capital requirements for settlement risk (failed trades).

31.12.09

31.12.08

31,798

7,224

40,941

15.4

19.8

206,525

140,494

7,026

12,861

46,144

33,154

7,393

45,367

11.0

15.0

302,273

222,563

7,411

27,614

44,685

154

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Capital components

CHF million

BIS tier 1 capital prior to deductions

of which: paid-in share capital

of which: share premium, retained earnings, currency translation differences and other elements

of which: non-innovative hybrid tier 1 capital instruments

of which: innovative hybrid tier 1 capital instruments

Less: treasury shares / deduction for own shares 1
Less: goodwill & intangible assets
Less: other deduction items 2
BIS tier 1 capital

Upper tier 2 capital

Lower tier 2 capital
Less: other deduction items 2
BIS total capital

31.12.09

47,367

356

39,788

1,785

5,438

(2,424)

(11,008)

(2,138)

31,798

50

11,231

(2,138)

40,941

31.12.08

48,758

293

41,072

1,810

5,583

(1,488)

(12,950)

(1,167)

33,154

1,090

12,290

(1,167)

45,367

1 Consists of: i) net long position in own shares held for trading purposes; ii) own shares bought for unvested or upcoming share awards and iii) accrual build for upcoming share awards.    2 Positions 
to be deducted as 50% from tier 1 and 50% from total capital mainly consist of: net long position of non-consolidated participations in the finance sector; expected loss on advanced internal rating- based 
portfolio less general provisions (if difference is positive); expected loss for equities (simple risk weight method); first loss positions from securitization exposures.

IFRS equity to BIS tier 1 capital 

The  main  differences  between  IFRS  equity  attributable  to 
shareholders and tier 1 capital result from:
–  An increase in BIS share premium of which CHF 3.7 billion 
stems from the MCNs issued in March 2008 and the out-
standing accrual related to the MCN coupon of CHF 0.2 
billion.

–  The difference of CHF 1.2 billion in Net income recognized 
directly in equity, net of tax is due to fair value changes 
recorded  directly  in  equity  under  IFRS  from   Financial  in-
vestments available-for-sale and cash flow hedges (reduc-
tion of CHF 1.6 billion). This was partly offset by CHF 0.4 

billion of foreign currency translation differences due to a 
different regulatory scope of consolidation.

–  The increase of BIS share premium of CHF 3.7 billion re-
sulted  in  an  equivalent  reduction  of  the  IFRS  retained 
earnings which were reduced for gains on own credit net 
of tax of CHF 0.8 billion related to the application of the 
fair value option under IAS 39 and CHF 0.2 billion related 
to different regulatory scope of consolidation. 

–  Removing minority interests of CHF 0.3 billion for regula-

tory purposes not eligible as tier 1 capital.

–  A negative adjustment in Treasury shares / deduction for 
own shares of CHF 1.4 billion mainly due to accruals for 
upcoming share awards.

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Reconciliation of International Financial Reporting Standards equity to BIS tier 1 capital

CHF million

Share capital

Share premium

Net income recognized directly in equity, net of tax

Revaluation reserve from step acquisitions, net of tax

Retained earnings

Equity classified as obligation to purchase own shares

Equity attributable to minority interests
Treasury shares / deduction for own shares 2
Total equity / gross tier 1 including MCNs and hybrid tier 1 instruments

Less: goodwill, intangible assets and other deduction items

Less: accrual for expected future dividend payments

Eligible BIS tier 1 capital

31.12.09

IFRS view 1 Reconciliation items
0

356

34,786

(4,875)

38

11,751

(2)

7,620

(1,040)

48,633

3,888

(1,214)

0

(4,687)

2

(295)

(1,384)

(3,690)

BIS view

356

38,674

(6,089)

38

7,064

0

7,325

(2,424)

44,944
(13,146) 3

0

31,798

1 International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).    2 Generally, treasury shares are fully deducted from equity under IFRS, whereas for capital adequacy purposes this position covers the following: 
i) net long position in own shares held for trading purposes; ii) own shares bought for unvested or upcoming share awards; and iii) accrual build for upcoming share awards.    3 “Other deduction items” 
include primarily 50% of the deductions for net long position of non-consolidated participations in the finance sector, expected loss on advanced internal rating-based approach portfolio less general 
provisions (if difference is positive); expected loss for equities (simple risk weight method); first loss positions from securitization exposures.

155

 
 
 
Risk and treasury management
Treasury management

FINMA leverage ratio

As disclosed in our 2008 financial report, FINMA introduced 
a minimum leverage ratio of 3% on Group level and expects 
that, in normal times, the ratio will be well above this. The 
FINMA leverage ratio is being progressively implemented un-
til it is fully applicable on 1 January 2013. 

On  31  December  2009,  our  Group  FINMA  leverage  ratio 
improved  to  3.93%,  compared  with  the  31  December  2008 
ratio of 2.45%. During the year, average total assets prior to 
deductions  decreased  by  CHF  785.5  billion,  or  36%,  to  CHF 
1,426.2 billion as a result of our continued efforts to reduce the 
balance sheet size. The reduction in average total adjusted as-
sets was even more pronounced, falling by 40% to CHF 809.4 
billion, more than compensating for the 4% decrease in BIS tier 
1 capital (as discussed earlier within this section). The table be-
low shows the FINMA leverage ratio calculation for the Group.

Equity attribution framework 

In first quarter 2008, we implemented a new framework for 
attributing equity capital to our businesses. This reflects our 
overarching objectives of maintaining a strong capital base 
and guiding businesses towards activities with the best bal-
ance among profit potential, risk and capital usage. Within 
this framework, the Group Asset and Liability Management 
Committee (Group ALCO) attributes equity to the businesses 
after considering their risk exposure, asset size, goodwill and 
intangible assets.

The design of the equity attribution framework enables 

us to:
–  Calculate and assess return on attributed equity (RoaE) in 
each of our businesses. RoaE and return on BIS RWA are 
disclosed for all business groups and units.

–  Integrate Group-wide capital management activities with 

those at business group and business unit levels. 

–  Measure performance in a consistent manner across busi-

ness divisions and business units. 

–  Make  better  comparisons  between  our  businesses  and 

those of competitors.
The framework operates as follows: First, each business is 
attributed an amount of equity equal to the average book 
value of goodwill and intangible assets, as reported for that 
business division or business unit according to IFRS. Next, the 
Group  ALCO  considers  a  number  of  factors  that  drive  re-
quired capital, including:
–  Equity requirements based on aggregated risk exposure, 
including the potential for losses exceeding our earnings 
capacity as defined by the firm’s risk-based capital. At cer-
tain other institutions, this factor is referred to as “Eco-
nomic Capital”.

–  Regulatory capital requirements which are based on RWA 

usage of the businesses.

–  The asset size of the businesses is capitalized with a spe-

cific leverage ratio.
After reviewing the results of this formulaic approach, the 
Group ALCO makes adjustments to the final tangible equity 

FINMA leverage ratio calculation

CHF billion, except where indicated
Total assets (IFRS) prior to deductions 1
Less: netting of replacement values 2
Less: loans to Swiss clients (excluding banks) 3
Less: cash and balances with central banks
Less: other 4
Total adjusted assets

BIS tier 1 capital (at year-end)

FINMA leverage ratio (%)

Average 4Q09

Average 4Q08

1,426.2

(420.9)

(161.4)

(22.1)

(12.4)

809.4

31.8

3.93

2,211.7

(653.5)

(165.5)

(26.0)

(14.6)

1,352.1

33.2

2.45

1 Total assets are calculated as the average of the month-end values for the three months in the calculation period.    2 Includes the impact of netting agreements (including cash collateral) in accordance 
with Swiss Federal Banking law, based on the IFRS scope of consolidation.    3 Includes mortgage loans to international clients for properties located in Switzerland.    4 Refer to the “Capital components” 
table in this section for more information on deductions of assets from BIS tier 1 capital.

156

attribution to reflect the amount of equity it believes is ap-
propriate for each business. This assessment is based on the 
expectations of the business’s clients and the business envi-
ronment, including allowing for sufficient capital to support 
the business’s underlying risks and sustain extreme stress sce-
narios. The amount of equity attributed to all the businesses 
corresponds  to  the  amount  that  we  believe  is  required  to 
maintain  a  strong  capital  base  and  support  our  businesses 
adequately. If the total equity attributed to the businesses dif-
fers from the Group’s actual equity during a particular period, 
the surplus or deficit is reflected in the Corporate Center.

The amount of equity attributed to each division is an im-
portant input into the calculation of economic profit for that 
division.  That  is,  broadly  speaking,  economic  profit  equals 
profits minus attributed equity multiplied by cost of equity.

As outlined in the table “Average attributed equity”, the 
amount of average equity attributed to the Investment Bank 
was reduced by CHF 2.0 billion due to lower risk exposures 
from fourth quarter 2008 to fourth quarter 2009. During the 
same period, the average equity attributed to Wealth Man-
agement Americas decreased by CHF 1 billion, while Global 
Asset Management’s average attributed equity was reduced 
by CHF 0.5 billion.

If equity attributable to minority interests (which primarily 
consists of tier 1 capital instruments issued by us) were in-
cluded, then our total equity would roughly equal the equity 
attributed  to  the  business  divisions,  as  shown  in  the  table 
below.

Average attributed equity

CHF billion

Wealth Management & Swiss Bank

Wealth Management Americas

Global Asset Management

Investment Bank

Corporate Center

Surplus / (Deficit)

Average equity attributable to UBS shareholders

Average excess total equity

CHF billion

Average equity attributable to UBS shareholders

Average equity attributable to minority interests

Pro forma average total equity

Average equity attributed to business divisions and CC

Average excess total equity

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4Q09

4Q08

9.0

8.0

2.5

24.0

1.0

(4.2)

40.3

4Q09

40.3

7.7

47.9

44.5

3.4

9.0

9.0

3.0

26.0

1.0

(8.5)

39.5

4Q08

39.5

8.2

47.7

48.0

(0.3)

157

 
 
 
Risk and treasury management
Treasury management

Shares and capital instruments

Shares 

UBS shares and tier 1 capital
The majority of our tier 1 capital comprises share premium 
and retained earnings attributed to UBS shareholders. As of 
31  December  2009,  total  IFRS  equity  attributable  to  our 
shareholders amounted to CHF 41,013 million, and was rep-
resented by a total of 3,558,112,753 issued UBS shares, of 
which 37,553,872 (1.1%) were held by us. Each share has a 
par value of CHF 0.10, and entitles the holder to one vote at 
the shareholders’ meeting and to a proportionate share of 
the  dividend  that  is  distributed.  There  are  no  preferential 
rights for shareholders and no other classes of shares are is-
sued by the Parent Bank directly.

In  2009,  the  shares  issued  were  increased  by  a  total  of 
625,532,204. This increase was due to the issuance of new-
ly created shares for a share placement with institutional in-
vestors in June (293,258,050 shares placed at CHF 13 each), 
the early conversion of MCNs by the Swiss Confederation in 
August (332,225,913 shares) plus a small number of exer-
cises of employee options (48,241 shares). Under Swiss com-
pany  law,  shareholders  must  approve  in  a  shareholders’ 
meeting any increase in the total number of issued shares, 
which may arise from an ordinary share capital increase or 
the creation of conditional or authorized capital. The table 

below lists all shareholder-approved issuance of shares in ex-
istence  as  per  year  end  2009.  We  have  as  an  objective  to 
source growth and dividends from retained earnings and not 
to dilute shares by the issuance of additional shares unless it 
is warranted by stressed financial market conditions or from 
regulators. 

Holding of UBS shares 

We hold own shares for two main purposes: in Group Trea-
sury  to  cover  employee  share  and  option  programs  and  in 
the  Investment  Bank,  to  a  limited  extent,  for  trading  pur-
poses where it engages in market-making activities in UBS 
shares and related derivative products.

The holding of treasury shares on 31 December 2009 de-
creased  to  37,553,872  or  1.1%  of  shares  issued,  from 
61,903,121 or 2.1% on the same date one year prior.

In 2009, a limited number of employee options were ex-
ercised  and  an  additional  88.7  million  new  options  were 
granted. As of 31 December 2009, 27.7 million shares were 
available  to  cover  employee  share  delivery  obligations  and 
an  additional  150  million  unissued  shares  in  conditional 
share capital are assigned to cover future employee option 
exercises. At year-end 2009, the shares available covered all 
exercisable in-the-money employee obligations.

Shares issued

Number of shares

Balance at the beginning of the year

Issue of shares for capital increase (conversion December 2008 MCN)

Issue of shares for capital increase (share placement)

Issue of shares for employee options

Balance at the end of the year

Shareholder-approved issuance of shares

Authorized capital

Capital increase

Conditional capital

March 2008 mandatory convertible notes

SNB warrants

Employee equity participation plans of UBS AG

Employee stock ownership plan of former PaineWebber

158

For the year ended

31.12.09

2,932,580,549

332,225,913

293,258,050

48,241

3,558,112,753

Maximum number of 
shares to be issued

Year approved by 
shareholder general 
meeting

% of shares issued 
31.12.09

5,001,246

277,750,000

100,000,000

149,994,296

29,350

2008

2008

2009

2006

2000

0.14

7.81

2.81

4.22

0.00

The presentation in the table below shows the purchase 
of our shares by treasury and does not include activities of 
the Investment Bank.

notes will expire on 5 March 2010, leading to the expected 
issuance of 272,651,005 shares from conditional capital to 
the holders of the mandatory convertible notes. 

Treasury shares held by the Investment Bank
The Investment Bank, acting as liquidity provider to the eq-
uity  index  futures  market  and  as  a  market  maker  in  our 
shares  and  derivatives,  has  issued  derivatives  linked  to  our 
stock. Most of these instruments are classified as cash-set-
tled  derivatives  and  are  primarily  issued  to  meet  client  de-
mand and for trading purposes. To hedge the economic ex-
posure,  a  limited  number  of  our  shares  are  held  by  the 
Investment Bank.

Capital instruments 

Mandatory convertible notes
As part of the measures taken to strengthen our capital base 
in  2008,  we  issued  two  MCNs,  with  principal  amounts  of 
CHF 13 billion in private placements with two financial inves-
tors and CHF 6 billion to the Swiss Confederation. 

The CHF 6 billion issued to the Swiss Confederation was 
converted early into 332,225,913 UBS shares on 25 August 
2009,  whereas  the  remaining  CHF  13  billion  convertible 

Hybrid tier 1 capital
Hybrid tier 1 instruments represent innovative and non-in-
novative  perpetual  instruments.  They  are  accounted  for 
under minority interests in the IFRS equity. We did not issue 
hybrid  tier  1  instruments  in  2009.  As  of  31  December 
2009, we have CHF 7,224 million of such instruments in 
various  currencies  outstanding.  Hybrid  tier  1  instruments 
are perpetual instruments which can only be redeemed if 
they are called by the issuer. If such a call is not exercised at 
the respective call date, the terms might include a change 
from fixed to floating coupon payments and, in the case of 
innovative instruments only, a limited step-up of the inter-
est rate. Non-innovative instruments do not have a step-up 
of the interest rate and are therefore viewed as having a 
higher equity characteristic for regulatory capital purposes. 
The  instruments  are  issued  either  through  trusts  or  our 
subsidiaries  and  rank  senior  to  our  shares  in  dissolution. 
Payments under the instruments are subject to adherence 
to our minimum capital ratios. Any missed payment is non-
cumulative. 

Treasury share activities

Month of purchase

January 2009

February 2009

March 2009

April 2009

May 2009

June 2009

July 2009

August 2009

September 2009

October 2009

November 2009

December 2009

Treasury shares purchased for employee share 
and option participation plans and acquisitions 1

Number of shares

Average price in CHF

Total number of shares

Number of shares 
(cumulative)

Average price in CHF

0

4,982,914

15,000,000

0

0

0

0

672,876

2,661,037

0

0

1,050,000

0.00

10.93

12.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

16.02

18.85

0.00

0.00

16.03

0

4,982,914

19,982,914

19,982,914

19,982,914

19,982,914

19,982,914

20,655,790

23,316,827

23,316,827

23,316,827

24,366,827

0.00

10.93

11.73

11.73

11.73

11.73

11.73

11.87

12.67

12.67

12.67

12.81

1 This table excludes market-making and related hedging purchases by UBS. The table also excludes UBS shares purchased by investment funds managed by us for clients in accordance with specified 
investment strategies that are established by each fund manager acting independently of UBS; and also excludes UBS shares purchased by pension and retirement benefit plans for our employees, which 
are managed by a board of UBS management and employee representatives in accordance with Swiss law guidelines. UBS’s pension and retirement benefit plans purchased 1,391,350 UBS shares dur-
ing the year and held 4,095,850 UBS shares as at 31 December 2009. 

Conversion price and number of shares

MCNs

Coupon

9%

Amount 
(CHF billion)

Issuance date

Conversion period / maturity

13

5 March 2008

6 September 2008

5 March 2010

Conversion price per  
UBS share (CHF)
47.68 1

Conversion into  
number of UBS shares

272,651,005

1 Adjusted for dilution effects on the capital increase in June 2009.

159

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Risk and treasury management
Treasury management

Tier 2 capital
The major element in tier 2 capital consists of subordinat-
ed long-term debt. Tier 2 instruments have been issued in 
various  currencies  and  with  a  range  of  maturities  across 
capital markets globally. They accounted for CHF 11,231 
million in total capital as of year-end 2009. Tier 2 instru-
ments rank senior to both our shares and to hybrid tier 1 
instruments but are subordinated to all our senior obliga-
tions.

Distributions to shareholders

The decision whether to pay a dividend, and the level of the 
dividend, are dependent on our targeted capital ratios and 
its cash flow generation. In line with Swiss law, a dividend 
may only be paid out of an annual profit. The decision on 
dividend  payments  is  proposed  by  the  BoD  to  the  share-
holders and is subject to their approval at the Annual Gen-
eral Meeting. The BoD has decided not to propose any div-
idend for the financial year 2009.

160

UBS shares in 2009

UBS share price chart vs DJ Banks Titans 30 Index
in % 

1 January 2007 – 31 December 2009

125

100

 75

 50

 25

   0

1Q07

2Q07

3Q07

4Q07

1Q08

2Q08

3Q08

4Q08

1Q09

2Q09

3Q09

4Q09

UBS registered share CHF

DJ Banks Titans 30 Index CHF

For current share price refer to: www.ubs.com/quotes

UBS  shares  are  listed  on  the  SIX  Swiss  Exchange,  the  New 
York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Tokyo Stock Exchange 
(TSE). Only a small volume of UBS shares has been traded on 
the TSE in recent years. On 4 February 2010 UBS AG’s Board 
of Directors decided to delist the firm’s shares from the TSE. 
Pending the TSE’s approval of the delisting application, we 
expect de-listing to take place in the second quarter of 2010.
➔ Refer to the “Capital structure“ section of this report for 

more information on UBS shares including par value, type 

and rights of security

Over the course of 2009, UBS shares rose 8% on the SIX 
Swiss Exchange and 11% in US dollar terms on the NYSE, 

underperforming the global banking sector as measured by 
the  Dow  Jones  Banks  Titans  Index  which  increased  35%. 
The MSCI World and the S&P 500 were up 28% and 26%, 
respectively.

Share liquidity

During 2009, the daily average volume in UBS shares on the 
SIX Swiss Exchange was 20.3 million shares. On the NYSE, it 
was 0.9 million shares. The SIX Swiss Exchange trades a high-
er volume of UBS shares, and as such, it is expected to remain 
the main factor determining the movement in our share price.

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(cid:47)(cid:67)(cid:84)(cid:77)(cid:71)(cid:86)(cid:2)(cid:69)(cid:67)(cid:82)(cid:75)(cid:86)(cid:67)(cid:78)(cid:75)(cid:92)(cid:67)(cid:86)(cid:75)(cid:81)(cid:80)(cid:19)(cid:124)(cid:2)
(cid:37)(cid:42)(cid:40)(cid:2)(cid:68)(cid:75)(cid:78)(cid:78)(cid:75)(cid:81)(cid:80)

(cid:21)(cid:19)(cid:19)(cid:21)(cid:3)

(cid:21)(cid:19)(cid:19)(cid:22)(cid:3)

(cid:21)(cid:19)(cid:19)(cid:23)(cid:3)

(cid:21)(cid:19)(cid:19)(cid:24)(cid:3)

(cid:21)(cid:19)(cid:19)(cid:25)(cid:3)

(cid:21)(cid:19)(cid:19)(cid:26)(cid:3)

(cid:21)(cid:19)(cid:19)(cid:27)(cid:3)

(cid:20)(cid:18)(cid:18)(cid:27)

(cid:20)(cid:25)(cid:19)

(cid:20)(cid:21)(cid:19)

(cid:3)(cid:27)(cid:19)

(cid:3)(cid:23)(cid:19)

(cid:3)(cid:3)(cid:3)(cid:19)

(cid:19)(cid:23)(cid:22)

(cid:19)(cid:21)(cid:20)

(cid:19)(cid:18)(cid:27)

(cid:19)(cid:18)(cid:22)

(cid:27)(cid:23)

(cid:25)(cid:27)

(cid:23)(cid:25)

(cid:22)(cid:22)

(cid:19)(cid:2)(cid:48)(cid:68)(cid:85)(cid:78)(cid:72)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:70)(cid:68)(cid:83)(cid:76)(cid:87)(cid:68)(cid:79)(cid:76)(cid:93)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:76)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:76)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:70)(cid:68)(cid:79)(cid:70)(cid:88)(cid:79)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:72)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:69)(cid:68)(cid:86)(cid:72)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:82)(cid:87)(cid:68)(cid:79)(cid:3)(cid:56)(cid:37)(cid:54)(cid:3)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:71)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:68)(cid:85)(cid:92)(cid:3)(cid:86)(cid:75)(cid:68)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:76)(cid:86)(cid:86)(cid:88)(cid:72)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:80)(cid:88)(cid:79)(cid:87)(cid:76)(cid:83)(cid:79)(cid:76)(cid:72)(cid:71)(cid:3)
(cid:69)(cid:92)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:56)(cid:37)(cid:54)(cid:3)(cid:86)(cid:75)(cid:68)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:83)(cid:85)(cid:76)(cid:70)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:83)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:76)(cid:82)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:72)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:17)(cid:3)(cid:55)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:82)(cid:87)(cid:68)(cid:79)(cid:3)(cid:56)(cid:37)(cid:54)(cid:3)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:71)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:68)(cid:85)(cid:92)(cid:3)(cid:86)(cid:75)(cid:68)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:76)(cid:86)(cid:86)(cid:88)(cid:72)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:82)(cid:73)(cid:3)(cid:22)(cid:20)(cid:3)(cid:39)(cid:72)(cid:70)(cid:72)(cid:80)(cid:69)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:3)
(cid:21)(cid:19)(cid:19)(cid:28)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:82)(cid:73)(cid:3)(cid:22)(cid:20)(cid:3)(cid:39)(cid:72)(cid:70)(cid:72)(cid:80)(cid:69)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:3)(cid:21)(cid:19)(cid:19)(cid:27)(cid:3)(cid:71)(cid:82)(cid:3)(cid:81)(cid:82)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:387)(cid:72)(cid:70)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:21)(cid:26)(cid:21)(cid:17)(cid:26)(cid:3)(cid:80)(cid:76)(cid:79)(cid:79)(cid:76)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:56)(cid:37)(cid:54)(cid:3)(cid:86)(cid:75)(cid:68)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:82)(cid:3)(cid:69)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:76)(cid:86)(cid:86)(cid:88)(cid:72)(cid:71)(cid:3)
(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:85)(cid:82)(cid:88)(cid:74)(cid:75)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:70)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:89)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:86)(cid:76)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:82)(cid:73)(cid:3)(cid:80)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:92)(cid:3)(cid:70)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:89)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:87)(cid:76)(cid:69)(cid:79)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:81)(cid:82)(cid:87)(cid:72)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:83)(cid:79)(cid:68)(cid:70)(cid:72)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:90)(cid:76)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:90)(cid:82)(cid:3)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:89)(cid:72)(cid:86)(cid:87)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:48)(cid:68)(cid:85)(cid:70)(cid:75)(cid:3)
(cid:21)(cid:19)(cid:19)(cid:27)(cid:17)(cid:3)(cid:44)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:71)(cid:71)(cid:76)(cid:87)(cid:76)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:15)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:82)(cid:87)(cid:68)(cid:79)(cid:3)(cid:56)(cid:37)(cid:54)(cid:3)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:71)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:68)(cid:85)(cid:92)(cid:3)(cid:86)(cid:75)(cid:68)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:82)(cid:73)(cid:3)(cid:22)(cid:20)(cid:3)(cid:39)(cid:72)(cid:70)(cid:72)(cid:80)(cid:69)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:3)(cid:21)(cid:19)(cid:19)(cid:27)(cid:3)(cid:71)(cid:82)(cid:3)(cid:81)(cid:82)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:387)(cid:72)(cid:70)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)
(cid:22)(cid:22)(cid:21)(cid:17)(cid:21)(cid:3)(cid:80)(cid:76)(cid:79)(cid:79)(cid:76)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:86)(cid:75)(cid:68)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:76)(cid:86)(cid:86)(cid:88)(cid:72)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:85)(cid:82)(cid:88)(cid:74)(cid:75)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:70)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:89)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:86)(cid:76)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:82)(cid:73)(cid:3)(cid:80)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:92)(cid:3)(cid:70)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:89)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:87)(cid:76)(cid:69)(cid:79)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:81)(cid:82)(cid:87)(cid:72)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:76)(cid:86)(cid:86)(cid:88)(cid:72)(cid:71)(cid:3)
(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:39)(cid:72)(cid:70)(cid:72)(cid:80)(cid:69)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:3)(cid:21)(cid:19)(cid:19)(cid:27)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:70)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:89)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:87)(cid:72)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:36)(cid:88)(cid:74)(cid:88)(cid:86)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:21)(cid:19)(cid:19)(cid:28)(cid:17)(cid:3)(cid:53)(cid:72)(cid:73)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:82)(cid:3)(cid:340)(cid:49)(cid:82)(cid:87)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:27)(cid:3)(cid:40)(cid:68)(cid:85)(cid:81)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:74)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:83)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:3)(cid:86)(cid:75)(cid:68)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:11)(cid:40)(cid:51)(cid:54)(cid:12)(cid:3)
(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:86)(cid:75)(cid:68)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:82)(cid:88)(cid:87)(cid:86)(cid:87)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:74)(cid:341)(cid:3)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:340)(cid:41)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:70)(cid:76)(cid:68)(cid:79)(cid:3)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:73)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:80)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:76)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:341)(cid:3)(cid:86)(cid:72)(cid:70)(cid:87)(cid:76)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:82)(cid:73)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:76)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:83)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:73)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:3)(cid:80)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:3)
(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:73)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:80)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:76)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:17)(cid:3)

Ticker symbols

Trading exchange

SIX Swiss Exchange

New York Stock Exchange

Tokyo Stock Exchange

Bloomberg

Reuters

UBSN VX

UBS US

8657 JP

UBSN.VX

UBS.N

8657.T

Security identification codes

ISIN

Valoren

Cusip
(cid:21)(cid:37)(cid:47)(cid:18)(cid:20)(cid:21)(cid:65)(cid:71)

CH0024899483

2.489.948

CINS H89231 33 8

161

(cid:16)(cid:21)(cid:15)

(cid:16)(cid:17)(cid:15)

(cid:23)(cid:15)

(cid:19)(cid:15)

(cid:15)

125.00

93.75

62.50

31.25

0.00

 
 
 
Risk and treasury management
Treasury management

During the hours in which both the SIX Swiss Exchange 
and  NYSE  are  simultaneously  open  for  trading  (currently 
3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Central European Time), price dif-
ferences  are  likely  to  be  arbitraged  away  by  professional 
market-makers.  The  NYSE  price  will  therefore  typically  be 
expected to depend on both the SIX Swiss Exchange price 

and  the  prevailing  US  dollar / Swiss  franc  exchange  rate. 
When the SIX Swiss Exchange is closed for trading, traded 
volumes will typically be lower. However, the specialist firm 
making a market in UBS shares on the NYSE is required to 
facilitate sufficient liquidity and maintain an orderly market 
in UBS shares.

UBS share data

Registered shares

Total ordinary shares issued

Treasury shares

Weighted average shares (for basic EPS calculations)

Weighted average shares (for diluted EPS calculations)

CHF

Earnings per share (EPS)

Basic EPS

Basic EPS from continuing operations

Diluted EPS

Diluted EPS from continuing operations

UBS shares and market capitalization

Share price (CHF)
Market capitalization (CHF million) 1

31.12.09

As of

31.12.08

31.12.07

3,558,112,753

2,932,580,549

2,073,547,344

37,553,872

61,903,121

158,105,524

3,661,086,266

2,792,023,098

2,182,836,078

3,661,841,214

2,793,174,654

2,184,303,404

For the year ended

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

(0.75)

(0.74)

(0.75)

(0.74)

(7.63)

(7.68)

(7.63)

(7.69)

(2.40)

(2.59)

(2.41)

(2.59)

31.12.09

16.05

57,108

As of

31.12.08

14.84

43,519

31.12.07

46.60

108,654

% change from

31.12.08

8

31

1 Market capitalization is calculated based on the total UBS ordinary shares issued multiplied by the UBS share price at period end. The total UBS ordinary shares issued as of 31 December 2009 and as 
of 31 December 2008 do not reflect the 272.7 million UBS shares to be issued through the conversion of mandatory convertible notes placed with two investors in March 2008. In addition, the total 
UBS ordinary shares as of 31 December  2008 do not reflect the 332.2 million shares issued through the conversion of mandatory convertible notes issued in December 2008 and converted in August 
2009. Refer to “Note 8 Earnings per share (EPS) and shares outstanding” in the “Financial information” section of this report for more information.

31.12.09

5,105,358

20,340

222,052

881

For the year ended

31.12.08

7,174,486

28,584

539,856

2,134

31.12.07

4,079,863

16,451

304,446

1,213

Source: Thomson Reuters

Trading volumes

1000 shares

SIX Swiss Exchange total

SIX Swiss Exchange daily average

NYSE total

NYSE daily average

162

Stock exchange prices 1

SIX Swiss Exchange

New York Stock Exchange

High (CHF)

Low (CHF)

Period end (CHF)

High (USD)

Low (USD)

Period end (USD)

2009

Fourth quarter 2009

December

November

October

Third quarter 2009

September

August

July

Second quarter 2009

June

May

April

First quarter 2009

March

February

January

2008

Fourth quarter 2008

Third quarter 2008

Second quarter 2008

First quarter 2008

2007

Fourth quarter 2007

Third quarter 2007

Second quarter 2007

First quarter 2007

2006

Fourth quarter 2006

Third quarter 2006

Second quarter 2006

First quarter 2006

2005

Fourth quarter 2005

Third quarter 2005

Second quarter 2005

First quarter 2005

19.65

19.34

16.67

17.86

19.34

19.65

19.64

19.65

15.94

17.51

16.40

17.51

16.27

17.00

13.69

14.33

17.00

45.98

24.00

25.76

35.11

45.98

71.95

61.05

66.88

71.55

71.95

71.06

71.06

66.52

66.97

64.05

56.39

56.39

49.84

45.68

46.70

8.20

14.76

15.56

14.76

16.90

12.50

17.66

14.95

12.50

10.56

12.95

14.12

10.56

8.20

8.20

9.35

11.22

10.67

10.67

15.18

20.96

21.52

42.69

42.69

53.67

63.72

59.76

53.23

62.88

53.23

54.31

55.60

41.19

46.52

43.60

41.37

41.19

16.05

16.05

16.05

15.58

17.30

18.97

18.97

19.54

15.61

13.29

13.29

15.93

15.95

10.70

10.70

11.06

14.64

14.84

14.84

18.46

21.44

25.67

46.60

46.60

55.67

65.46

64.21

65.86

65.86

66.52

59.32

63.39

55.38

55.38

48.69

44.27

44.71

19.31

19.18

16.49

17.60

19.18

19.31

19.31

18.55

14.80

15.82

15.82

15.82

14.25

15.31

12.35

12.37

15.31

46.40

21.30

23.07

36.02

46.40

66.26

58.01

62.34

66.26

64.30

63.39

63.39

59.77

61.70

55.55

49.30

49.30

43.49

43.06

45.10

7.06

15.03

15.03

15.36

16.47

11.25

16.64

14.10

11.25

9.40

12.17

12.92

9.40

7.06

7.06

8.08

10.00

8.33

8.33

12.22

20.41

22.33

43.50

43.50

49.84

58.73

55.40

48.34

58.50

48.34

49.36

48.66

38.47

40.73

38.55

38.47

39.61

1 Historical share price adjusted for the rights issue and stock dividend 2008.

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15.51

15.51

15.51

15.69

16.59

18.31

18.31

18.32

14.74

12.21

12.21

15.03

13.64

9.43

9.43

9.05

12.45

14.30

14.30

17.54

20.66

28.80

46.00

46.00

53.25

60.01

59.43

60.33

60.33

59.31

54.85

54.99

47.58

47.58

42.75

38.93

42.20

163

 
 
 
Risk and treasury management
Basel II Pillar 3

Basel II Pillar 3

Introduction

We operate under the Basel II capital adequacy framework. 
This  framework  consists  of  three  pillars,  each  of  which  fo-
cuses on a different aspect of capital adequacy. Pillar 1 pro-
vides a framework for measuring minimum capital require-
ments for the credit, market and operational risks faced by 
banks. Pillar 2 addresses the principles of the supervisory re-
view  process,  emphasizing  the  need  for  a  qualitative  ap-
proach to supervising banks. The aim of Basel II Pillar 3 is to 
encourage market discipline by requiring banks to publish a 
range of disclosures on risk and capital. 

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) 
requires us to publish comprehensive quantitative and quali-
tative Pillar 3 disclosures at least annually, as well as an up-
date of quantitative disclosures and any significant changes 
to qualitative information at least semi-annually.

This section presents our Basel II Pillar 3 disclosures as of 
31 December 2009 and consists mainly of quantitative disclo-
sures complemented with explanatory texts where needed.

➔ Qualitative disclosures related to our risk management and 
control, definitions and risk exposures as well as to capital 

management can be found in the “Risk management and 

control” and “Treasury management” sections of this report

Overview of disclosures

The following table provides an overview of our Basel II Pillar 3 disclosures:

Basel II Pillar 3 requirement
Capital structure

Capital adequacy

Disclosure in the annual report
“Capital management” section of this report

“Capital management” and “Basel II Pillar 3” sections of this report

Risk management objectives, policies and methodologies (qualitative disclosures)

“Risk management and control” section of this report

Credit risk

Investment positions

Market risk

Securitization

Operational risk

Interest rate risk in the banking book

“Basel II Pillar 3” section of this report

“Basel II Pillar 3” section of this report

“Risk management and control” section of this report

“Basel II Pillar 3” section of this report

“Risk management and control” section of this report

“Basel II Pillar 3” section of this report

Description of risk exposure measures and  
capital requirements

Additional capital management disclosures

In  certain  cases,  our  Pillar  3  disclosures  may  differ  from  the 
way we manage our risks and how these risks are disclosed in 
our quarterly reports and in other sections of this annual re-
port. The naming conventions for the “Exposure segments” 
used in the following tables are based on the Bank for Inter-
national Settlements (BIS) rules and differ from those under 
Swiss  and  EU  regulations.  For  example,  “Sovereigns”  under 
the BIS naming convention equate to “Central governments 
and central banks” as used under the Swiss and EU regula-
tions. Similarly, “Banks” equate to “Institutions” and “Resi-
dential mortgages” equate to “Claims secured on residential 
real estate.” The table on the next page provides a more de-
tailed summary of the approaches we use for the main risk 
categories for the determination of regulatory capital. 

Although  we  determine  published  risk-weighted  assets 
(RWA)  according  to  the  Basel  II  Capital  Accord  (BIS  guide-
lines), our calculation of the regulatory capital requirement is 
based on the regulations of FINMA, which are more conser-
vative and therefore resulting in higher RWA.

Generally, the scope of consolidation for purposes of cal-
culating  these  regulatory  capital  requirements  follows  the 
IFRS consolidation rules for subsidiaries directly or indirectly 
controlled by UBS AG which are active in the banking and 
finance business, but excludes subsidiaries in other sectors. 
The significant operating subsidiary companies in the Group 
consolidated for IFRS purposes are listed in “Note 34 Signifi-
cant subsidiaries and associates” in the “Financial informa-
tion” section of this report. More specifically, the main differ-
ences  in  the  basis  of  consolidation  for  IFRS  and  regulatory 

164

Category
Credit risk

UBS approach
Under the Advanced Internal Ratings Based (Advanced IRB) approach applied for the majority of our businesses, credit risk 
weights are determined by reference to internal counterparty ratings and loss given default estimates. We use internal 
models, approved by FINMA, to measure the credit risk exposures to third parties on over-the-counter derivatives and 
repurchase-style (repo-style) transactions. For a subset of our credit portfolio, we apply the Standardized approach, based on 
external ratings.

Non-counterparty related risk

Non-counterparty related assets such as our premises, other properties and equipment require capital underpinning according 
to prescribed regulatory risk weights.

Settlement risk

Capital requirements for failed transactions are determined according to the rules for failed trades and non-delivery-versus-
payment transactions under the BIS Basel II framework.

Equity exposures outside trading book

Simple risk weight method under the IRB approach.

Market risk

Operational risk

Securitization exposures

Regulatory capital requirement is derived from our Value at Risk (VaR) model, which is approved by FINMA.

We developed a model to quantify operational risk, which meets the regulatory capital standard under the Basel II Advanced 
Measurement Approach (AMA).

Securitization exposures in the banking book are assessed using the Ratings Based approach under the IRB, applying risk 
weights based on external ratings.

capital purposes relate to the following entity types and ap-
ply regardless of our level of control:
–  Real estate and commercial companies as well as collec-
tive investment schemes are not consolidated for regula-
tory capital purposes but are risk-weighted.

–  Insurance companies are not consolidated for regulatory 

The “Detailed segmentation of BIS risk-weighted assets” 
table  below  provides  a  granular  breakdown  of  our  risk-
weighted assets. The table also shows the Net Exposure at 
Default (“Net EAD”) per category for the current disclosure 
period, which forms the basis for the calculation of the risk-
weighted assets.

capital purposes but are deducted from capital.

➔ For further information on risk-weighted assets or the 

–  Securitization vehicles are not consolidated for regulatory 
capital purposes but are treated under the securitization 
framework.

–  Joint ventures that are controlled by two ventures are ful-
ly consolidated for regulatory capital purposes, whereas 
they are valued under equity method accounting for IFRS.

Detailed segmentation of BIS risk-weighted assets

determination of the eligible capital, please refer to the 

“Capital management” section of this report

CHF million

Credit risk

Sovereigns

Banks

Corporates

Retail

Residential mortgages

Lombard lending

Other retail

Securitization exposures

Non-counterparty related risk

Settlement risk (failed trades)

Equity exposures outside trading book

Market risk

Operational risk

Total BIS risk-weighted assets
Additional risk-weighted assets according to FINMA regulations 6
Total FINMA risk-weighted assets

Net EAD

585,549

128,957

109,049

165,246

119,859

58,723

3,714

31,277

19,499

128

1,303

637,756

31.12.09

Advanced 1
95,161

Basel II RWA
Standardized 2
32,057

6,680

16,651

56,377

12,332

2,682

441

8,515

30
4,657 3
12,861 4
46,144 5
167,369

380

1,654

26,802

1,166

0

2,055

7,026

73

39,156

31.12.08

Total

208,459

10,196

28,209

148,062

Total

127,218

7,060

18,305

83,179

13,498

14,650

2,682

2,496

8,515

7,026

103

4,657

12,861

46,144

206,525
19,103 6
225,628 7

4,502

2,840

6,202

7,411

256

7,646

27,614

44,685

302,273

32,620

334,893

1 Internal ratings-based.    2 BIS defined standardized approach.    3 Simple risk weight method.    4 Value-at-Risk approach.    5 Advanced measurement approach (AMA).    6 Reflects an additional 
charge of 10% on credit risk RWA for exposures treated under the standardized approach, a FINMA surcharge of 200% for RWA of non-counterparty related assets and additional FINMA capital require-
ments for market risk.    7 As of 31 December 2009, the FINMA tier 1 ratio amounts to 14.1% and the FINMA total capital ratio to 18.1%. Taking into account the effects from the transitional provisions 
of the capital floor, which require that during the year 2009 Basel II capital requirements have to amount to at least 80% of Basel I capital requirements, FINMA RWA would increase by CHF 3.3 billion, 
resulting in a FINMA tier 1 ratio of 13.9% and a FINMA total capital ratio of 17.9%.

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Credit risk

The tables in this section provide details on the exposures used 
to determine the firm’s credit risk regulatory capital. The pa-
rameters applied under the advanced IRB approach are gener-
ally based on the same methodologies, data and systems used 
by the firm for internal credit risk quantification, except where 
certain  treatments  are  specified  by  regulatory  requirements. 
These include, for example, the application of regulatory pre-
scribed floors and multipliers, and differences with respect to 
eligibility criteria and exposure definitions. The exposure infor-
mation presented in this section differs therefore from that dis-
closed in the “Risk management and control” section of this 
report. Similarly the regulatory capital prescribed measure of 
credit risk exposure also differs to that required under IFRS. 

With respect to the calculation of derivative exposures for 
determining  our  required  regulatory  capital,  we  have  re-
ceived approval from FINMA to apply the Effective Expected 
Positive Exposure (EPE) as defined in Annex 4 to the Basel II 
framework. For a minor part of the derivatives portfolio, we 
also apply the Current Exposure Method (based on the re-
placement value of derivatives in combination with a regula-
tory-prescribed add-on). 

The regulatory net credit exposure detailed in the tables 
in this section is shown as the Basel II EAD after applying 
collateral, netting and other eligible risk mitigants permit-
ted by the relevant regulations. This section also presents 
information  on  impaired  and  defaulted  assets  in  a  seg-
mentation which is consistent with the regulatory capital 
calculation.

Credit risk exposures and risk-weighted assets

This table shows the average exposure and the derivation of risk-weighted assets from the regulatory gross credit exposure.

Exposure

Average regulatory 
risk-weighting 2

Risk-weighted 
assets

CHF million

Cash and balances with central banks

Due from banks

Loans

Financial assets designated at fair value
Off-balance sheet 3
Banking products

Derivatives

Securities financing

Traded products

Trading portfolio assets
Financial investments available-for-sale 4
Accrued income and prepaid expenses

Other assets

Other products

Total 31.12.09

Total 31.12.08

Average 
regulatory gross 
credit exposure

Regulatory gross 
credit exposure

28,634

27,789

272,384

10,613

43,961

383,382

118,749

52,327

171,076

27,172

35,623

5,855

7,454

76,104

630,562

18,114

26,842

259,131

9,386

42,407

355,880

96,063

40,756

136,819

25,803

79,680

5,369

6,485

117,336

610,036

715,064

Less: regulatory 
credit risk offsets 
and adjustments 1
(98)

(8,948)

(10,183)

(4,829)

(344)

(24,402)

(69)

(14)

(83)

(24,487)

(33,116)

Regulatory net 
credit exposure

18,016

17,893

248,948

4,557

42,064

331,478

96,063

40,756

136,819

25,803

79,680

5,299

6,472

117,253

585,549

681,947

4%

20%

19%

33%

27%

20%

39%

10%

30%

28%

2%

88%

98%

17%

22%

31%

662

3,490

48,363

1,481

11,417

65,413

37,454

4,147

41,601

7,257

1,957

4,663

6,326

20,204

127,218

208,459

1 Regulatory credit risk offsets and adjustments mainly include margin accounts for derivatives.    2 The derivation of risk-weighted assets is based on the various credit risk parameters of the Advanced 
Internal Ratings Based (Advanced IRB) approach and the Standardized approach respectively.    3 Includes contingent claims and undrawn irrevocable credit facilities.    4 Financial investments available-
for-sale exclude equity positions. Includes high-quality liquid short-term securities issued by governments and government-controlled institutions following our strategic decision to rebalance our liquid-
ity reserve, which led to a shift from repurchase agreements and trading positions into debt instruments available-for-sale.

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Regulatory gross credit exposure by geographical region

This table provides a breakdown of our portfolio by major types of credit exposure according to classes of financial instru-
ments and also by geographical regions. The latter distribution is based on the legal domicile of the customer.

CHF million

Cash and balances with central banks

Due from banks

Loans

Financial assets designated at fair value

Off-balance sheet

Banking products

Derivatives

Securities financing

Traded products

Trading portfolio assets
Financial investments available-for-sale 2
Accrued income and prepaid expenses

Other assets

Other products

Switzer-
land

2,974

642

158,684

6,850

Other 
Europe

7,525

17,392

22,420

1,760

8,914

169,151

58,012

6,192

7,176

44,131

14,266

North 
America 1
4,195

4,384

58,381

7,255

24,014

98,229

33,694

12,282

13,368

58,396

45,976

11,601

24,765

718

1,108

4,947

50,175

4,087

1,295

38,193

60,504

655

365

3,744

4,765

Total regulatory gross credit exposure 31.12.09

187,283

154,601

204,709

Total regulatory gross credit exposure 31.12.08

208,777

184,294

257,654

1 North America includes the Caribbean.    2 Financial investments available-for-sale exclude equity positions.

Regulatory gross credit exposure by counterparty type

Latin 
America

169

3,741

638

4,549

488

37

525

245

3

21

2

270

5,344

8,887

Asia /  
Pacific

3,420

3,889

12,662

345

1,630

21,947

10,467

6,786

17,253

8,932

3,950

159

309

13,350

52,550

48,037

Africa /  
Middle 
East

Total regulatory 
gross credit 
exposure

Total regulatory 
net exposure

365

3,242

25

361

3,993

1,091

210

1,301

77

132

19

27

255

5,548

7,415

18,114

26,842

259,131

9,386

42,407

355,880

96,063

40,756

136,819

25,803

79,680

5,369

6,485

117,336

610,036

715,064

18,016

17,893

248,948

4,557

42,064

331,478

96,063

40,756

136,819

25,803

79,680

5,299

6,472

117,253

585,549

681,947

This table provides a breakdown of our portfolio by major types of credit exposure according to classes of financial instru-
ments and also by counterparty type. The classification of counterparty type applied here is also used for the grouping of the 
balance sheet.

CHF million

Cash and balances with central banks

Due from banks

Loans

Financial assets designated at fair value

Off-balance sheet

Banking products

Derivatives

Securities financing

Traded products

Trading portfolio assets
Financial investments available-for-sale 2
Accrued income and prepaid expenses

Other assets

Other products

Private 
individuals

Corporates 1

Public entities 
(including 
sovereigns and 
central banks)

154,793

3,259

158,052

1,363

172

1,535

2

4,043

1,380

5,425

17,931

96

7,544

27

1,045

26,644

18,338

7,691

26,030

16,760

69,120

40

123

86,043

138,717

89,627

96,793

4,982

36,882

138,658

45,418

21,615

67,033

8,652

7,638

1,118

4,231

21,639

227,330

344,012

Banks and  
multilateral 
institutions

183

26,745

4,376

1,221

32,526

30,943

11,279

42,222

391

2,920

168

751

4,230

78,977

116,408

Total 
regulatory 
gross credit 
exposure

Total regulatory 
net exposure

18,114

26,842

259,131

9,386

42,407

355,880

96,063

40,756

136,819

25,803

79,680

5,369

6,485

117,336

610,036

715,064

18,016

17,893

248,948

4,557

42,064

331,478

96,063

40,756

136,819

25,803

79,680

5,299

6,472

117,253

585,549

681,947

Total regulatory gross credit exposure 31.12.09

Total regulatory gross credit exposure 31.12.08

165,012

165,016

1 Includes corporates and non-banks financial institutions.    2 Financial investments available-for-sale exclude equity positions.

➔ Refer to the “Financial information” section of this report for more information. The counterparty type is different from the 

Basel II defined exposure segments used in certain other tables in this section

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Regulatory gross credit exposure by residual contractual maturity

This table provides a breakdown of our portfolio by major types of credit exposure according to classes of financial instru-
ments and also by maturity. The latter distribution is based on the residual contractual tenor.

CHF million

Cash and balances with central banks

Due from banks

Loans

Financial assets designated at fair value

Off-balance sheet

Banking products

Derivatives

Securities financing

Traded products

Trading portfolio assets
Financial investments available-for-sale 2
Accrued income and prepaid expenses

Other assets

Other products

Total regulatory gross credit exposure 31.12.09

Total regulatory gross credit exposure 31.12.08

Due in  
1 year or less

Due over  
1 year to 5 years

Due over  
5 years

3,008

101,202

1,059

10,127

115,395

34,959

9,338

44,297

17,466

71,888

89,355

249,047

247,904

299

77,379

6,040

29,934

113,651

24,551

2

24,553

6,476

6,971

13,447

151,651

171,558

130

40,942

1,339

1,605

44,016

36,553

116

36,669

1,846

819

2,665

83,350

125,600

Total 
regulatory 
gross credit 
exposure

Total regulatory 
net credit 
exposure

18,114

26,842

259,131

9,386

42,407

355,880

96,063

40,756

136,819

25,803

79,680

5,369

6,485

117,336

610,036

715,064

18,016

17,893

248,948

4,557

42,064

331,478

96,063

40,756

136,819

25,803

79,680

5,299

6,472

117,253

585,549

681,947

Other 1
18,114

23,405

39,607

949

741

82,817

31,300

31,301

15

1

5,369

6,485

11,870

125,988

170,001

1 Includes positions without an agreed residual contractual maturity, for example loans without a fixed term, on which notice of termination has not been given.    2 Financial investments available-for-
sale exclude equity positions.

Derivation of regulatory net credit exposure

This table provides a derivation of the regulatory net credit exposure from the regulatory gross credit exposure according to 
the advanced IRB approach and the Standardized approach. The table also provides a breakdown according to Basel II de-
fined exposure segments.

CHF million

Total regulatory gross credit exposure
Less: regulatory credit risk offsets and adjustments 2
Total regulatory net credit exposure

Total 31.12.08

Advanced IRB  
approach 1
463,836

(18,310)

445,526

592,107

Standardized  
approach

146,200

(6,176)

140,024

89,841

Breakdown of the regulatory net credit exposure by exposure segment

Corporates

Sovereigns

Banks

Retail

Residential mortgages

Lombard lending

Other retail

Total regulatory net credit exposure

Total 31.12.08

128,146

36,163

103,280

118,213

58,723

1,000

445,526

592,107

37,100

92,794

5,769

1,646

2,715

140,024

89,841

1 Internal rating-based.    2 Regulatory credit risk offsets and adjustments mainly include margin accounts for derivatives.

Total  

31.12.09

610,036

(24,487)

585,549

165,246

128,957

109,049

119,859

58,723

3,714

585,549

Total  
31.12.08

715,064

(33,116)

681,947

286,321

70,089

142,473

118,540

60,099

4,426

681,947

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Regulatory gross credit exposure covered by guarantees and credit derivatives

This  table  provides  a  breakdown  of  collateral  information, 
showing exposures covered by guarantees and those covered 
by credit derivatives, according to Basel II defined exposure 
segments. These are defined as follows:
–  Corporates: consists of all exposures that do not fit into 
any  of  the  other  exposure  segments  below.  It  includes 
private commercial entities such as corporations, partner-
ships or proprietorships, insurance companies, funds, ex-
changes and clearing houses.

–  Sovereigns  (“Central  governments  and  central  banks” 
under  Swiss  and  EU  regulations):  consists  of  exposures 
relating  to  sovereign  states  and  their  central  banks,  the 
Bank for International Settlement (BIS), the International 
Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Union including the 
European Central Bank and eligible multilateral develop-
ment banks (MDB).

ing  to  the  Basel  II  Revised  Framework,  including,  in  par-
ticular, risk-based capital requirements. Basel II also defines 
this regulatory exposure segment such that it contains ex-
posures to public sector entities with tax raising power or 
whose liabilities are fully guaranteed by a public entity.
–  Residential  mortgages  (“Claims  secured  on  residential 
real estate” under Swiss and EU regulations): consists of 
residential mortgages, regardless of exposure size, if the 
obligor  owns  and  occupies  or  rents  out  the  mortgaged 
property.

–  Lombard  lending:  loans  which  are  made  against  the 

pledge of eligible marketable securities or cash. 

–  Other retail: consists of exposures to small businesses, pri-
vate clients and other retail customers without mortgage 
financing. 

–  Banks  (“Institutions”  under  Swiss  and  EU  regulations): 
consists  of  exposures  towards  banks,  i.e.  legal  entities 
holding a banking license. It also includes those securities 
firms  that  are  subject  to  supervisory  and  regulatory  ar-
rangements comparable to those applied to banks accord-

The collateral amounts in the table reflect the values used for 
determining  regulatory  capital.  However,  we  utilize  credit 
hedging  to  reduce  concentrated  exposure  to  individual 
names or sectors or in specific portfolios, which is not fully 
reflected in the regulatory numbers in this section.

CHF million

Exposure segment

Corporates

Sovereigns

Banks

Retail

Residential mortgages

Lombard lending

Other retail

Total regulatory gross credit exposure 31.12.09

Total regulatory gross credit exposure 31.12.08

1 Includes guarantees and stand-by-letters of credit provided by third parties, mainly banks.

Exposure covered by 
guarantees 1

Exposure covered by 
credit derivatives

3,359

334

380

11

611

50

4,746

4,302

23,991

47

940

0

0

0

24,978

28,368

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Advanced IRB approach

Advanced IRB 1 approach: regulatory net credit exposure by UBS-internal rating

This table provides a breakdown of the regulatory net credit exposure of our credit portfolio using the advanced IRB ap-
proach according to our internal rating classes.

UBS-internal rating

Investment grade

Sub-investment grade

Defaulted 2

CHF million

0 / 1

2 / 3

4 / 5

6 – 8

9 – 13

Total  
regulatory  
net credit 
exposure
31.12.09

Total  
regulatory  
net credit  
exposure
31.12.08

Regulatory net credit exposure-
weighted   average PD

Exposure segment

Corporates

Sovereigns

Banks

Retail

Residential mortgages

Lombard lending

Other retail

Total 31.12.09

Total 31.12.08

0.009%

0.057%

0.279%

0.955%

5.742%

0.548%

0.484%

4,187

18,491

5,069

1

27,748

61,691

45,381

17,103

86,579

5,425

50,462

135

205,085

261,108

31,940

465

10,036

53,979

4,630

70

101,119

134,083

26,991

26

1,330

52,732

2,812

768

84,659

102,651

14,306

5,341

71

231

5,477

703

18

20,805

24,929

8

35

599

116

9

6,109

7,644

128,146

36,163

103,280

118,213

58,723

1,000

445,526

237,704

45,270

130,493

116,539

60,099

2,002

592,107

1 Internal rating-based.    2 Values of defaulted derivative contracts are based on replacement values including “add-ons” used in the calculation of regulatory capital.

Advanced IRB 1 approach: exposure-weighted average loss given default (LGD) by UBS-internal rating

This table provides a breakdown of the net exposure-weighted average loss given default for our credit portfolio exposures 
calculated using the advanced IRB approach, according to our internal rating classes. Undrawn commitments included in the 
advanced IRB approach are CHF 57.8 billion with an EAD of CHF 30.2 billion and an average regulatory risk-weighting of 
27%.

UBS-internal rating

Investment grade

Sub-investment grade

CHF million

0 / 1

2 / 3

4 / 5

6 – 8

9 – 13

Regulatory net credit exposure-weighted average LGD (%)

Regulatory  
net credit 
exposure- 
weighted average 
LGD (%)
31.12.09

Regulatory  
net credit  
exposure- 
weighted average 
LGD (%)
31.12.08

39

38

23

10

35

25

34

50

28

10

20

20

29

28

32

64

38

10

20

12

20

26

32

37

41

10

20

40

18

21

25

30

47

11

20

16

21

26

31

44

29

10

20

35

25

35

37

26

11

20

40

26

Corporates

Sovereigns

Banks

Retail

Residential mortgages

Lombard lending

Other retail

Average 31.12.09

Average 31.12.08

1 Internal rating-based.

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Advanced IRB 1 approach: exposure-weighted average risk weight by UBS-internal rating

This table provides a breakdown of the net exposure-weighted average risk-weight for our credit portfolio exposures calcu-
lated using the advanced IRB approach according to our internal rating classes.

UBS-internal rating

Investment grade

Sub-investment grade

CHF million

0 / 1

2 / 3

4 / 5

6 – 8

9 – 13

Regulatory net credit exposure-weighted average risk weight (%)

Regulatory net 
credit exposure-
weighted average 
risk weight (%)
31.12.09

Regulatory net  
credit exposure-
weighted average 
risk weight (%)
31.12.08

Corporates

Sovereigns

Banks

Retail

Residential mortgages

Lombard lending

Other retail

Average 31.12.09

Average 31.12.08

1 Internal rating-based.

15

3

8

1

5

8

17

32

11

2

3

3

12

13

36

60

40

5

11

6

19

28

59

65

79

12

6

51

28

35

83

106

154

29

30

24

68

87

42

17

15

10

4

42

20

39

19

17

10

6

43

24

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Risk and treasury management
Basel II Pillar 3

Standardized approach
The  standardized  approach  is  generally  applied  where  it  is 
not  possible  to  use  the  advanced  IRB  approach  and / or 
where an exemption from the advanced IRB has been grant-
ed by FINMA. The standardized approach requires banks to 
use risk assessments prepared by External Credit Assessment 
Institutions  (ECAI)  or  Export  Credit  Agencies  to  determine 
the risk weightings applied to rated counterparties.

ECAI  risk  assessments  we  use  to  determine  the  risk 

weightings for the following classes of exposure:

–  Central governments and central banks;
–  Regional governments and local authorities;
–  Multilateral development banks;
–  Institutions; and
–  Corporates.

We selected three FINMA-recognized external credit assess-
ment institutions for this purpose – Moody’s Investors Service, 
Standard and Poor’s Ratings Group and Fitch Group. The map-
ping  of  external  ratings  to  the  standardized  approach  risk 
weights is determined by FINMA and published on its website.

Regulatory gross and net credit exposure by risk weight under the standardized approach 1

This table provides a breakdown of the regulatory gross and net credit exposure by risk-weight for our credit portfolio expo-
sures treated under the standardized approach, according to Basel II defined exposure segments.

CHF million

0%

>0 – 35%

36 – 75%

76 – 100%

150%

31.12.09

31.12.08

Total exposure

Total exposure

Regulatory gross credit exposure

Corporates
Sovereigns 2
Banks

Retail

Residential mortgages

Lombard lending

Other retail

Total 31.12.09

Total 31.12.08

Regulatory net credit exposure 3
Corporates
Sovereigns 2
Banks

Retail

Residential mortgages

Lombard lending

Other retail

Total 31.12.09

Total 31.12.08

1

92,174

1

12,988

300

4,156

92,176

23,884

17,444

14,773

1

92,174

1

12,988

300

4,140

92,176

23,884

17,428

14,165

904

27,179

1,087

2,640

961

2,704

7,209

8,732

369

23

685

28,256

47,731

27

1,115

1,612

904

22,120

1,087

1,605

961

2,688

6,157

7,550

320

23

685

23,148

42,630

27

1,115

1,611

42,159

92,843

6,821

1,646

2,731

146,200

37,100

92,794

5,769

1,646

2,715

140,024

53,651

24,885

13,654

2,065

2,476

96,731

48,618

24,818

11,979

2,001

2,424

89,841

1 The risk weights are based on regulatory values or external ratings.    2 Includes high-quality liquid short-term securities issued by governments and government-controlled institutions following our 
strategic decision to rebalance our liquidity reserve, which led to a shift from repurchase agreements and trading positions into debt instruments available-for-sale.    3 For traded products, the regula-
tory gross credit exposure is equal to the regulatory net credit exposure.

172

 
Eligible financial collateral recognized under standardized approach

This table provides a breakdown of the financial collateral, which is eligible for recognition in the regulatory capital calcula-
tion under the standardized approach, according to Basel II defined exposure segments.

CHF million

Exposure segment

Corporates

Sovereigns

Banks

Retail

Residential mortgages

Lombard lending

Other retail

Total

31.12.09

31.12.08

Regulatory net credit 
exposure under 
standardized approach

Eligible financial 
collateral recognized in 
capital calculation 1

Regulatory net credit 
exposure under 
standardized approach

Eligible financial collateral 
recognized in capital 
calculation 1

37,100

92,794

5,769

1,646

2,715

140,024

20,852

60

4,916

18

25,847

48,618

24,818

11,979

2,001

2,424

89,841

8,911

1,148

5,942

64

648

16,713

1 The eligible financial collateral reflects the impact of the application of regulatory haircuts. For traded products it is the difference between the IFRS reported values and the regulatory net credit  exposure.

Impairment, default and credit loss

Impaired assets by region

This table provides a breakdown of credit exposures arising from impaired assets and allowances / provisions by geographical 
region, based on the legal domicile of the customer. Impaired asset exposures include loans, off-balance sheet claims, secu-
rities financing transactions and derivative contracts.

Regulatory gross 
credit exposure

187,283

154,601

204,709

5,344

52,550

5,548

610,036

715,064

Impaired assets 1
1,480

2,364

7,375

37

575

90

11,920
13,947 3

Specific 
allowances, 
provisions and 
credit valuation 
adjustments

Exposure net  
of specific 
allowances, 
provisions and 
credit valuation 
adjustments

(836)

(1,185)

(3,584)

(25)

(121)

(80)

(5,831)

(7,252)

644

1,179

3,791

12

454

10

6,090

6,695

Collective 
allowances and 
provisions

(49)

(49)

(23)

Total allowances, 
provisions and 
specific credit 
valuation 
adjustments

Total allowances, 
provisions and 
specific credit 
valuation 
adjustments 
31.12.08

(885)

(1,185)

(3,584)

(25)

(121)

(80)

(5,881)

(873)

(1,138)

(4,808)

(56)

(361)

(41)

(7,275)

CHF million

Switzerland

Other Europe
North America 2
Latin America

Asia / Pacific

Africa / Middle East

Total 31.12.09

Total 31.12.08

1 Values of defaulted derivative contracts (CHF 4,607 million) are based on replacement values and do not include “add-ons” used in the calculation of regulatory capital.    2 North America includes the 
Caribbean.    3 Restated from CHF 15,658 million originally reported in Annual Report 2008. In 2009, we implemented a threshold for designating a reclassified security as an “impaired loan”. Under 
this policy, a reclassified security is considered impaired if the carrying value at balance sheet date is on a cumulative basis 5% or more below the carrying value at reclassification date adjusted for 
 redemptions.

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Risk and treasury management
Basel II Pillar 3

Impaired assets by exposure segment

This table shows a breakdown of credit exposures arising from impaired assets and allowances / provisions according to Basel 
II defined exposure segments. Impaired asset exposures include loans, off-balance sheet claims, securities financing transac-
tions, and derivative contracts.

CHF million

Corporates

Sovereigns

Banks

Retail

Residential mortgages

Lombard lending

Other retail

Not allocated segment 4
Total 31.12.09

Total 31.12.08

Regulatory gross 
credit exposure

200,573

130,060

96,851

119,980

58,798

3,774

610,036

715,064

of which  
impaired assets 1
11,201

14

53

320

262

71

11,920
13,947 5

Specific 
allowances, 
provisions and 
credit valuation 
adjustments

Collective 
allowances and 
provisions 2

(5,470)

(10)

(42)

(92)

(147)

(71)

(5,831)

(7,252)

(49)

(49)

(23)

Total  
allowances, 
provisions and 
specific credit 
valuation 
adjustments 2
(5,470)

(10)

(42)

(92)

(147)

(71)

(49)

(5,881)

(7,275)

Total allowances, 
provisions and 
specific credit 
valuation 
adjustments 
31.12.08

(6,777)

(12)

(20)

(103)

(340)

(23)

(7,275)

Write-offs 3
(1,990)

(2)

(7)

(42)

(5)

(2,046)

(868)

1 Values of defaulted derivative contracts (CHF 4,607 million) are based on replacement values and do not include “add-ons” used in the calculation of regulatory capital.    2 Collective credit valuation 
adjustments of CHF 1.3 billion are partially included in the upper tier 2 capital and therefore not included in this table.    3 The write-offs refer to the period from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2009.  
4 Collective loan loss allowances and provisions are not allocated to individual counterparties and thus also not to exposure segments.    5 Restated from CHF 15,658 million originally reported in 
 Annual Report 2008. Effective 1 April 2009, we implemented a threshold for designating a reclassified security as an “impaired loan”. Under this policy, a reclassified security is considered impaired if 
the carrying value at balance sheet date is on a cumulative basis 5% or more below the carrying value at reclassification date adjusted for redemptions.

Changes in allowances, provisions and specific credit valuation adjustments

This table provides a breakdown of movements in the specific and collective allowances and provisions for impaired assets, 
including changes in the credit valuation allowance for derivatives.

Specific 
allowances and 
provisions for 
banking products 
and securities 
financing

3,047

(2,046)

52

1,806

(37)

(51)

Specific credit 
valuation 
adjustments for 
derivatives

4,205

(722)

(423)

CHF million

Opening balance as at 1.1.09

Write-offs

Recoveries  
(on written-off positions)

Increase / (decrease) in allowances, 
provisions and specific credit valua-
tion adjustments 2
Foreign currency translations and 
other adjustments

Transfers

Closing balance as at 31.12.09

2,771

3,060

Total specific 
allowances, 
provisions and 
credit valuation 
adjustments

7,252

(2,046)

52

1,084

(460)

(51)

5,831

Collective 
allowances and 
provisions 1
23

For the 
twelve-month 
period ended 
31.12.09

For the  
twelve-month  
period ended  
31.12.08

7,275

Opening balance as at 1.1.08

1,981

(2,046)

52

26

1,110

(460)

(51)

(868)

44

7,545

(867)

(561)

49

5,881

Closing balance as at 31.12.08

7,275

1 Collective credit valuation adjustments of CHF 1.3 billion are partially included in the upper tier 2 capital and therefore not included in this table.    2 Total actual credit loss (credit loss expense and 
changes in specific credit valuation adjustments recognized in net trading income).

174

Total expected loss and actual credit loss

This table provides a breakdown of the one-year expected 
loss estimate on our credit portfolios (including lending, de-
rivative  and  securities  financing  portfolios)  calculated  at 
31 December 2008 and the actual IFRS credit loss amount 
(including  credit  valuation  adjustments  on  derivatives) 
charged against our income statement in 2009, according to 
Basel II defined exposure segments of the advanced IRB ap-
proach. Comparison between our expected and actual loss-
es  has  certain  limitations  as  the  two  measures  are  not  di-
rectly comparable. In particular our expected loss estimate is 
an  annualized  average  expected  loss  measure  which  takes 
into  account  our  historical  loss  experience  whereas  actual 
loss  represents  our  credit  loss  expense  charged  to  the  in-
come statement incurred in the financial year. 

The difference in our expected and actual loss amounts 
resulted primarily from credit losses incurred on the portfolio 
of multi-asset-backed securities held by the Investment Bank 
that were reclassified from Held-for-trading to Loans and re-
ceivables in fourth quarter 2008 and first quarter 2009. The 
related actual credit losses on these assets are reported un-
der “Corporate” exposures in the table below and are not 
considered part of our core lending portfolio for the purpose 
of our expected loss estimation. Excluding the credit losses 
related to the reclassified securities portfolio, our expected 
and  actual  losses  were  more  closely  aligned.  We  regularly 
assess the performance of our expected loss estimate and do 
not  consider  it  necessary  to  materially  alter  our  estimation 
process for expected loss for 2010.

CHF million

Corporates 1
Sovereigns

Banks

Retail

Residential mortgages

Lombard lending

Other retail
Not specified 2
Total

Expected loss

31.12.08

Total expected loss

Actual credit loss

Actual credit loss and credit valuation adjustments

31.12.09

Specific credit  
valuation adjustments  
for defaulted  
derivatives

Total actual  
credit loss and  
credit valuation 
adjustments

610

13

57

87

34

11

1,815

(722)

1,093

(1)

22

1

(52)

30

17

(1)

22

1

(52)

30

17

31.12.08

Total actual  
credit loss and  
credit valuation 
adjustments

6,681

547

(1)

308

34

(24)

812 3

1,832

(722)

1,110

7,545

1 Includes credit losses from reclassified securities, which amounted to CHF 425 million.    2 Includes changes in collective loan loss allowances and provisions.    3 Does not include CHF 43 million IRB 
equity EL treated under the simple risk-weight method.

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175

 
 
 
Other credit risk tables

Credit exposure of derivative instruments

This table provides an overview of our credit exposures arising from derivatives. Exposures are provided based on the balance 
sheet carrying values of derivatives as well as regulatory net credit exposures. The net balance sheet credit exposure differs 
from the regulatory net credit exposures because of differences in valuation methods and the netting and collateral deduc-
tions  used  for  accounting  and  regulatory  capital  purposes.  Specifically,  net  current  credit  exposure  is  derived  from  gross 
positive replacement values, whereas regulatory net credit exposure is calculated using our internal credit valuation models.

CHF million

Gross positive replacement values
Netting benefits recognized 1
Collateral held

Net current credit exposure

Regulatory net credit exposure (total counterparty credit risk) 2
of which treated with internal models (effective expected positive exposure (EPE)) 2
of which treated with supervisory approaches (current exposure method) 2

Breakdown of the collateral held

Cash collateral

Securities collateral and debt instruments collateral (excluding equity)

Equity instruments collateral

Other collateral

Total collateral held

31.12.09

424,548

(313,172)

(38,012)

73,364

96,063

79,111

16,952

34,049

3,243

95

625

38,012

31.12.08

860,943

(651,756)

(51,765)

157,422

190,047

164,707

25,340

46,967

4,246

121

430

51,765

1 Derivatives exposure based on accounting definition (consolidation scope for capital) measured as gross positive replacement values with netting benefits from negative replacement values with the 
same counterparty.    2 Derivatives exposure is defined as regulatory net credit risk exposure.

Credit derivatives 1

This table provides an overview of our credit derivative portfolio by product group using notional values. The table also pro-
vides a breakdown of credit derivative positions used to manage our own credit portfolio (banking book for regulatory pur-
poses) risks and those arising through intermediation activities (trading book for regulatory capital purposes).

Notional amounts, CHF million

Credit Default Swaps

Total Return Swaps

Total 31.12.09

Regulatory banking book

Regulatory trading book

Total

Protection 
bought

22,043

22,043

Protection 
sold

Total

Protection 
bought

Protection 
sold

Total

31.12.09

31.12.08

527

62

589

22,571

1,262,541

1,181,843

2,444,383

2,466,954

3,617,457

62

6,354

4,707

11,061

11,123

24,044

22,633

1,268,895

1,186,550

2,455,445

2,478,077

3,641,502

1 Notional amounts of credit derivatives are based on accounting definitions and do not include any netting benefits. For capital underpinning of the counterparty credit risk of derivative positions, the 
effective expected positive exposure (or current exposure method) is taken.

176

Our credit derivative trading is predominately on a collat-
eralized basis. This means that our credit exposures arising 
from our derivatives activities with collateralized counterpar-
ties are typically closed out in full or reduced to nominal lev-
els on a regular basis by the use of collateral. 

Derivatives trading with counterparties with higher credit 
ratings  (for  example  a  large  bank  or  broker-dealer)  is  typi-
cally  under  an  ISDA  master  trading  agreement  (MTA)  and 
credit exposures to those counterparties from CDS, together 
with exposures from other OTC derivatives, are netted and 
included  in  the  calculation  of  the  collateral  required  to  be 
posted. Trading with lower rated counterparties (for exam-
ple, hedge funds) would also generally require an initial mar-
gin to be posted by the counterparty. 

We therefore receive collateral from or post collateral to 
our counterparties based on our open net receivable or net 
payable  from  OTC  derivative  activities.  Under  the  terms  of 
the ISDA MTA and like forms, that collateral (which gener-
ally takes the form of cash or highly liquid fixed income se-
curities) is available to cover any amounts due under those 
derivative contracts. 

Settlement risk (including payment risk) of CDS has been 
mitigated  to  some  extent  by  the  development  of  a  market 
wide  credit  event  auction  process  which  has  resulted  in  a 
widespread shift to the cash settlement of CDS following a 
credit event on a reference entity. During 2009 and 2008, we 
participated in various industry-wide compression and “tear 
up” initiatives which reduced notional values and operational 
risks by terminating existing transactions and in certain cases 
replacing them with a smaller number of new transactions. 

We  have  not  experienced  any  significant  losses  from 

failed settlements on CDS contracts in 2009 and 2008. 

The vast majority of our CDS trading activity is conducted 
by the Investment Bank. The “CDS Portfolio (split by coun-
terparty)” table provides further analysis of the Investment 
Bank’s  CDS  counterparties  based  on  notional  amount  of 
CDS protection purchased and sold. The analysis shows that 
the vast majority of the Investment Bank’s CDS counterpar-
ties  are  market  professionals.  Based  on  the  same  notional 
measure, approximately 98% of these counterparties were 
rated investment grade and approximately 98% of the CDS 
activity was traded on a collateralized basis. 

CDS portfolio (split by counterparty) 1

Portfolio segment

Developed markets commercial banks

Broker-dealers, investment and merchant banks

Hedge funds

All other

1 Counterparty analysis based on notional CDS exposures of Investment Bank sourced from credit risk systems.

% of total notional % of buy notional % of sell notional

64

28

1

7

63

28

1

8

66

28

2

4

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Investment positions

Equities disclosure for banking book positions

This table provides an overview of our equity investments held in the banking book for regulatory capital purposes. The cal-
culation of equity investment exposure for financial accounting under IFRS differs from that required for regulatory capital 
purposes. The table illustrates these two measures of exposure as well as the key differences between them.

CHF million

Equity investments

Financial investments available-for-sale

Financial assets designated at fair value

Investments in associates

Total equity investments under IFRS

Realized gains and (losses), net

Unrealized gains and (losses), net

Consolidation scope adjustment

Other positions designated equity exposures under BIS

Total equity exposure under BIS

of which: to be risk weighted

publicly traded

privately held

of which: deducted from equity

Capital requirement according to simple risk weight method

Total capital charge

Unrealized gains included in tier 2

Book value

31.12.09

31.12.08

1,351

841

870

3,062

77

466

(30)

743

3,774

1,452

1,110

1,212

373

1,585

50

1,681

1,079

892

3,653

815

421

(80)

405

3,978

1,423

1,681

874

612

1,486

69

The IFRS view differs from the regulatory capital view primar-
ily due to: (i) differences in the basis of valuation in that IFRS 
is based on “fair value accounting” whereas “lower of cost 
or  market  value”  (LOCOM)  or  “cost  less  impairment”  are 
used  for  regulatory  capital  purposes;  (ii)  positions  may  be 
treated under a different framework to determine regulatory 
capital  (for  example  tradable  assets  treated  under  Market 
Risk VaR); and (iii) differences in the scope of consolidation 
for IFRS, for example, special purpose entities consolidated 
for IFRS but not for regulatory capital purposes. 

Also  shown  in  the  table  are  realized  and  unrealized 
gains  and  losses.  The  firm  had  no  unrealized  gains  and 
losses  that  were  not  recognized  either  on  the  balance 
sheet or in the statement of income relating to available-
for-sale  investments  designated  at  fair  value.  In  addition, 
there was no significant disparity between the share prices 
of investment positions held in publicly quoted entities and 
their fair value.

178

Securitization

Sources and control of risks resulting from  
securitization structures
The majority of our exposures that are categorized as securiti-
zations (according to the regulatory definition of such expo-
sures) were held by the Investment Bank in the portfolio of 
assets  reclassified  to  Loans  and  receivables  from  Held-for-
trading in fourth quarter 2008 and first quarter 2009. As at 
31 December 2009, this portfolio included CDOs and CLOs 
with  CDS  protection  purchased  from  monoline  insurers,  US 
commercial  mortgage-backed  securities,  the  US  reference-
linked note program and student loan ARS. We also contin-
ued to repurchase student loan ARS from its clients in 2009 as 
a result of the firm’s commitment to restore liquidity to client 
holdings  of  these  securities.  Repurchased  student  loan  ARS 
were also categorized as securitization exposures. From a risk 
control  perspective  these  portfolios  are  subject  to  specific 
monitoring which may include interest rate and credit spread 
sensitivity analysis, as well as inclusion in firm-wide earnings-
at-risk, capital-at-risk and combined stress test metrics.

➔ Refer to the “Exposure to auction rate securities” sidebar 
in the “Risk management and control” section of this 

report for more information

➔ Refer to “Note 29b Reclassification of financial assets” in 

the “Financial information” section of this report for more 

information

We  also  held  certain  securitization  positions  (according  to 
the regulatory definition of securitizations) that were man-
aged  under  the  market  risk  framework  at  31  December 
2009.  A  market  risk  treatment  was  applied  to  these  posi-
tions for determining regulatory capital. 

Regulatory treatment of securitization structures
The  disclosures  in  this  section  include  exposures  related  to 
student loan ARS, CDOs and CLOs with CDS protection pur-
chased  from  monoline  insurers,  US  commercial  mortgage-
backed  securities  and  the  global  reference-linked  note 

 programs, as these exposures were treated under the secu-
ritization  approach  for  determining  regulatory  capital  at 
31 December 2009. 

We generally applied the Ratings Based Approach to se-
curitization  exposures  in  the  banking  book  using  Moody’s, 
Standard  &  Poor’s  and  Fitch’s  Ratings.  Under  the  Ratings 
Based Approach, the amount of capital is capped at the cap-
ital requirement that would be assessed against the underly-
ing assets had they not been securitized. This treatment has 
been  applied  mainly  to  the  US  reference-linked  note  pro-
gram and for the purposes of determining regulatory capital 
and Pillar 3 disclosure they are reported under the standard-
ized  approach.  The  related  exposures  are  therefore  not  in-
cluded in the tables below. 

The counterparty risk of interest rate or foreign currency 
derivatives with securitization vehicles are treated under the 
advanced Internal Ratings Based approach and are therefore 
not part of this disclosure.

Accounting Policies
For IFRS purposes, we treat originated securitized exposures 
as sales, i.e. they are derecognized from our balance sheet 
provided that specific de-recognition criteria are met and we 
do not consolidate the transferee (as described in “Note 1 
Summary of significant accounting policies” in the “Finan-
cial  information”  section  of  this  report).  A  gain  or  loss  on 
sale is recognized when exposures are derecognized. Deriva-
tives used for synthetic securitizations are accounted for in 
line with the abovementioned note.

Securitization  positions  that  are  classified  as  trading  as-
sets for IFRS purposes are valued at fair value as described in 
“Note 27 Fair value of financial instruments” in the “Finan-
cial information” section of this report. Securitization posi-
tions  that  have  been  redesignated  from  trading  assets  to 
loans and receivables are valued at amortized cost less im-
pairment as described in “Note 1 Summary of significant ac-
counting policies” in the “Financial information” section of 
this report.

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Risk and treasury management
Basel II Pillar 3

Securitization exposures retained or purchased

This table provides a breakdown of securitization exposures purchased or retained, split by asset type and risk weighting band, 
irrespective of our role (i.e. originator or investor) in the securitization transaction. The table shows securitization exposures used 
to determine regulatory  capital, which generally equates to the IFRS book value. Additional granularity by asset type has been 
provided for securitization exposures at 31 December 2009. Where available, exposures at 31 December 2008 are shown on a 
similar basis. The increase in capital charges in 2009 compared to 2008 resulted mainly from downgrades.

Exposure Type

CHF million

Commercial mortgages

CDOs and CLOs

Student Loans

Other

Total

1 Also contains commercial mortgages, CDOs and CLOs.

Capital charge for securitization exposures retained or purchased

Exposure amount

31.12.09

31.12.08

3,316

9,565

18,010

2,182

33,074

N/A

N/A

21,543
13,592 1
35,135

CHF million

over 0–10%

over 10–15%

over 15–20%

over 20–35%

over 35–50%

over 50–75%

over 75–100%

over 100–250%

over 250–1,250%

deducted from capital

Total

Exposure amount

Capital charge

Exposure amount

Capital charge

31.12.09

31.12.09

9,047

13,236

4,511

2,560

222

295

504

289

613

1,797

33,074

57

139

75

71

9

17

43

61

209

1,797

2,478

31.12.08

10,492

16,551

5,533

464

253

321

1,181

24

10

306

35,135

31.12.08

62

176

94

13

11

19

100

5

17

306

803

Securitization activity during the period 
We did not securitize any exposures during 2009. In 2008 
we  securitized  exposures  totaling  CHF  1.5  billion.  These 
were part of traditional securitization structures which com-
prised residential and commercial mortgages. Exposure val-
ues are based on the transaction date and were accounted 
for at fair value pre-securitization, hence the resulting gain 
or loss was not significant. At the point of securitization, we 
retained  certain  securitization  exposures  (typically  senior 
tranches) for all traditional and synthetic securitizations we 
transacted.

Total outstanding exposures securitized via synthetic 
securitizations
Prior  to  2008  we  securitized  exposures  via  synthetic  se-
curitizations  as  part  of  our  global  reference  linked  note 
 program. The global reference linked note program mainly 
 consisted of multi-asset securitization structures which refer-
enced residential mortgages, credit card receivables, corpo-
rate debt and other asset backed securities. Total outstand-
ing  exposures  (based  on  exposures  used  to  determine 

regulatory capital) that were part of synthetic securitizations 
decreased  to  CHF  3.2  billion  at  31  December  2009  com-
pared with CHF 10.7 billion at 31 December 2008. This de-
crease mainly related to a reduction of the underlying secu-
ritization pools from asset sales.

Amount of impaired / past due assets securitized – synthetic 
securitizations
CHF 102 million of outstanding impaired or past due expo-
sures had been securitized by UBS via a synthetic securitiza-
tion as of 31 December 2009 compared with CHF 212 mil-
lion as of 31 December 2008. The exposure values are based 
on  the  amounts  referenced  in  the  transaction  and  are  in-
cluded when a credit event has occurred.

Losses recognized on originated transactions during  
the period 
Losses of CHF 34 million as of 31 December 2009 (CHF 1.2 
billion  as  of  31  December  2008)  had  been  recognized  by 
UBS  on  securitization  tranches  purchased  or  retained  that 
result from a securitization originated by us, after taking into 

180

account the offsetting effects of any credit protection that is 
an eligible risk mitigation instrument for the retained or re-
purchased tranche. We partially report such exposures on a 
fair value and partially on an amortized cost less impairment 
basis. These losses mainly include losses related to the global 
reference-linked note program.

Interest rate risk in the banking book

Sources and control of interest rate risk in the  
banking book
Our largest non-trading interest rate risk exposures arise pri-
marily from activities such as retail banking and lending in 
our Wealth Management & Swiss Bank division, as well as 
our treasury activities. The Investment Bank’s portfolio of as-
sets  that  were  reclassified  to  Loans  and  receivables  from 
Held-for-trading  in  fourth  quarter  2008  and  first  quarter 
2009,  and  certain  other  debt  securities  held  as  Loans  and 
receivables also give rise to non-trading interest rate risk. 

The interest rate risks arising from the Wealth Manage-
ment & Swiss Bank are transferred either by means of back-
to-back transactions or a replicating portfolio from the origi-

nating business into one of two centralized interest rate risk 
management units: Group Treasury or the Investment Bank’s 
FICC  unit.  These  units  manage  the  risks  on  an  integrated 
basis, exploiting the full netting potential across interest rate 
risks from different sources. 

All interest rate risk is subject to independent risk control. 
When not included in our VaR measure, interest rate risk is 
subject  to  specific  monitoring,  which  may  include  interest 
rate  sensitivity  analysis,  earnings-at-risk,  capital-at-risk  and 
combined stress test metrics. 

Risk profile
Interest rate risk sensitivity figures are provided for the im-
pact of a one basis point change in interest rates, which is 
one of the ways in which non-trading interest rate risks are 
assessed for internal risk management purposes. In addition, 
the  impacts  of  an  adverse  parallel  shift  in  interest  rates  of 
200 basis points on our non-trading interest rate risk expo-
sures is significantly below the threshold of 20% of eligible 
regulatory  capital  specified  by  regulators  to  identify  banks 
that  may  be  required  to  hold  additional  regulatory  capital 
against this risk. 

Impact of one basis point parallel increase of the yield curves

This table shows the impact of a one basis point parallel increase of the yield curves on our interest-rate-sensitive banking 
book positions as at 31 December 2009.

CHF million

CHF

EUR

GBP

USD

Other

Total impact on interest-rate-sensitive banking book positions

31.12.09

(0.3)

(0.2)

(0.3)

(0.8)

(0.1)

(1.8)

181

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Corporate governance and compensation

Information according to articles 663b bis and 663c (paragraph three) 
of the Swiss Code of Obligations

Disclosures provided in line with the requirements of articles 663b bis and 663c (paragraph three) of the Swiss Code of 
Obligations’ “Supplementary disclosures for companies whose shares are listed on a stock exchange: compensations and 
participations” are also included in the audited financial statements of this report. This information is marked by a bar on 
the left-hand side throughout this section.

Corporate governance

– Our corporate governance principles are designed to support UBS towards 

sustainable profitability and protect the interests of our shareholders, as well 
as to create value for shareholders and stakeholders

Dual-board structure

UBS operates under a strict dual board structure: the Board 
of Directors (BoD) and the Group Executive Board (GEB). 
This results in a clear separation of duties and responsibili-
ties. The BoD is responsible for the Group’s direction as well 
as monitoring and supervising the business. All members of 
the BoD are independent with the exception of the full-time 
Chairman. Shareholders elect each member of the BoD, 
which in turn appoints the Chairman. 

The GEB is responsible for the executive management and 
is accountable to the BoD for the overall financial results of 
the Group. The GEB is led by the Group Chief Executive 
Officer (Group CEO).

Developments in 2009 that strengthened our 
 leadership capacity

The “Organization Regulations of UBS AG and its annexes” 
were revised to enhance the authority of the executive 
management and simultaneously accentuate the super-
visory role of the BoD and its committees.

The BoD is ultimately responsible for the financial success 
of the Group, and thus decides on the business strategy of 
the Group upon recommendation of the Group CEO and 
the GEB. The BoD is responsible for approving the annual 
report and quarterly financial statements of UBS and the 
Group, reviewed and proposed by the Audit Committee 
together with management, external auditors and Group 
Internal Audit. Furthermore, the BoD is responsible for 

approving the firm’s risk capacities and appetite, taking into 
account the proposals and alternatives suggested by the 
Risk Committee.

Operational Group structure

The operational structure of the Group is comprised of the 
Corporate Center and four business divisions: Wealth 
Management & Swiss Bank, Wealth Management Americas, 
Global Asset Management and the Investment Bank.

Shareholder participation

At the Extraordinary General Meeting held on 27 February 
2008, our shareholders approved the creation of condition-
al capital through the issuance of a maximum of 
277,750,000 shares to satisfy the settlement in shares of 
CHF 13 billion in mandatory convertible notes, with a 
maturity date of 5 March 2010. To satisfy the conversion, 
we expect to deliver 272,651,005 shares on 5 March 2010 
to two financial investors.

At the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on 15 April 
2009, our shareholders approved the creation of condition-
al capital through the issuance of 100,000,000 shares for 
the potential exercise of warrants granted to the Swiss 
National Bank (SNB), in connection with the loan granted 
by the SNB to the SNB StabFund.

In addition, at the AGM held on 15 April 2009, our 
shareholders approved the creation of authorized capital, 
out of which 293,258,050 new shares where issued on 
25 June 2009 and were placed with a small number of 
institutional investors.

According to International Financial Reporting Standards 
(IFRS), equity attributable to UBS shareholders amounted to 
CHF 41.0 billion on 31 December 2009.

184

Compensation and shareholdings

– Revised Total Reward Principles were approved by the Board of Directors  

and implemented during 2009

– New compensation guidelines were implemented to focus on risk awareness, 

 deferred pay, variable compensation and forfeiture conditions

Total Reward Principles

The Total Reward Principles summarize the compensation 
structure for all UBS employees, building on our strategy of 
enhancing reputation, integration and execution. They 
are designed to align employees’ interests with those of 
shareholders – the creation of long-term value and 
sustainable shareholder returns. 

They reflect recent regulatory developments but also focus 
on long-standing drivers including reward for performance, 
sustainable profitability, effective risk and capital manage-
ment, outstanding client focus and teamwork and sound 
governance practices. 

Compensation for 2009

New compensation guidelines were implemented for  
the Group Executive Board (GEB) including awards granted 
under the Cash Balance Plan, Performance Equity Plan and 
Incentive Performance Plan.

Following the announcement of our financial results for 
2009, the first tranche of the Conditional Variable 

Compensation Plan has been forfeited as the critical 
performance condition – a net profit for 2009 – was 
not met.

Key talent, risk and performance management

We are focusing on attracting and retaining key talent 
throughout the business divisions using a “pay for perfor-
mance” guiding principle. Our new compensation guide-
lines also take into account a range of performance factors 
including delivering sustainable profitability, effective risk 
and capital management, client focus and teamwork. The 
guidelines will align compensation with the creation of 
sustainable shareholder returns through sound risk taking 
and promote a performance-driven culture.

The 2010 non-binding vote on the compensation report 

We value the opinions of our shareholders and, at the  
AGM to be held in April 2010, we will provide shareholders 
with an opportunity to express their views through a 
non-binding vote on this compensation report. We believe 
that this vote presents a meaningful way of involving our 
shareholders in compensation matters.

Compensation authorities

Recipients

Compensation recommendations  
developed by

Approved by

Communicated by

Chairman of the BoD

Chairman of the HRCC 1

Group CEO

Chairman of the BoD / HRCC

Members of the GEB

Group CEO

Independent BoD members 
(remuneration system and fees) 

Chairman of the BoD / HRCC

HRCC

BoD

HRCC

BoD

HRCC

HRCC

Group CEO

Chairman of the BoD

Recipients

Variable compensation recommendations  
developed by

Approved by

Communicated by

Employees (excl. GEB)

Respective member of the GEB together 
with functional management team

Divisional pools: HRCC 
Overall: Board of Directors

Line Manager

1 The Human Resources and Compensation Committee.

185

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Corporate governance and compensation 
Corporate governance

Corporate governance

Our corporate governance principles are designed to support UBS towards sustainable profitability and protect 
the interests of our shareholders, as well as to create value for shareholders and stakeholders. We use the 
term “corporate governance” when referring to the organizational structure and operational practices of our 
management.

We are subject to, and fully comply with, the following regu-
latory  requirements  regarding  corporate  governance:  the 
Swiss  Code  of  Obligations  (CO)  articles  663bbis  and  663c 
(paragraph  three)  regarding  transparency  of  compensation 
paid to members of the BoD and senior management; the 
SIX Swiss Exchange’s (SIX) “Directive on Information Relating 
to Corporate Governance”, and the standards established in 
the Swiss Code of Best Practice for Corporate Governance, 
including the appendix on executive compensation.

In  addition,  as  a  foreign  company  with  shares  listed  on 
the  New  York  Stock  Exchange  (NYSE),  we  comply  with  all 
corporate governance standards applicable to foreign listed 
companies.

This section of our annual report provides the information 

required by the following regulatory requirements:
–  The SIX “Directive on Information Relating to Corporate 
Governance”, with regard to: Group structure and share-
holders; capital structure; Board of Directors (BoD); Group 
Executive Board (GEB); compensation, shareholdings and 
loans; shareholders’ participation rights; change of control 
and defense measures; auditors and information policy.
–  Articles  663bbis  and  663c  (paragraph  three)  of  the  CO, 
“Supplementary disclosures for companies whose shares 
are listed on a stock exchange: compensations and par-
ticipations”, with regard to share and option ownership 
and loans.

–  The  NYSE  “Corporate  Governance  Listing  Standards” 
with regard to foreign listed companies: independence of 
directors, BoD committees and differences from the NYSE 
standards applicable to US domestic issuers.
In  addition  to  the  regulatory  requirements  mentioned 
above, this section of the report summarizes the regulatory 
and supervisory environment of UBS in our principal loca-
tions,  and  provides  a  list  of  all  members  of  our  BoD  and 

Group Executive Board (GEB). Updates have been made to 
the  sections  discussing  the  BoD,  GEB,  compensation  and 
shareholdings. These updates follow a revision of the “Or-
ganization Regulations of UBS AG and its annexes” (Orga-
nization  Regulations),  which  was  conducted  by  the  BoD 
throughout  the  summer  and  autumn  of  2009.  On  1  No-
vember  2009,  the  revised  Organization  Regulations  came 
into effect. The Organization Regulations enhance the au-
thority  of  the  executive  management  and  simultaneously 
accentuate the supervisory role of the BoD. The BoD’s Strat-
egy Committee, always intended to be a temporary com-
mittee,  has  been  dissolved  with  its  responsibilities  distrib-
uted to the full BoD. In addition, the Executive Committee 
(EC) of the GEB was disbanded in October 2009 at which 
time the full GEB assumed its responsibilities. The Organiza-
tion  Regulations  additionally  specify  which  powers  of  the 
GEB  are  delegated  to  the  new  Group  Asset  and  Liability 
Management Committee (Group ALCO). The Group ALCO 
is responsible for setting strategies to maximize the finan-
cial performance of the Group, and is subject to the guide-
lines,  constraints  and  risk  tolerances  set  by  the  BoD.  It  is 
also  responsible  for  managing  the  balance  sheet  of  the 
business divisions through allocation and for the monitor-
ing of limits as well as managing liquidity, funding and cap-
ital;  and  is  responsible  for  promoting  a  one-firm  financial 
management  culture.  The  Group  Chief  Operating  Officer 
(Group COO) role has been added to the GEB level, inte-
grating the Group-wide infrastructure and service functions 
into the Corporate Center, and the roles and responsibilities 
of the Group functional heads have been adapted to reflect 
the integration of control function management (finance, 
risk, legal & compliance) across the Group. 

➔ Refer to www.ubs.com/governance for more details 

on the Organization Regulations 

186

Group structure and shareholders

UBS Group legal entity structure

Under Swiss company law, UBS AG is organized as a limited 
company, a corporation that has issued shares of common 
stock  to  investors.  UBS  AG  is  the  Parent  Bank  of  the  UBS 
Group (Group).

Our legal entity structure is designed to support our busi-
nesses within an efficient legal, regulatory, tax and funding 
framework.  Neither  the  business  divisions  of  UBS  nor  the 
Corporate  Center  are  separate  legal  entities:  they  primarily 
operate out of the Parent Bank, UBS AG, through its branch-
es worldwide. This structure is designed to capitalize on the 
increased business opportunities and cost efficiencies offered 
by the use of a single legal platform and to enable the flexible 
and efficient use of capital. Where it is neither possible nor 
efficient to operate out of the Parent Bank, businesses oper-
ate through local subsidiaries. This can be the case when le-
gal,  tax  or  regulatory  rules  require  it  or  as  a  result  of  addi-
tional legal entities joining the Group through acquisition.

Operational Group structure

On  31  December  2009,  the  operational  structure  of  the 
Group comprised the Corporate Center and the four busi-
ness  divisions:  Wealth  Management  &  Swiss  Bank,  Wealth 
Management Americas, Global Asset Management and the 
Investment Bank. In this report, performance is reported ac-
cording to this structure. 

Listed and non-listed companies belonging to the 
Group (consolidated entities)

The Group includes a number of subsidiaries, none of which, 
however, are listed companies.

➔ Refer to “Note 34 Significant subsidiaries and associates” 

in the “Financial information” section of this report for details 

of significant operating subsidiary companies of the Group

Significant shareholders

On 1 January 2010, The Capital Group Companies, Inc., Los 
Angeles,  disclosed  according  to  the  Swiss  Stock  Exchange 
Act a holding of 5.09% of the total share capital of UBS AG.
On 1 December 2009, BlackRock Inc., New York, disclosed 
according  to  the  Swiss  Stock  Exchange  Act,  a  holding  of 
3.45% of the total share capital of UBS AG.

The  “Significant  shareholders”  table  on  the  next  page 
provides  information  about  shareholders  who,  acting  in 
their capacity as nominees for other investors or beneficial 
owners, were registered in our share register with 3% or 
more of the total share capital on 31 December 2009, 2008 
and 2007.

According  to  our  “Regulation  on  the  Registration  of 
Shares”, voting rights of nominees are restricted to 5%, but 
clearing and settlement organizations are exempt from this 
restriction.  Ownership  of  UBS  shares  is  widely  spread.  The 
additional tables on the following page provide information 
about the distribution of our shareholders by category and 
geographical location. This information relates only to regis-
tered shareholders and cannot be assumed to be representa-
tive of our entire investor base. Only shareholders registered 
in the share register as “shareholders with voting rights” are 
entitled to exercise voting rights.

Under the Swiss Stock Exchange Act, anyone holding shares 
in a company listed in Switzerland, or holding derivative rights 
related to shares of such a company, has to notify the company 
and  the  stock  exchange  if  the  holding  attains,  falls  below  or 
exceeds one of the following thresholds: 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 
33 1⁄3, 50, or 66 2⁄3% of the voting rights, whether they are exer-
cisable  or  not.  The  detailed  disclosure  requirements  and  the 
methodology for calculating the thresholds are defined in the 
“Ordinance of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority 
on Stock Exchanges and Securities Trading”. In particular, the 
ordinance  prohibits  the  netting  of  so-called  acquisition  posi-
tions  (in  particular  shares,  conversion  rights  and  acquisition 
rights or obligations) with disposal positions (i.e. rights or obli-
gations to sell). It further requires that each such position be 
calculated separately and be reported as soon as it reaches a 
threshold.

At year-end 2009, we owned UBS registered shares cor-
responding to less than 3% of the total share capital of UBS 
AG. At the same time, we had disposal positions relating to 
643,788,775  voting  rights  of  UBS  AG,  corresponding  to 
18.09% of the total voting rights of UBS AG. They consisted 
mainly of 8.84% of voting rights attached to employee op-
tions and 7.66% of voting rights arising from the mandatory 
convertible notes issued by UBS in March 2008. 

Cross shareholdings

We have no cross shareholdings in excess of a reciprocal 5% 
of capital or voting rights with any other company.

187

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Corporate governance and compensation 
Corporate governance

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Significant shareholders 1

In % of shares issued

Chase Nominees Ltd, London
DTC (Cede & Co.), New York 2
Mellon Bank N.A., Everett

Nortrust Nominees Ltd, London

31.12.09

11.63

8.42

3.21

3.07

31.12.08

31.12.07

7.19

9.89

less than 3

less than 3

7.99

14.15

less than 3

less than 3

1 Lists shareholders registered in our share register with 3% or more of the total share capital at the relevant reference dates.    2 DTC (Cede & Co.), New York, “The Depository Trust Company” is a US 
securities clearing organization.

Distribution of UBS shares

On 31 December 2009

Number of shares registered

1–100

101–1,000

1,001–10,000

10,001–100,000

100,001–1,000,000

1,000,001–5,000,000

5,000,001–35,581,127 (1%)

1–2%

2–3%

3–4%

4–5%

Over 5%

Total registered
Unregistered 2
Total shares issued

Shareholders registered

Shares registered

Number % of shares issued

Number

42,351

208,118

103,827

8,025

608

94

32

1

0

2

0
2 1
363,060

%

11.7

57.3

28.6

2.2

0.2

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

2,497,703

94,609,316

278,983,450

191,103,931

169,169,180

202,775,659

313,629,304

54,622,566

0

223,676,913

0

713,346,857

100.0

2,244,414,879

1,313,697,874
3,558,112,753 3

0.1

2.7

7.8

5.4

4.8

5.7

8.8

1.5

0.0

6.3

0.0

20.0

63.1

36.9

100.0

1 On 31 December 2009, Chase Nominees Ltd., London, was entered as a trustee / nominee holding 11.63% of all shares issued. DTC (Cede & Co.), New York, the US securities clearing organization, 
was registered with 8.42% of all shares issued.    2 Shares not entered in the share register at 31 December 2009.    3 400,665,834 registered shares do not carry voting rights.

Shareholders: type and geographical distribution

On 31 December 2009

Individual shareholders

Legal entities

Nominees, fiduciaries

Unregistered

Total

Switzerland

Europe

North America

Other countries

Unregistered

Total

188

Shareholders

Shares

Number

353,827

8,682

551

%

97.5

2.4

0.1

Number

562,329,116

469,388,746

1,212,697,017

1,313,697,874

%

15.8

13.2

34.1

36.9

363,060

100.0

3,558,112,753

100.0

327,674

20,436

7,316

7,634

90.3

5.6

2.0

2.1

836,731,688

831,206,788

499,420,433

77,055,970

1,313,697,874

23.5

23.4

14.0

2.2

36.9

363,060

100.0

3,558,112,753

100.0

Capital structure

Capital

Under Swiss company law, shareholders must approve in a 
shareholders’  meeting  any  increase  in  the  total  number  of 
issued shares which may arise from an ordinary share capital 
increase, or the creation of conditional or authorized capital. 
At year-end 2009, 3,558,112,753 shares were issued with a 
par value of CHF 0.10 each, leading to ordinary share capital 
of  CHF  355,811,275.30.  This  includes  293,258,050  shares 
issued  for  a  capital  increase  out  of  authorized  capital, 
332,225,913 shares issued to the Swiss Confederation upon 
conversion of the MCNs and 48,241 shares issued for em-
ployee  option  exercises  out  of  conditional  capital,  all  of 
which took effect in 2009.

Conditional share capital
At  year-end  2009,  conditional  share  capital  of  CHF 
15,002,364.60 was available to settle employee option exer-
cises, corresponding to a maximum of 150,023,646 shares.

In  2000,  conditional  capital  was  created  in  connection 
with the acquisition of PaineWebber Group Inc. (PaineWeb-
ber), to cover option rights previously granted by PaineWeb-
ber  to  its  employees.  Additionally,  at  the  Annual  General 
Meeting (AGM) held in 2006, shareholders approved condi-
tional capital in the amount of 150 million UBS shares to be 
used for employee option grants. Options under both plans 
are exercisable at any time between their vesting and expi-
ration  date.  Shareholders  have  no  pre-emptive  rights.  In 
2009,  options  on  48,241  shares  were  exercised  under  the 
PaineWebber option plans, and 22,824 options expired un-
der the PaineWebber option plans without being exercised. 
No  options  were  settled  with  conditional  capital  shares  in 
2009 under our employee stock option plans.

At  the  Extraordinary  General  Meeting  (EGM)  held  on 
27 February 2008, our shareholders approved the creation of 
conditional  capital  through  the  issuance  of  a  maximum  of 
277,750,000 shares to satisfy the settlement in shares of CHF 
13 billion in MCNs, with a maturity date of 5 March 2010. To 
satisfy  the  conversion,  we  expect  to  deliver  272,651,005 
shares on 5 March 2010 to two financial investors.

At the AGM held on 15 April 2009, our shareholders ap-
proved the creation of conditional capital through the issu-
ance of 100,000,000 shares for the potential exercise of war-
rants granted to the Swiss National Bank (SNB), in connection 
with the loan granted by the SNB to the SNB StabFund.

➔ Refer to “Note 38 Reorganizations and disposals” in the 
“Financial information” section of this report for more 

information

Authorized share capital
At the 27 February 2008 EGM, our shareholders authorized 
the creation of 103,700,000 shares, and of that, 98,698,754 
shares were issued in 2008 as stock dividends for 2007 to 
UBS  shareholders,  with  a  remaining  authorization  to  issue 
5,001,246 shares until 27 February 2010.

Changes of shareholders’ equity
According  to  International  Financial  Reporting  Standards 
(IFRS), equity attributable to UBS shareholders amounted to 
CHF 41.0 billion on 31 December 2009.

➔ Refer to the “Statement of changes in equity” in the 

“Financial information” section of this report for more 

information on changes in shareholders’ equity over 

the last three years

Shares, participation certificates and capital securities

Our shares are issued in registered form, and are traded and 
settled as global registered shares. Each registered share has 
a par value of CHF 0.10 and carries one vote. Voting rights 
may, however, only be exercised if the holder expressly de-
clares that he or she acquired these shares in his or her own 
name  and  for  his  or  her  own  account.  Global  registered 
shares provide direct and equal ownership for all sharehold-
ers, irrespective of the country and stock exchange on which 
they are traded. 

➔ Refer to the “Shareholders’ participation rights” section 

of this report for more information

On  31  December  2009,  1,843,749,045  shares  carried 
voting rights, 400,665,834 shares were entered in the share 

Ordinary share capital

On 31 December 2007

On 31 December 2008

Issue of shares for capital increase (MCNs conversion)

Issue of shares for capital increase (private placement)

Issue of shares out of employee options exercised from conditional capital

On 31 December 2009

Share capital in CHF

Number of shares

Par value in CHF

207,354,734

293,258,055

33,222,591

29,325,805

4,824

2,073,547,344

2,932,580,549

332,225,913

293,258,050

48,241

355,811,275

3,558,112,753

0.10

0.10

0.10

0.10

0.10

0.10

189

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Corporate governance and compensation 
Corporate governance

register  without  voting  rights,  and  1,313,697,874  shares 
were  not  registered.  All  3,558,112,753  shares  were  fully 
paid up and eligible for dividends. There are no preferential 
rights  for  shareholders,  and  no  other  classes  of  shares  are 
issued by the Parent Bank directly.

We did not issue any participation certificates or capital 

instruments in 2009.

At year-end 2009, we had CHF 7,224 million in preferred 
securities outstanding, which count as hybrid tier 1 capital 
under Swiss regulatory rules. Outstanding tier 2 capital secu-
rities accounted for CHF 11,231 million in total capital on 31 
December 2009.

Transferability, voting rights and nominee registration

We do not apply any restrictions or limitations on the trans-
ferability of shares. Voting rights may be exercised without 
any restrictions by shareholders entered into the share regis-
ter, if they expressly render a declaration of beneficial owner-
ship according to the provisions of the “Articles of Associa-
tion of UBS AG” (Articles of Association).

We have special provisions for the registration of fiducia-
ries and nominees. Fiduciaries and nominees are entered in 
the share register with voting rights up to a total of 5% of all 
shares issued if they agree to disclose upon our request ben-
eficial owners holding 0.3% or more of all UBS shares. An 
exception  to  the  5%  voting  limit  rule  exists  for  securities 
clearing organizations such as The Depository Trust Compa-
ny in New York.

Convertible bonds and options

On  31  December  2009,  there  were  employee  options  and 
stock appreciation rights outstanding to purchase 290 mil-
lion shares, of which options to purchase 142 million shares 
were exercisable. We satisfy share delivery obligations under 

our  option-based  participation  plans  either  by  purchasing 
UBS shares in the market, or through the issuance of new 
shares, out of conditional capital. Shares held in treasury or 
newly issued shares are delivered to the employee at exer-
cise. On 31 December 2009, 27.7 million shares were avail-
able  to  cover  27.2  million   employee  share  delivery  obliga-
tions,  and  an  additional  150  million  unissued  shares  in 
conditional share capital were  assigned to cover future em-
ployee option exercises. At year-end 2009, the shares avail-
able covered all exercisable employee obligations.

The  Investment  Bank,  acting  as  liquidity  provider  to  the 
equity futures market and as a market-maker in UBS shares 
and derivatives, issues derivatives linked to UBS stock. Most 
of these instruments are classified as cash-settled derivatives 
and  are  held  for  trading  purposes  only.  To  hedge  the  eco-
nomic exposure, a limited number of UBS shares are held by 
the Investment Bank.

On 5 March 2008, we issued CHF 13 billion of MCNs as 
approved  at  the  27  February  2008  EGM.  The  notes  were 
placed  with  two  financial  investors  (Government  of  Singa-
pore  Investment  Corporation  and  one  other  investor),  and 
pay  interest  of  9%  per  annum  until  conversion  into  UBS 
shares, which must take place on or before 5 March 2010. 
The  conversion  of  the  MCNs  is  expected  to  increase  the 
number of shares issued on 5 March 2010 by 272,651,005, 
reflecting  adjustments  due  to  the  ordinary  capital  increase 
approved  by  our  shareholders  at  the  23  April  2008  AGM, 
assuming no further dilutive events occur until conversion. 
The terms of the MCNs contain standard market provisions 
for  the  adjustment  of  the  conversion  price  if  any  dilutive 
events occur between issuance and maturity, such as capital 
increases  at  a  discount,  an  excess  amount  of  dividends  in 
cash or in specie, and similar events.

➔ Refer to the discussion on shares and capital instruments 
in the “Treasury management” section of the 2008 annual 

report for more information on the MCNs 

190

Board of Directors

The BoD, under the leadership of the Chairman, decides on 
the  strategy  of  the  Group  upon  recommendation  of  the 
Group Chief Executive Officer (Group CEO), exercises the ul-
timate  supervision  over  the  management  and  elects  all 
members  of  the  GEB.  The  BoD  also  approves  the  financial 
statements for issue. Shareholders elect each member of the 
BoD, which in turn appoints its Chairman, at least one Vice 
Chairman and the members of its various committees.

Members of the Board of Directors

This section provides information on the composition of the 
BoD on 31 December 2009. It shows each member’s func-
tions in UBS, nationality, year of initial appointment to the 
BoD, professional history, education, and date of birth. Also 
included are other activities and functions, such as mandates 
on  boards  of  important  corporations,  organizations  and 
foundations,  permanent  functions  for  important  interest 
groups and official functions and political mandates.

At the AGM held on 15 April 2009, Peter R. Voser, David 
Sidwell, Sally Bott, Rainer-Marc Frey, Bruno Gehrig and Wil-
liam  G.  Parrett  were  reelected  as  their  terms  of  office  ex-
pired. Peter Kurer did not stand for reelection. Ernesto Ber-
tarelli, Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler and Joerg Wolle tendered 
their  resignation.  Kaspar  Villiger,  Michel  Demaré,  Ann  F. 
Godbehere and Axel P. Lehmann were elected to their first 
term  on  the  BoD,  and  Kaspar  Villiger  replaced  Peter  Kurer 
as full-time Chairman of the BoD. On 29 September 2009, 
Sergio Marchionne, Vice Chairman and Senior Independent 
Director,  and  Peter  R.  Voser  announced  that  they  will  not 
stand for reelection at the AGM on 14 April 2010. On 7 De-
cember  2009  UBS  nominated  Wolfgang  Mayrhuber,  Chief 
Executive Officer of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, for election to 
its Board of Directors at its 2010 Annual General Meeting. 
On 31 December 2009, with the exception of the non-inde-
pendent Chairman, Kaspar Villiger, all members of the BoD 
were considered independent by the BoD.

Kaspar Villiger
Swiss, born 5 February 1941
UBS AG, Bahnhofstrasse 45, CH-8098 Zurich

Functions in UBS
Chairman of the Board of Directors / chair of the 
Governance and Nominating Committee /  
chair of the Corporate Responsibility Committee

Year of initial appointment: 2009

Sergio Marchionne 
Canadian and Italian, born 17 June 1952
Fiat S.p.A., Via Nizza 250, I-10126 Turin

Functions in UBS
Independent Vice Chairman and Senior Independent 
Director / member of the Governance and Nominating 
Committee

Year of initial appointment: 2007

Professional history and education
Kaspar Villiger was elected to the BoD at the 2009 AGM and was thereafter appointed Chairman of the BoD. 
He  chairs  the  Governance  and  Nominating  Committee  and  the  Corporate  Responsibility  Committee.  Mr. 
Villiger was elected Federal Councilor in 1989, and served as the Minister of Defense and Head of the Federal 
Military Department. He served as Finance Minister and Head of the Federal Department of Finance from 
1995  until  he  stepped  down  at  the  end  of  2003.  Simultaneously,  he  served  as  President  of  the  Swiss 
Confederation in 1995 and 2002. In 2004, he was elected to the boards of Nestlé, Swiss Re and the Neue 
Zürcher Zeitung, all of which he resigned from in 2009, when he took on the position of Chairman of UBS. 
As co-owner of the Villiger Group, Mr. Villiger managed the Swiss parent firm, Villiger Söhne AG, from 1966 
until 1989. In addition, Mr. Villiger held several political positions, first in the parliament of the canton of 
Lucerne and, from 1982, in the Swiss Parliament. He graduated from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology 
(ETH) in Zurich with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1966.

Professional history and education
Sergio Marchionne was elected to the BoD at the 2007 AGM, and was appointed independent Vice Chairman 
and Senior Independent Director in 2008. He is a member of the Governance and Nominating Committee. Mr. 
Marchionne is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Fiat S.p.A., where he has been a member of the board since 
2003. He is the CEO of Fiat Group Automobiles as well as of Chrysler Group LLC. He is also the Chairman of 
CNH Case New Holland, a Fiat Group company. From 1983 to 1985, he worked as a chartered accountant and 
tax specialist for Deloitte & Touche in Canada. From 1985 to 1988, he was Group Controller and then became 
Director of Corporate Development at Lawson Mardon Group of Toronto. In 1989 and 1990, he served as the 
Executive  Vice  President  of  Glenex  Industries.  In  the  following  two  years,  Mr.  Marchionne  acted  as  Vice 
President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Acklands Ltd. He returned to Lawson Mardon Group 
in 1992 as the Vice President of Legal and Corporate Development and CFO. The company was acquired by 
Alusuisse Lonza in 1994. Following the acquisition, he became CEO in 1996. Upon the completion of the 
merger of Alusuisse with Alcan Inc., he acted as CEO and Chairman of the spin-off, Lonza Group, until 2002. 
In 2002, Mr. Marchionne was appointed CEO of the Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS) Group of Geneva. 
Mr. Marchionne studied philosophy at the University of Toronto, business at the University of Windsor, and law 
at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto. He is a lawyer and a chartered accountant.

Other activities and functions 
Mandates on boards of important corporations, organizations and foundations or interest groups: 
Mr. Marchionne is the Chairman of SGS and a member of the BoD of Philip Morris International Inc. He is also 
a member of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).

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Professional history and education
Sally  Bott  was  elected  to  the  BoD  at  the  October  2008  EGM.  She  chairs  the  Human  Resources  and 
Compensation Committee and is a member of the Corporate Responsibility Committee. Sally Bott serves as 
the Group Human Resources (HR) Director of BP plc, which she joined in early 2005, and is a member of BP’s 
Group Executive Committee. Ms. Bott has spent most of her career in financial services. Between 2000 and 
2005, she was a Managing Director at Marsh & McLennan Companies, a US-based global risk and insurance 
services business, and Head of Global HR for Marsh Inc. She was at Barclays Bank from 1994 to 2000, first 
as Barclays de Zoete Wedd HR Director and then as Group HR Director from 1997 to 2000. In 1970 she joined 
Citibank out of college as a research analyst in the economics department. She was credit trained and worked 
in the finance function. She moved into HR in 1978 and worked as an HR Director in most of Citibank’s 
wholesale bank and investment banking businesses for the next 15 years. She was the Global HR Director of 
the wholesale bank from 1990 to 1993. Ms. Bott studied at Manhattanville College in the US and graduated 
with a bachelor’s degree in economics. 

Other activities and functions 
Mandates on boards of important corporations, organizations and foundations or interest groups: 
Ms. Bott is a member of the board of the Royal College of Music in London and the Carter Burden Center for 
the Aging in New York City.

Professional history and education
Michel Demaré was elected to the BoD at the 2009 AGM and is a member of the Audit Committee. Mr. 
Demaré joined ABB in 2005 as CFO and as a member of the Group Executive Committee. In addition, he 
became President of Global Markets in November 2008. Between February and September 2008, he acted 
as the interim CEO of ABB. Mr. Demaré joined ABB from Baxter International Inc., a global healthcare com-
pany, where he was CFO Europe from 2002 to 2005. Prior to this role, he spent 18 years at the Dow Chemical 
Company holding various treasury and risk management positions in Belgium, France, the US and Switzerland. 
Between 1997 and 2002 he was the CFO of the Global Polyolefins and Elastomers division. Mr. Demaré be-
gan his career as an officer in the multinational banking division of Continental Illinois National Bank of 
Chicago, based in Antwerp. He graduated with an MBA from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, and 
holds a degree in applied economics from the Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium. 

Other activities and functions 
Mandates on boards of important corporations, organizations and foundations or interest groups: 
Mr. Demaré is a member of the IMD Foundation Board, Lausanne.

Professional history and education
Rainer-Marc Frey was elected to the BoD at the October 2008 EGM and is a member of the Risk Committee. 
Mr.  Frey  is  the  founder  and  Chairman  of  the  investment  management  company  Horizon21.  In  1992,  he 
founded RMF Investment Group, one of the first hedge fund groups in Europe, and was appointed CEO. RMF 
was acquired by Man Group plc in 2002. Between 2002 and 2004, he held a number of senior roles within 
Man Group and was the largest individual shareholder. From 1989 to 1992, Mr. Frey served as a director at 
Salomon Brothers in Zurich, Frankfurt and London, where he was primarily involved with equity derivatives. 
Between 1987 and 1989, he worked for Merrill Lynch covering equity, fixed income and swaps markets. He 
holds a degree in economics from the University of St. Gallen.

Other activities and functions 
Mandates on boards of important corporations, organizations and foundations or interest groups: 
Mr. Frey is a member of the BoD of DKSH Group, Zurich, and a member of the Advisory Board of Invision 
Private Equity AG, Zug. He is a member of the BoD of the Frey Charitable Foundation, Freienbach.

Sally Bott
American (US), born 11 November 1949
BP plc, 1 St. James’s Square, GB-London SW1Y 4PD

Functions in UBS
Chair of the Human Resources and Compensation 
Committee / member of the Corporate Responsibility 
Committee

Year of initial appointment: 2008

Michel Demaré
Belgian, born 31 August 1956
ABB Ltd., Affolternstrasse 44, P.O. Box 5009,  
CH-8050 Zurich

Function in UBS
Member of the Audit Committee

Year of initial appointment: 2009

Rainer-Marc Frey
Swiss, born 10 January 1963
Horizon21, Poststrasse 4, CH-8808 Pfäffikon

Function in UBS
Member of the Risk Committee

Year of initial appointment: 2008

192

Bruno Gehrig
Swiss, born 26 December 1946
UBS AG, Bahnhofstrasse 45, CH-8098 Zurich

Functions in UBS
Member of the Governance and Nominating 
Committee / member of the Human Resources and 
Compensation Committee

Year of initial appointment: 2008

Ann F. Godbehere 
Canadian and British, born 14 April 1955
UBS AG, Bahnhofstrasse 45, CH-8098 Zurich

Functions in UBS
Member of the Audit Committee / member of the 
Corporate Responsibility Committee

Year of initial appointment: 2009

Axel P. Lehmann
Swiss, born 23 March 1959
Zurich Financial Services, Mythenquai 2,  
CH-8002 Zurich

Function in UBS
Member of the Risk Committee

Year of initial appointment: 2009

Professional history and education
Bruno Gehrig was elected to the BoD at the October 2008 EGM and is a member of the Governance and 
Nominating Committee and the Human Resources and Compensation Committee. From 2003 to 2009, Mr. 
Gehrig was Chairman of Swiss Life Holding. Between 1996 and 2003, he worked at the Swiss National Bank, 
starting as a member of the Governing Board and becoming Vice Chairman in 2000. From 1992 to 1996, he 
was a professor of banking and finance at the University of St. Gallen and concurrently served as a member 
of the Swiss Federal Banking Commission. Between 1989 and 1991, he held the position of CEO at Cantrade 
Private Banking Group. Mr. Gehrig worked for the former Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) between 1981 
and 1989, where he started as a chief economist before assuming responsibility for securities sales and trad-
ing. He studied economics at the University of Bern, where he completed his PhD studies, and then continued 
on to postgraduate studies at the University of Rochester, New York. He was an assistant professor at the 
University of Bern and received an honorary doctorate from the University of Rochester.

Other activities and functions 
Mandates on boards of important corporations, organizations and foundations or interest groups: 
Mr. Gehrig is the Vice Chairman of the BoD of Roche Holding Ltd., Basel, and the Chairman of the Swiss Air 
Transport Foundation, Zug.

Professional history and education
Ann F. Godbehere was elected to the BoD at the 2009 AGM and is a member of the Audit Committee and the 
Corporate Responsibility Committee. Ms. Godbehere was appointed CFO and Executive Director of Northern 
Rock in February 2008, serving in these roles during the initial phase of the business’ public ownership – she 
left at the end of January 2009. Prior to this role, she served as CFO of Swiss Re Group from 2003 to 2007. 
Ms. Godbehere was CFO of the Property and Casualty division in Zurich for two years, before this she served 
as CFO of the Life & Health division in London for three years. From 1997 to 1998, Ms. Godbehere was CEO 
of  Swiss  Re  Life  &  Health  in  Canada.  In  1996  and  1997,  she  was  CFO  of  Swiss  Re  Life  &  Health  North 
America. She is a certified general accountant and was made a fellow of the Certified General Accountants 
Association of Canada in 2003.

Other activities and functions 
Mandates on boards of important corporations, organizations and foundations or interest groups: 
Ms. Godbehere is a board member of Prudential plc, Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited. She is on the board 
of Lloyd’s managing agency, Atrium Underwriters Ltd. and Atrium Underwriting Group Ltd., which were ac-
quired in 2007 by Ariel Holdings Ltd. She is also a member of the board of Ariel Holdings, an insurance and 
reinsurance company.

Professional history and education
Axel P. Lehmann was elected to the BoD at the 2009 AGM and is a member of the Risk Committee. He has 
been the Group Chief Risk Officer of Zurich Financial Services (Zurich) since January 2008. In addition, he is 
responsible  for  Group  IT.  In  September  2004,  Mr.  Lehmann  was  appointed  CEO  of  Zurich  North America 
Commercial in Schaumburg, Illinois. He became a member of Zurich’s Group Executive Committee and CEO 
of  its  Continental  Europe  business  division  in  2002.  He  was  subsequently  put  in  charge  of  integrating 
Continental Europe, the UK and Ireland to create, in 2004, the Europe General Insurance business division, of 
which he was the CEO. Mr. Lehmann became a member of the Group Management Board, responsible for 
Group-wide  business  development  functions  in  2000.  A  year  later,  he  took  over  the  responsibility  for 
Northern, Central and Eastern Europe and was appointed CEO of the Zurich Group Germany. Before he joined 
Zurich in 1996, he was Head of Corporate Planning and Controlling for Swiss Life in Zurich. Mr. Lehmann was 
a lecturer at several universities and institutes. In 1990, he became Vice President of the Institute of Insurance 
Economics and the European Center at the University of St. Gallen, responsible for consulting and manage-
ment development. He holds a PhD and a master’s degree in business administration and economics from the 
University of St. Gallen. He is a graduate of the Wharton Advanced Management Program and an honorary 
professor of business administration and service management at the University of St. Gallen.

Other activities and functions 
Mandates on boards of important corporations, organizations and foundations or interest groups: 
Mr. Lehmann is Chairman of the Board of the Institute of Insurance Economics at the University of St. Gallen 
and Vice Chairman of the Chief Risk Officer Forum.

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Corporate governance and compensation 
Corporate governance

Helmut Panke 
German, born 31 August 1946
BMW AG, Petuelring 130, D-80788 Munich

Functions in UBS
Member of the Human Resources and Compensation  
Committee / member of the Risk Committee

Year of initial appointment: 2004

William G. Parrett 
American (US), born 4 June 1945
UBS AG, Bahnhofstrasse 45, CH-8098 Zurich

Function in UBS
Chair of the Audit Committee

Year of initial appointment: 2008

David Sidwell 
American (US) and British, born 28 March 1953
UBS AG, Bahnhofstrasse 45, CH-8098 Zurich

Function in UBS
Chair of the Risk Committee

Year of initial appointment: 2008

Peter R. Voser 
Swiss, born 29 August 1958
Royal Dutch Shell plc, 2501 AN, NL-The Hague

Function in UBS
Member of the Governance and Nominating Committee

Year of initial appointment: 2005

194

Professional history and education
Helmut Panke was elected to the BoD at the 2004 AGM and is a member of the Human Resources and 
Compensation Committee and the Risk Committee. Between 2002 and 2006, Mr. Panke was Chairman of the 
Board of Management at BMW, Munich. In 1982, he joined BMW’s Research and Development division as 
Head of Planning and Controlling. He subsequently assumed management functions in corporate planning, 
organization and corporate strategy. Before his appointment as Chairman, he was a member of BMW’s Board 
of  Management  from  1996.  Between  1993  and  1996,  he  was  Chairman  and  CEO  of  BMW  Holding 
Corporation in the US. Mr. Panke graduated from the University of Munich with a PhD in physics and was on 
special research assignment at the University of Munich and the Swiss Institute for Nuclear Research before 
joining McKinsey & Company in Dusseldorf and Munich as a consultant.

Other activities and functions 
Mandates on boards of important corporations, organizations and foundations or interest groups: 
Mr. Panke is a member of the BoD of Microsoft Corporation and Singapore Airlines Ltd. He is a member of the 
Supervisory Board of Bayer AG, Germany.

Professional history and education
William G. Parrett was elected to the BoD at the October 2008 EGM and chairs the Audit Committee. Mr. 
Parrett served his entire career with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, a global organization of member firms that 
employs  160,000  people  in  nearly  140  countries.  He  was  CEO  from  2003  until  his  retirement  in  2007. 
Between 1999 and 2003, he was a Managing Partner of Deloitte & Touche USA LLP and served on Deloitte’s 
Global Executive Committee. Mr. Parrett founded Deloitte’s US National Financial Services Industry Group in 
1995 and its Global Financial Services Industry Group in 1997, both of which he led as Chairman. In his 40 
years of experience in professional services, Mr. Parrett served public, private, governmental, and state-owned 
clients worldwide, in order to help Deloitte achieve superior financial performance and growth. Mr. Parrett 
has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from St. Francis College, New York, and is a certified public accountant. 

Other activities and functions 
Mandates on boards of important corporations, organizations and foundations or interest groups: 
Mr. Parrett is an independent Director of the Eastman Kodak Company, the Blackstone Group LP, and Thermo 
Fisher  Scientific  Inc.  He  is  also  the  Chairman  of  the  BoD  of  the  United  States  Council  for  International 
Business and United Way Worldwide. He is a Carnegie Hall Board of Trustees member and is also a member 
of the International Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee.

Professional history and education
David Sidwell was elected to the BoD at the 2008 AGM and chairs the Risk Committee. Mr. Sidwell was 
Executive Vice President and CFO of Morgan Stanley in New York between March 2004 and October 2007. 
Before joining Morgan Stanley, he was with JPMorgan Chase & Co., New York, where in his 20 years of ser-
vice, he held a number of different positions including Controller and CFO of the Investment Bank. Prior to 
this, he was with Price Waterhouse in both London and New York. Mr. Sidwell graduated from Cambridge 
University and is a chartered accountant qualifying in the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and 
Wales.

Other activities and functions 
Mandates on boards of important corporations, organizations and foundations or interest groups: 
Mr. Sidwell is a Director of the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and a Senior Advisor at 
Oliver Wyman. He is a trustee of the International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation, London, the 
Chairman of the BoD of Village Care of New York, a not-for-profit organization, and a Director of the National 
Council on Aging.

Professional history and education
Peter R. Voser was elected to the BoD at the 2005 AGM and is a member of the Governance and Nominating 
Committee. As of July 2009, Mr. Voser has been serving as the CEO and an executive BoD member of Royal 
Dutch Shell plc, where he also acted as CFO from 2004 to 2009. Between 2002 and 2004, he was CFO of 
ABB in Switzerland. Between 1982 and 2002, he worked for the Royal Dutch / Shell Group, holding various 
assignments in Switzerland, the UK, Argentina and Chile. Mr. Voser graduated in business administration from 
the University of Applied Sciences in Zurich.

Other activities and functions 
Mandates on boards of important corporations, organizations and foundations or interest groups: 
Mr. Voser is a member of the BoD of the Swiss Federal Audit Oversight Authority.

Elections and terms of office

In accordance with article 19 (paragraph one) of the “Arti-
cles of Association of UBS AG” (Articles of Association), all 
BoD members are to be elected on an individual basis for a 
one-year term of office. As a result, shareholders must con-
firm the entire membership of the BoD on a yearly basis be-
ginning with the AGM on 14 April 2010.

BoD members are normally expected to serve for a mini-
mum  of  three  years.  No  BoD  member  should  continue  to 
serve beyond the AGM held in the calendar year following 
his or her sixty-fifth birthday; however, the BoD can extend 
this age limit.

Organizational principles and structure

The  competencies  of  executive  management  have  been 
 increased  and  simultaneously,  the  supervisory  role  of  the 
BoD has been accentuated, due to the revised Organization 
Regulations. The BoD’s ultimate responsibility for strategic 
and  financial  success  includes  deciding  on  the  business 
strategy of the Group upon recommendation of the Group 
CEO,  and  taking  into  account  the  proposals  and  alterna-
tives  presented  by  the  GEB.  Furthermore,  the  BoD  is  re-
sponsible for appointing and dismissing all GEB members, 
the Company Secretary and the Head of Group Internal Au-
dit,  and  approving  the  firm’s  risk  capacities  and  appetite, 
taking into account the proposals and alternatives suggest-
ed by the Risk Committee (RC).

The  following  committees  assist  the  BoD  in  the  perfor-
mance  of  its  responsibilities.  These  committees  and  their 
charters  are  described  in  the  Organization  Regulations 
which are published on www.ubs.com/governance.

Audit Committee
The Audit Committee (AC) comprises at least three indepen-
dent  BoD  members,  with  all  members  having  been  deter-
mined  by  the  BoD  to  be  fully  independent  and  financially 
literate. On 31 December 2009, the AC consisted of William 
G.  Parrett,  the  chairperson,  as  well  as  Michel  Demaré  and 
Ann F. Godbehere. All members have accounting and finan-
cial management expertise and are considered to be “finan-
cial  experts”  according  to  the  rules  established  by  the  US 
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. 

The committee does not itself perform audits, but moni-
tors the work of the auditors who in turn, are responsible for 
auditing UBS’s and the Group’s financial statements and for 
reviewing the quarterly financial statements. The function of 
the  AC  is  to  serve  as  an  independent  and  objective  body 
with oversight of: (i) the Group’s accounting policies, finan-
cial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures, (ii) the 
quality,  adequacy  and  scope  of  external  audit,  (iii)  UBS’s 
compliance with financial reporting requirements, (iv) man-
agement’s approach to internal controls with respect to the 
production  and  integrity  of  the  financial  statements  and 
 disclosure of the financial performance, and (v) the perfor-
mance  of  Group  Internal  Audit  in  conjunction  with  the 
Chairman and the RC. 

Following each AGM, the BoD meets to appoint its Chair-
man, one or more Vice Chairmen, the Senior Independent 
Director and the members and chairs of its committees. The 
BoD appoints a Company Secretary who acts as secretary to 
the BoD and its committees.

The  AC  reviews  the  annual  report  and  quarterly  financial 
statements of UBS and the Group as proposed by the manage-
ment with external auditors, management and Group Internal 
Audit in order to recommend their approval, including any ad-
justments the committee considers appropriate, to the BoD. 

According to the Articles of Association, the BoD meets 
as  often  as  business  requires,  but  must  meet  at  least  six 
times a year. A total of 23 meetings were held in 2009, of 
which  seven  included  GEB  members  and  16  were  without 
GEB participation. On average, 93% of BoD members were 
present  at  BoD  meetings  without  GEB  participation  and 
95%  at  meetings  with  GEB  participation.  The  duration  of 
these meetings was 3½ hours on average. In addition, the 
BoD met for a one-day BoD seminar. 

Each committee chair provides the BoD with regular up-
dates on the current activities of his or her committee and on 
important committee issues.

At  least  once  per  year,  the  BoD  reviews  its  own  perfor-
mance as well as the performance of each of its committees. 
This review is based on an assessment of the BoD conducted 
by  the  Governance  and  Nominating  Committee  (GNC)  as 
well as a self-assessment of the BoD committees, and seeks 
to determine whether the BoD and its committees are func-
tioning effectively and efficiently.

Periodically  and  at  least  annually,  the  AC  assesses  the 
qualifications,  expertise,  effectiveness,  independence  and 
performance  of  the  external  auditors  and  their  lead  audit 
partner, in order to support the BoD in reaching a decision in 
relation to the appointment or removal of the external audi-
tors and the rotation of the lead audit partner. The BoD then 
submits these proposals at the AGM.

The AC met 14 times in 2009 for an average duration of 
2½ hours, in the presence of the Group Chief Financial Of-
ficer (CFO) each time, and with the Head of Group Internal 
Audit, the representatives of the external auditors and other 
GEB members participating in most of the meetings. Partici-
pation at the meetings averaged 98%.

The committee reports back to the BoD about its discus-
sions  with  our  external  auditors.  Once  per  year,  the  lead 
represen tatives  of  the  external  auditors  take  part  in  a  BoD 
meeting,  presenting  the  long-form  report  of  our  external 
 auditors,  as  required  by  the  Swiss  Financial  Market  Super-
visory Authority (FINMA).

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Corporate governance and compensation 
Corporate governance

Corporate Responsibility Committee
The  Corporate  Responsibility  Committee  supports  the  BoD 
in  fulfilling  its  duty  to  safeguard  and  advance  the  Group’s 
reputation for responsible corporate conduct, and to assess 
developments in stakeholder expectations and their possible 
consequences  for  UBS.  The  committee  comprises  at  least 
three BoD members and, on 31 December 2009, Kaspar Vil-
liger chaired the committee with Sally Bott and Ann F. God-
behere as its additional members. The committee is advised 
and supported by a number of senior business representa-
tives. It met twice for 90 minutes in 2009, and all committee 
members were present.

➔ Refer to the “Corporate responsibility” section of this 

report for more information on corporate responsibility

Governance and Nominating Committee
The  GNC  supports  the  BoD  in  fulfilling  its  duty  to  establish 
best  practices  in  corporate  governance  across  the  Group; 
to  conduct  an  annual   assessment  of  the  Chairman  and  the 
BoD  as  a  whole;  to  establish  and  maintain  a  process  for 
 appointing new BoD members; and to manage the succession 
of  the  Group  CEO.  The  committee  comprises  at  least  three 
independent BoD members and, on 31 December 2009, Kas-
par Villiger chaired the committee with Bruno Gehrig, Sergio 
Marchionne and Peter R. Voser as its additional members. In 
2009, 11 meetings were held with an average participation of 
86%  and  a  duration  averaging  over  one  hour.  Of  these  11 
meetings, one was held with external advisors.

Human Resources and Compensation Committee
The  Human  Resources  and  Compensation  Committee 
(HRCC) is responsible for the following functions: (i) to sup-
port the BoD in its duties to set guidelines on compensation 
and benefits, (ii) to approve the total individual compensa-
tion for the Chairman and the GEB members as well as the 
Company Secretary and Head of Group Internal Audit, (iii) 
together with the Chairman, to provide the BoD with a pro-
posal for total individual compensation for the independent 
BoD members, and (iv) to scrutinize executive performance 
and  to  supervise  succession  planning  for  all  GEB  members 
(other  than  the  Group  CEO).  The  HRCC  also  reviews  the 
compensation disclosure included in this report.

The committee comprises at least three independent BoD 
members and, on 31 December 2009, Sally Bott chaired the 
committee with Bruno Gehrig and Helmut Panke as its ad-
ditional members. In 2009, 14 meetings were held with an 
average  participation  of  98%  and  a  duration  of  over  one 
hour. Of those meetings, nine were held with external advi-
sors and one was held as a seminar with the participation of 
the Chairman and the Group Head HR.

➔ Refer to the “Compensation and shareholdings” section of 
this report for more information on the Human Resources 

and Compensation Committee’s decision-making  proce-

dures

Risk Committee
The RC is responsible for assisting the BoD in reviewing the 
bank’s  risk  management  and  control  framework,  including 
(i) credit, market, country and operational risks (ii) treasury 
and  capital  management,  including  funding  and  liquidity, 
and (iii) balance sheet management, including in each case 
any consequent reputational risk. The RC assists the BoD in 
establishing the bank’s risk capacity and risk appetite, and in 
overseeing the bank’s risk profile. For these purposes, the RC 
receives relevant information from the GEB and other mem-
bers of management. 

The  committee  comprises  four  independent  BoD  mem-
bers and, on 31 December 2009, David Sidwell chaired the 
committee  with  Rainer-Marc  Frey,  Axel  P.  Lehmann  and 
Helmut Panke as its additional members. The committee met 
14  times  with  an  average  participation  of  98%,  averaging 
over four hours in duration. The Group CEO, Group CFO and 
Group CRO were present at all meetings. Other regular at-
tendees  included  the  CEO  or  co-CEOs  of  the  Investment 
Bank, and CEO of Wealth Management & Business Banking 
or co-CEOs of Wealth Management & Swiss Bank. Eight of 
these meetings were held with representatives of the exter-
nal  auditors  also  in  attendance.  Two  special  sessions  were 
held with the Governing Board of the SNB, and at least one 
session will continue to be held on an annual basis. In addi-
tion, one special session was held with FINMA, and at least 
one meeting will continue to be held on an annual basis.

Strategy Committee 
The  Strategy  Committee  was  constituted  on  1  July  2008, 
taking over the strategic responsibilities of the former Chair-
man’s Office. While it met extensively in 2008, no meetings 
took place in 2009. As it was always intended to be a tem-
porary committee, it was disbanded on 25 June 2009 and its 
responsibilities were transferred to the full BoD. 

Roles and responsibilities of the Chairman of  
the Board of Directors

Kaspar  Villiger,  the  Chairman,  has  entered  into  a  full-time 
employment contract with UBS in connection with his ser-
vice on the BoD. 

The Chairman coordinates the tasks within the BoD, calls 
BoD meetings and sets their agendas. Under the leadership 
of  the  Chairman,  the  BoD  decides  on  the  strategy  of  the 

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Group upon recommendation of the Group CEO, exercises 
the  ultimate  supervision  over  the  executives  and  elects  all 
GEB members.

The  Chairman  presides  over  the  AGMs  and  EGMs  and 
works with the committee chairs to coordinate the work of 
all committees. Together with the Group CEO, the Chairman 
is  responsible  for  ensuring  effective  communication  with 
shareholders and other stakeholders, including government 
officials and regulators. This is in addition to establishing and 
maintaining  a  close  working  relationship  with  the  Group 
CEO and the other GEB members, providing advice and sup-
port while respecting the fact that day-to-day management 
responsibility is delegated to the GEB.

Roles and responsibilities of the Senior  
Independent Director

At least once per year, the Senior Independent Director orga-
nizes and leads a meeting of the independent BoD members 
without the presence of the Chairman. In 2009, six indepen-
dent  BoD  meetings  were  held  averaging  90  minutes.  The 
Senior Independent Director reports to the Chairman on the 
evaluation  of  the  Chairman’s  performance,  and  acts  as  a 
contact point for shareholders wishing to engage in discus-
sions with an independent BoD member.

Important business connections of independent 
members of the Board of Directors with UBS

As a global financial services provider and a major bank in 
Switzerland, we have business relationships with many large 
companies, including those in which our BoD members as-
sume  management  or  independent  board  responsibilities. 
The nature of the relationships between UBS and com panies 
whose chair, chief executive or other officer is a member of 
our BoD is not considered to compromise the BoD members’ 
capacity for independent judgment. Furthermore, no inde-
pendent  BoD  member  has  personal  business  relationships 
with UBS that could compromise his or her independence.

All relationships and transactions with UBS BoD members 
and their affiliated companies are conducted in the ordinary 
course of business, and are on the same terms as those pre-
vailing  at  the  time  for  comparable  transactions  with  non- 
affiliated persons.

Checks and balances: Board of Directors and  
Group Executive Board

We operate under a strict dual board structure, as mandated 
by Swiss banking law. The separation of responsibilities be-

tween the BoD and executive management is clearly defined 
in  the  Organization  Regulations.  The  BoD  decides  on  the 
strategy of the Group upon recommendation of the Group 
CEO, and supervises and monitors the business, whereas the 
GEB, headed by the Group CEO, has executive management 
responsibility.  The  functions  of  Chairman  of  the  BoD  and 
Group CEO are assigned to two different people, thus ensur-
ing a separation of power. This structure establishes checks 
and  balances  and  preserves  the  institutional  independence 
of the BoD from the day-to-day management of the firm, for 
which responsibility is delegated to the GEB under the lead-
ership of the Group CEO. No member of one board may be 
a member of the other.

Supervision  and  control  of  executive  management  re-
mains with the BoD. The authorities and responsibilities of 
the two bodies are governed by the Articles of Association 
and the Organization Regulations, including the latter docu-
ment’s “Annex B – Responsibilities and authorities”.

➔ Refer to www.ubs.com/governance for more details on 

checks and balances for the BoD and GEB

Information and control instruments vis-à-vis  
the Group Executive Board

The BoD is kept informed of the activities of the GEB in vari-
ous ways. The minutes of the GEB meetings are made avail-
able to the BoD members. At BoD meetings, the Group CEO 
and  GEB  members regularly update  the  BoD on important 
issues.

At BoD meetings, BoD members may request from BoD 
or GEB members any information about matters concerning 
UBS that they require to fulfill their duties. Outside meetings, 
BoD members may request information from other BoD and 
GEB  members,  in  which  case  such  requests  must  be  ap-
proved by the Chairman.

Group Internal Audit independently, objectively and sys-
tematically assesses the adherence to our strategy, effective-
ness of governance, risk management and control processes 
at Group, divisional and regional levels, and monitors com-
pliance with legal, regulatory and statutory requirements, as 
well as with internal policies and contracts. This internal au-
dit organization, which is independent from management, 
reports significant findings to the Chairman and the RC. The 
AC must be informed of the results of the internal audit. 

In February 2009, our internal compliance function pro-
vided an annual compliance report to the BoD. This report is 
required by sections 109 and 112 of Circular 08 / 24 of FIN-
MA on the supervision and internal controls at banks.

➔ Refer to the “Risk management and control” section of this 

report for more information

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Corporate governance and compensation 
Corporate governance

Group Executive Board

UBS operates under a strict dual board structure, as required 
by Swiss banking law. The management of the business is 
delegated by the BoD to the GEB.

Members of the Group Executive Board 

The  information  in  the  boxes  below  provides  details  on  the 
composition of the GEB on 31 December 2009. It shows each 
member’s functions within UBS, nationality, year of initial ap-
pointment  to  the  GEB,  professional  history,  education,  and 
date  of  birth.  It  also  includes  other  activities  and  functions, 
such as mandates on boards of important corporations, orga-
nizations and foundations, permanent functions for important 
interest groups as well as official functions and political man-
dates.

Changes to the Group Executive Board in 2009 

Oswald  J.  Grübel  was  named  Group  CEO  on  26  February 
2009, replacing Marcel Rohner who stepped down as Group 
CEO on that date. 

On  1  April  2009,  Ulrich  Körner  was  appointed  Group 
COO and Walter H. Stürzinger stepped down from the GEB 
on that date. In this newly created role, Ulrich Körner is re-
sponsible for the management and performance of the in-
frastructure as well as service functions for the Group and 
leads  the  Corporate  Center.  The  Group  control  functions 
 (finance, risk, and legal and compliance) were centralized as 
part of the integration of the Group-wide infrastructure, ser-
vices and control functions. This transformation took place 
in several steps and was finalized in October 2009. 

On 27 April 2009, Jerker Johansson resigned as CEO of 
the  Investment  Bank.  Carsten  Kengeter  and  Alexander 
Wilmot-Sitwell became co-CEOs of the Investment Bank. On 
25  June  2009,  Chi-Won  Yoon  became  Chairman  and  CEO 
Asia  Pacific,  replacing  Rory  Tapner.  On  27  October  2009, 
Marten Hoekstra stepped down as CEO of Wealth Manage-
ment Americas and was replaced by Robert J. McCann. 

Professional history and education
Oswald J. Grübel was named UBS Group CEO in February 2009. Before joining UBS he was the CEO of Credit 
Suisse Group and Credit Suisse. He stepped down from this role in May 2007. From 2002 to 2004, he was 
CEO of Credit Suisse Financial Services and co-CEO of Credit Suisse Group from 2003 until 2004. Mr. Grübel 
was a member of the Credit Suisse Group Executive Board from 1997 to 2001 and again from 2002 to 2007. 
From 1991 until 1997 he was a member of the Group Executive Board of Credit Suisse, responsible for equi-
ties, fixed income, global foreign exchange, money markets and asset / liability management in Zurich. Before 
that he was a member of the Financière Credit Suisse First Boston Group Executive Board in Zug. In 1970, 
Mr. Grübel joined White Weld Securities and became its CEO in 1978. From 1961 to 1970 he worked for 
Deutsche Bank, where he completed his training as a banker.

Other activities and functions 
Mandates on boards of important corporations, organizations and foundations or interest groups: 
Mr. Grübel is a board member of the Spanish residential estate La Zagaleta, of the Swiss American Chamber 
of Commerce, the Institute of International Finance and the Financial Services Forum. He is a member of the 
Shanghai  International  Financial  Advisory  Council,  the  Institut  International  d’Etudes  Bancaires  and  the 
International Monetary Conference.

Professional history and education
John  Cryan  was  appointed  Group  CFO  and  became  a  member  of  the  Group  Executive  Board  (GEB)  in 
September  2008.  In  2002  he  became  the  European  Head  of  the  Financial  Institutions  Group  of  the  UBS 
Investment Bank and three years later he was made its Global Head. A former employee of Arthur Andersen 
LLP, Mr. Cryan joined S.G. Warburg & Co. in London in 1987. Since 1992, he has specialized in providing 
strategic and financial advice to a wide range of companies in the financial services sector globally. Mr. Cryan 
graduated in 1981 with an MA with honors from the University of Cambridge.

Oswald J. Grübel 
German, born 23 November 1943
UBS AG, Bahnhofstrasse 45, CH-8098 Zurich

Function in UBS
Group CEO

Year of initial appointment: 2009

John Cryan 
British, born 16 December 1960
UBS AG, Bahnhofstrasse 45, CH-8098 Zurich

Function in UBS
Group CFO

Year of initial appointment: 2008

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Markus U. Diethelm 
Swiss, born 22 October 1957
UBS AG, Bahnhofstrasse 45, CH-8098 Zurich

Function in UBS
Group General Counsel

Year of initial appointment: 2008

John A. Fraser
Australian, born 8 August 1951
UBS AG, Bahnhofstrasse 45, CH-8098 Zurich

Functions in UBS
Chairman and CEO Global Asset Management

Year of initial appointment: 2002

Carsten Kengeter 
German, born 31 March 1967
UBS AG, Bahnhofstrasse 45, CH-8098 Zurich

Function in UBS
Co-CEO Investment Bank

Year of initial appointment: 2009

Ulrich Körner 
German and Swiss, born 25 October 1962
UBS AG, Bahnhofstrasse 45, CH-8098 Zurich

Functions in UBS
Group Chief Operating Officer   
CEO Corporate Center

Year of initial appointment: 2009

Professional history and education
Markus U. Diethelm was appointed Group General Counsel of UBS in September 2008. From 1998 until 
2008, he served as Swiss Re’s Group Chief Legal Officer and was appointed to its Group Executive Board in 
2007. Prior to that, he was at the Los Angeles-based law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, focusing on corporate 
matters,  securities  transactions,  litigation  and  regulatory  investigations  while  working  out  of  the  firm’s 
Brussels and Paris offices. From 1989 until 1992, he practiced at New York’s Shearman & Sterling law firm, 
specializing in mergers and acquisitions, and in 1988, he worked at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison 
in New York as a foreign associate. He started his career in 1983 with Bär & Karrer. Mr. Diethelm holds a law 
degree  from  the  University  of  Zurich  and  a  master’s  degree  and  PhD  from  Stanford  Law  School.  He  is  a 
qualified attorney-at-law in Switzerland and admitted to the Zurich and New York Bar.

Other activities and functions 
Mandates on boards of important corporations, organizations and foundations or interest groups: 
Mr. Diethelm is the Chairman of the Legal Committee of the Swiss American Chamber of Commerce. 

Professional history and education
John A. Fraser was appointed Chairman and CEO of the Global Asset Management business division in late 
2001. Prior to that, he was President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of UBS Asset Management and Head 
of Asia Pacific. In 2008, he became Chairman of UBS Saudi Arabia. From 1994 to 1998, he was the Executive 
Chairman and CEO of the Australia funds management business. Before joining UBS, Mr. Fraser spent over 20 
years in various positions at the Australian Treasury, including two international postings in Washington DC, 
first, at the International Monetary Fund and second, as a minister (economic) at the Australian Embassy. He 
was the Deputy Secretary (economic) of the Australian Treasury from 1990 to 1993. Mr. Fraser graduated from 
Monash University in Australia in 1972 and holds a first-class honors degree in economics.

Other activities and functions 
Mandates on boards of important corporations, organizations and foundations or interest groups: 
Mr. Fraser is a non-executive Chairperson of the Victorian Funds Management Corporation, Melbourne, and 
is a member of the Board of Governors of the Marymount International School at Kingston-upon-Thames in 
the UK.

Professional history and education
Carsten Kengeter was appointed co-CEO of the UBS Investment Bank and became a member of the GEB in 
April 2009. He joined UBS in December 2008 and served as the joint Global Head of Fixed Income, Currencies 
& Commodities (FICC) of the UBS Investment Bank until January 2010. Previously, Mr. Kengeter worked for 
Goldman Sachs as the co-Head of Asia (ex-Japan) Securities division in Hong Kong. In 2003, he co-headed 
the European FICC and Structured Equities Distribution in London, and in 2002 he became partner and Head 
of the FICC German Region in Frankfurt. In 2000 he was made Head of the European and Asian CDO business 
in London, and before that he was in derivatives marketing in Frankfurt. From 1992 to 1997, Mr. Kengeter 
worked for Barclays de Zoete Wedd, setting up its credit derivatives trading desk. He graduated as Diplom-
Betriebswirt from FH Reutlingen, holds a bachelor’s in business administration from Middlesex University and 
a finance and accounting MS from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Professional history and education
Ulrich Körner was appointed Group Chief Operating Officer (COO) and CEO Corporate Center and was made 
a member of the GEB in April 2009. In this function, he leads the Corporate Center. Mr. Körner was previ-
ously with Credit Suisse from 1998 and served as a member of the Credit Suisse Group executive manage-
ment in his last six years where he held various management positions, including CFO and COO. Most re-
cently, he was responsible for the entire Swiss client business as CEO of the Switzerland region. Mr. Körner 
received a PhD from the University of St. Gallen in business administration and served several years as an 
auditor for Price Waterhouse and management consultant for McKinsey & Company.

Other activities and functions 
Mandates on boards of important corporations, organizations and foundations or interest groups: 
Mr. Körner is the Chairman of the Widder Hotel, Vice President of the BoD of Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz, member 
of the Foundation Board of the UBS Pension Fund, member of the Financial Service Chapter Board of the 
Swiss-American  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  member  of  the  board  of  the  Swiss  Banking  Institute  of  the 
University of Zurich.

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Corporate governance

Philip J. Lofts 
British, born 9 April 1962
UBS AG, Bahnhofstrasse 45, CH-8098 Zurich

Function in UBS
Group Chief Risk Officer

Year of initial appointment: 2008

Robert J. McCann
American (US), born 15 March 1958
UBS AG, Bahnhofstrasse 45, CH-8098 Zurich

Function in UBS
CEO Wealth Management Americas

Year of initial appointment: 2009

Francesco Morra 
Swiss and Italian, born 31 August 1967
UBS AG, Bahnhofstrasse 45, CH-8098 Zurich

Function in UBS
CEO UBS Switzerland, Wealth Management &  
Swiss Bank

Year of initial appointment: 2009

Alexander Wilmot-Sitwell
British, born 16 March 1961
UBS AG, Bahnhofstrasse 45, CH-8098 Zurich

Function in UBS
Co-CEO Investment Bank

Year of initial appointment: 2008

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Professional history and education
Philip J. Lofts was appointed Group Chief Risk Officer (CRO) in November 2008. He has been with UBS for 
over 20 years. In 2008, he became the Group Risk COO, after having previously been the Group Chief Credit 
Officer for three years. Before this, Mr. Lofts worked for the Investment Bank in a number of business and risk 
control  positions  in  Europe, Asia  Pacific  and  the  US.  He  successfully  completed  his A-levels  at  Cranbrook 
School. From 1981 to 1984 he was a trainee at Charterhouse Japhet plc, a merchant bank acquired by the 
Royal Bank of Scotland in 1985. 

Other activities and functions 
Mandates on boards of important corporations, organizations and foundations or interest groups: 
Mr. Lofts is a board member of the University of Connecticut Foundation.

Professional history and education
Robert J. McCann was appointed CEO of Wealth Management Americas and became a member of the GEB 
in October 2009. Before joining UBS, he worked for Merrill Lynch & Company as Vice Chairman and President 
of the Global Wealth Management Group. In 2003 he served as Vice Chairman of Distribution and Marketing 
for AXA Financial. He started his career with Merrill Lynch in 1982, working in various positions in capital 
markets and research. From 1998 to 2000, he was the Global Head of Global Institutional Debt and Equity 
Sales. In 2000 he became the COO of Global Markets and Investment Banking, and from 2001 to 2003, he 
was  the  Head  of  Global  Securities  Research  and  Economics.  Mr.  McCann  graduated  with  a  bachelor’s  in 
economics from Bethany College, West Virginia. He holds an MBA from Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, 
and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Other activities and functions 
Mandates on boards of important corporations, organizations and foundations or interest groups: 
Mr. McCann is a board member of the American Ireland Fund and is Vice Chairman of the Bethany College 
Board of Trustees. He is a member of the No Greater Sacrifice Advisory Board and is Chairman of the Executive 
Advisory Board of Sponsors for Educational Opportunity.

Professional history and education
Francesco Morra was appointed CEO of UBS Switzerland, Wealth Management & Swiss Bank, and became a 
member of the GEB in 2009. In November 2007 he was appointed Head of Wealth Management Western 
Europe, Mediterranean, Middle East and Africa. In addition, as of September 2008, he was responsible for the 
business unit Latin America, Caribbean & Canada. Mr. Morra joined UBS in 2005 as the Head of Wealth 
Management Italy and as a member of the former Group Managing Board (GMB). Before joining UBS, he held 
various management positions at the Boston Consulting Group between 1992 and 2005. He holds a master’s 
and PhD in economics from the University of St. Gallen.

Other activities and functions 
Mandates on boards of important corporations, organizations and foundations or interest groups: 
Mr.  Morra  is Vice  Chairman  of  the  Swiss  Bankers Association  and  Swiss  Finance  Institute.  He  is  on  the 
Committee of the Zurich Chamber of Commerce. 

Professional history and education
Alexander Wilmot-Sitwell was appointed co-CEO of the UBS Investment Bank in April 2009. He became a 
member  of  the  GEB  in  February  2008  and  served  as  the  joint  Global  Head  of  Investment  Banking  and 
Chairman and CEO of UBS Group Europe, Middle East & Africa. In 2006, Mr. Wilmot-Sitwell became a mem-
ber of the former GMB. He joined the firm in 1996 as the Head of Corporate Finance in South Africa and 
moved  to  London  in  1998  as  Head  of  UK  Investment  Banking.  Mr. Wilmot-Sitwell  previously  worked  for 
Warburg  Dillon  Read  and  served  as  the  Head  of  Corporate  Finance  at  SBC Warburg  in  South Africa.  Mr. 
Wilmot-Sitwell graduated from Bristol University with a degree in modern history.

Other activities and functions 
Mandates on boards of important corporations, organizations and foundations or interest groups: 
Mr. Wilmot-Sitwell is Vice President of the Save the Children Fund, London.

Professional history and education
Robert  Wolf  was  appointed  President  of  the  UBS  Investment  Bank  in  2007  and  was  COO  of  the  UBS 
Investment Bank from 2004 to 2008. Since 2007, he has also served as Chairman and CEO of UBS Group 
Americas. Prior to that, Mr. Wolf served as the Global Head of Fixed Income from 2002 to 2004 and previ-
ously as Global Head of Credit Trading, Research and Distribution. He joined Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) 
in  1994,  after  spending  approximately  10  years  at  Salomon  Brothers  in  fixed  income.  In  1984,  Mr. Wolf 
graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in economics.

Robert Wolf
American (US), born 8 March 1962
UBS AG, Bahnhofstrasse 45, CH-8098 Zurich

Functions in UBS
Chairman  and  CEO,  UBS  Group  Americas / President 
Investment Bank

Year of initial appointment: 2008

Other activities and functions 
Mandates on boards of important corporations, organizations and foundations or interest groups: 
Mr. Wolf  is  a  member  of  President  Obama’s  Economic  Recovery Advisory  Board.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Undergraduate  Executive  Board  of  the Wharton  School,  the  University  of  Pennsylvania Athletics  Board  of 
Overseers  and  the  Financial  Services  Round Table.  Mr. Wolf  is  also  a  member  of  the  Council  on  Foreign 
Relations and the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy. He is in the Leadership Council of the 
Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, Norwalk, on the Board of Trustees of the Children’s Aid Society, New 
York, and the Partnership New York City. He is a member of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human 
Rights Leadership Council.

Professional history and education
Chi-Won Yoon became Chairman and CEO of UBS, Asia Pacific (APAC) and a member of the GEB in June 
2009. He continues to serve APAC’s securities businesses such as Equities, which he headed from 2004 to 
2009 and FICC, which he was brought in to lead in February 2009. Mr. Yoon, who joined UBS in 1997, began 
his career in financial services eleven years earlier. He worked first at Merrill Lynch in New York and then at 
Lehman Brothers in New York and Hong Kong. Before embarking on a Wall Street career, Mr. Yoon worked as 
an electrical engineer in satellite communications. In 1982, Mr. Yoon earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical 
engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and in 1986, a master’s degree in manage-
ment from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. He was born in Korea. 

Other activities and functions 
Mandates on boards of important corporations, organizations and foundations or interest groups: 
Mr. Yoon is on the Asian Executive Board of MIT’s Sloan School of Management. 

Professional history and education
Jürg Zeltner was appointed CEO Wealth Management, Wealth Management & Swiss Bank, and became a 
member of the GEB in February 2009. In November 2007, he was appointed Head of Wealth Management 
North, East & Central Europe and became a member of the former GMB in the same year. From 2005 to 2007, 
he was CEO of UBS Deutschland, Frankfurt. Prior to that, he held various management positions in the Wealth 
Management division of UBS. Between 1987 and 1998, Mr. Zeltner was with SBC in various roles within the 
Private  and  Corporate  Client  division  in  Berne,  New York  and  Zurich.  He  graduated  from  the  School  of 
Economics  and  Business Administration  in  Berne  and  completed  the Advanced  Management  Program  at 
Harvard Business School.

Other activities and functions 
Mandates on boards of important corporations, organizations and foundations or interest groups: 
Mr. Zeltner is a board member of the German Swiss Chamber of Commerce and the UBS Optimus Foundation. 

Chi-Won Yoon 
American (US), born 2 June 1959
UBS AG, Bahnhofstrasse 45, CH-8098 Zurich

Functions in UBS
Chairman and CEO Asia Pacific

Year of initial appointment: 2009

Jürg Zeltner
Swiss, born 4 May 1967
UBS AG, Bahnhofstrasse 45, CH-8098 Zurich

Function in UBS
CEO Wealth Management, Wealth Management & 
Swiss Bank

Year of initial appointment: 2009

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201

 
 
 
Corporate governance and compensation 
Corporate governance

Responsibilities, authorities and organizational 
principles of the Group Executive Board

Responsibilities and authorities of the former  
Executive Committee and the new Group Asset and 
Liability Management Committee

Under the leadership of the Group CEO, the GEB has ex-
ecutive  management  responsibility  for  the  Group  and  its 
business. It assumes overall responsibility for the develop-
ment of the Group and business division strategies and the 
implementation  of  approved  strategies.  The  GEB  consti-
tutes itself as the risk council of the Group. In this function, 
the  GEB  has  overall  responsibility  for  establishing  and  su-
pervising the implementation of risk management and con-
trol  principles,  for  approving  the  core  risk  policies  as  pro-
posed  by  the  Group  Chief  Risk  Officer  (Group  CRO),  the 
Group CFO and the Group General Counsel (Group GC) as 
well  as  for  controlling  the  risk  profile  of  the  Group  as  a 
whole as determined by the BoD and the RC. The GEB plays 
a key role in proposing the human resources policy and the 
compensation  principles  of  the  Group.  In  2009,  the  GEB 
held in total 21 meetings of which 11 were jointly with the 
Executive  Committee  and  4  were  jointly  with  the  EC  and 
the Group ALCO.

➔ Refer to the Organization Regulations, 

which are available at www.ubs.com/governance, for  

more information on the authorities of the GEB

The EC, established in January 2009, was disbanded in Octo-
ber 2009. The EC consisted of the Group CEO, the Group 
CFO, the Group COO, the Group CRO and the Group GC. 
Under the leadership of the Group CEO, the EC was respon-
sible  for  allocating  the  Group’s  financial  resources  to  the 
business  divisions  –  i.e.  capital,  terms  and  availability  of 
funding, risk capacity and parameters – in each case within 
the limits set by the BoD. Additionally, the EC set the perfor-
mance targets of the business divisions, monitored and eval-
uated them. Under the guidance of the Group CEO, the EC 
prepared proposals for approval by the BoD and supported 
the BoD in its decision-making process. The EC had overall 
responsibility  for  implementing  our  risk  management  and 
control principles, allocating risk capacity to the business di-
visions and controlling our overall risk profile. In 2009, the 
EC held eight meetings on its own; 11 jointly with the GEB 
and four with the GEB and the Group ALCO. 

The GEB has delegated certain duties and responsibilities 
to  the  new  Group  ALCO,  as  specified  in  the  Organization 
Regulations.  The  Group  ALCO  promotes  the  usage  of  our 
assets and liabilities in line with our strategy, regulatory com-
mitments and interests of shareholders and other stakehold-
ers. In 2009, the Group ALCO held one meeting on its own 
and four jointly with the GEB and the EC.

Management contracts

We have not entered into management contracts with any 
third parties.

202

Shareholders’ participation rights

We are committed to shareholder participation in our deci-
sion-making process and aim to make such participation as 
easy  as  possible.  More  than  300,000  directly  registered 
shareholders, as well as some 90,000 US shareholders regis-
tered via nominee companies, regularly receive written infor-
mation  about  our  activities  and  performance  and  are  per-
sonally invited to shareholder meetings. 

➔ Refer to the “Information policy” section of this report for 

further information on these documents

Relationships with shareholders

We fully subscribe to the principle of equal treatment of all 
shareholders,  who  range  from  large  investment  institu-
tions  to  individual  investors,  and  regularly  inform  them 
about the development of the company of which they are 
co-owners.

The AGM offers shareholders the opportunity to raise any 
questions regarding our development and the events of the 
year that are under review. Members of the BoD and GEB, as 
well as the internal and external auditors, are present to an-
swer these questions.

Voting rights, restrictions and representation

We  place  no  restrictions  on  share  ownership  and  voting 
rights. Nominee companies and trustees, who normally rep-
resent a large number of individual shareholders, may hold 
an unlimited number of shares, but voting rights are limited 
to a maximum of 5% of outstanding UBS shares in order to 
avoid the risk of unknown shareholders with large stakes be-
ing entered in the share register. Securities clearing organiza-
tions, such as The Depository Trust Company in New York, 
are not subject to the 5% voting limit.

In order to be recorded in the share register with voting 
rights,  shareholders  must  confirm  that  they  acquired  UBS 
shares in their own name and for their own account. Nomi-
nee companies and trustees are required to sign an agree-
ment confirming their willingness to disclose, upon our re-
quest, individual beneficial owners holding more than 0.3% 
of all issued shares.

All shareholders registered with voting rights are entitled 
to participate in shareholder meetings. If they do not wish to 
attend in person, they can issue instructions to accept, reject 
or abstain on each individual item on the meeting agenda 
either by giving instructions to an independent proxy desig-
nated by UBS, as required under Swiss company law, or by 

appointing UBS, another bank or another registered share-
holder of their choice to vote on their behalf. Nominee com-
panies normally submit the proxy material to the beneficial 
owners and transmit the collected votes to UBS.

Statutory quorums

Shareholder  resolutions,  the  election  and  reelection  of 
members  of  the  BoD  and  the  appointment  of  the  Group 
and statutory auditors are decided at the AGM by an abso-
lute majority of the votes cast, excluding blank and invalid 
ballots. Swiss company law requires that, for certain specific 
issues, a majority of two-thirds of the votes represented at 
the meeting must vote in favor of the resolution. These is-
sues include, among others, the creation of shares with priv-
ileged  voting  right,  the  introduction  of  restrictions  on  the 
transferability  of  registered  shares,  conditional  and  autho-
rized capital increases, and restrictions or exclusion of share-
holders’ pre-emptive rights.

The Articles of Association also requires a two-thirds ma-
jority of  votes represented for any  change to its provisions 
regarding the number of BoD members, and any decision to 
remove one-fourth or more of the members of the BoD.

Votes and elections are normally conducted electronically 
to clearly ascertain the exact number of votes cast. Voting 
by  a  show  of  hands  remains  possible  if  a  clear  majority  is 
predictable.  Shareholders  representing  at  least  3%  of  the 
votes  represented  may  still  request  that  a  vote  or  election 
take place electronically or by written ballot. In order to al-
low  shareholders  to  clearly  express  their  views  on  all  indi-
vidual topics, each item on the agenda is put to vote sepa-
rately  and  BoD  elections  are  made  on  a  person-by-person 
basis.

Convocation of general meetings of shareholders

The AGM normally takes place each year in April, but in any 
case within six months of the close of the financial year. A 
personal invitation including a detailed agenda and explana-
tion of each motion is sent to every registered shareholder at 
least 20 days ahead of the scheduled meeting. The meeting 
agenda is also published in various Swiss newspapers and on 
the internet at www.ubs.com/agm.

EGMs may be convened whenever the BoD or the statu-
tory auditors consider it necessary. Shareholders individually 
or jointly representing at least 10% of the share capital may, 
at any time, ask in writing that an EGM be convened to deal 

203

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Corporate governance and compensation 
Corporate governance

with  a  specific  issue  put  forward  by  them.  Such  a  request 
may also be brought forward during the AGM.

together with a short explanation, if necessary. The BoD for-
mulates opinions on the proposals, which are published to-
gether with the motions.

Placing of items on the agenda

Registrations in the share register

Shareholders individually or jointly representing shares with 
an aggregate par value of CHF 62,500 may submit proposals 
for matters to be placed on the agenda for consideration at 
the shareholders’ meeting.

We publish the deadline for submitting such proposals in 
the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce and on our website 
www.ubs.com/agm. Requests for items to be placed on the 
agenda must include the actual motions to be put forward, 

The general rules for being entered with voting rights in our 
Swiss or US share registers also apply before general meet-
ings of shareholders. There is no “closing of the share regis-
ter” in the days before the meeting. Registrations, including 
the  transfer  of  voting  rights,  are  processed  for  as  long  as 
technically  possible,  normally  until  two  days  before  the 
meeting.

204

Change of control and defense measures

We refrain from restrictions that would hinder developments 
initiated in or supported by the financial markets. We also do 
not  have  any  specific  defenses  in  place  to  prevent  hostile 
takeovers.

Duty to make an offer

An  investor  who  acquires  more  than  33 1⁄3%  of  all  voting 
rights  (directly,  indirectly  or  in  concert  with  third  parties), 
whether they are exercisable or not, is required to submit a 
takeover offer for all shares outstanding, according to Swiss 
stock exchange law. We have not elected to change or opt 
out of this rule.

Clauses on change of control

The service agreements and employment contracts with the 
Chairman  of  the  BoD  and  with  the  GEB  members  do  not 
contain  change  of  control  clauses,  except  for  two  agree-
ments with GEB members. In one clause, a change of control 
would reduce the employment notice of termination period 
from six to two months, and in the other clause, which was 

applicable  only  until  1  March  2010,  compensation  plan 
awards would be treated as if employment had ceased due 
to “mutually agreed termination”.

All  new  employment  agreements  with  GEB  members 
contain a notice of termination period of six months and no 
existing GEB member has a notice of termination period lon-
ger than 12 months. During the notice of termination peri-
od, GEB members are entitled to their salary and continua-
tion of existing employment benefits.

In  case  of  a  change  of  control,  the  HRCC  may,  how-
ever,  accelerate  the  vesting  of  restricted  shares  and 
amend  the  vesting  date  or  lapse  date  of  options  for  all 
employees.

According  to  the  agreement  we  have  entered  into 
with  the  Swiss  National  Bank  (SNB)  in  connection  with 
the  transfer  of  certain  illiquid  and  other  positions  to  a 
fund owned and controlled by the SNB, in the event of a 
change in control of UBS the SNB has the right but not 
the obligation to require that we purchase the loan the 
SNB  provided  to  the  fund  at  its  outstanding  principal 
amount plus accrued interest, and that we purchase the 
fund’s equity at 50% of its value at the time.

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205

 
 
 
Corporate governance and compensation 
Corporate governance

Auditors

Audit  is  an  integral  part  of  corporate  governance.  While 
safeguarding  their  independence,  the  external  auditors 
closely coordinate their work with Group Internal Audit. The 
AC, and ultimately the BoD, supervises the effectiveness of 
audit work.

External, independent auditors

At  the  2009  AGM,  Ernst  &  Young  Ltd.,  Basel,  (Ernst  & 
Young) were reelected as principal auditors for the Group 
for a further one-year term of office. Ernst & Young assume 
virtually all auditing functions according to laws, regulatory 
requests and the “Articles of Association of UBS AG”. The 
Ernst & Young lead partner in charge of the UBS audit has 
been Andrew McIntyre since 2005, who will be replaced in 
2010  by  Jonathan  Bourne  due  to  a  five-year  rotation  re-
quirement;  Andreas  Blumer  has  acted  as  the  global  en-
gagement partner since 2004, and his incumbency is lim-
ited  to  seven  years.  Ernst  &  Young  will  be  proposed  for 
reelection at the AGM in 2010.

At the 2009 AGM, the former BDO Visura, Zurich, now 
BDO AG, was appointed as special auditor for a three-year 
term  of  office.  The  special  auditors  provide  audit  opinions 
independently from the principal auditors in connection with 
capital increases. 

Fees paid to external independent auditors 
The fees (including expenses) paid to our principal auditors 
Ernst & Young, are set forth in the table below. In addition, 
Ernst  &  Young  received  CHF  37,030,000  in  2009  (CHF 
31,561,000 in 2008) for services performed on behalf of our 
investment  funds,  many  of  which  have  independent  fund 
boards or trustees.

Audit work includes all services necessary to perform the 
audit in accordance with applicable laws and generally ac-
cepted  auditing  standards,  as  well  as  other  assurance  ser-
vices that conventionally only the principal auditor can pro-
vide.  These  include  statutory  and  regulatory  audits,  attest 
services, and the review of documents to be filed with regu-
latory bodies. 

Audit-related work comprises assurance and related ser-
vices that traditionally are performed by the principal audi-
tor,  such  as  attest  services  related  to  financial  reporting, 
 internal control reviews, performance standard reviews, con-
sultation  concerning  financial  accounting  and  reporting 
standards and due diligence investigations on transactions in 
which we propose to engage.

Tax  work  involves  services  performed  by  professional 
staff in Ernst & Young’s tax division, and includes tax com-
pliance, tax consultation and tax planning in respect to our 
own affairs.

Fees paid to external auditors

UBS paid the following fees (including expenses) to its external auditors Ernst & Young Ltd.:

in CHF thousand

Audit

Global audit fees

Additional services classified as audit (services required by law or statute, including work of a non-recurring nature mandated by 
regulators)

Total audit

Non-audit

Audit-related fees

of which assurance and attest services

of which control and performance reports

of which advisory on accounting standards, transaction consulting including due diligence, other

Tax advisory

Other

Total non-audit

206

For the year ended

31.12.09

31.12.08

45,276

8,856

54,132

7,405

3,142

4,023

240

509

279

8,193

45,848

9,918

55,766

8,430

3,143

4,622

665

504

1,246

10,180

“Other”  services  are  approved  on  an  exceptional  basis 
only. In 2008 and 2009, they mainly comprised on-call advi-
sory services.

Pre-approval procedures and policies
To ensure Ernst & Young’s independence, all services provid-
ed by them have to be pre-approved by the AC. A pre-ap-
proval may be granted either for a specific mandate, or in 
the form of a bucket pre-approval authorizing a limited and 
well-defined type and amount of services.

The AC has delegated pre-approval authority to its Chair-
man; hence the Group CFO submits all proposals for services 
by Ernst & Young to the Chairman of the AC for approval, 
unless there is a bucket pre-approval in place. At each quar-
terly meeting, the AC is informed of the approvals granted 
by its Chairman and of services authorized under bucket pre-
approvals.

Group Internal Audit

Group  Internal  Audit,  with  313  personnel  worldwide  on 
31  December  2009,  performs  the  internal  auditing  func-
tion  for  the  entire  Group.  Group  Internal  Audit  supports 

the  BoD  and  its  committees  in  discharging  their  gover-
nance  responsibilities  by  independently  assessing  the  ef-
fectiveness of our system of internal controls and our com-
pliance with statutory, legal and regulatory requirements. 
All reports with key issues are provided to the Group CEO, 
the members of the GEB responsible for the business divi-
sions and other responsible management. In addition, the 
Chairman of the BoD, the RC and the AC are regularly in-
formed  about  important  issues.  Group  Internal  Audit 
closely cooperates with internal and external legal advisors 
and risk control units on investigations into major control 
issues.

To  maximize  its  independence  from  management,  the 
Head of Group Internal Audit reports directly to the Chair-
man  of  the  BoD  and  to  the  RC.  Group  Internal  Audit  has 
unrestricted access to all accounts, books, records, systems, 
property and personnel, and must be provided with all infor-
mation and data needed to fulfill its auditing duties. The RC 
may  order  special  audits  to  be  conducted.  BoD  members, 
BoD committees or the Group CEO may submit requests for 
such audits to the RC.

Coordination and close cooperation with the auditors en-

hance the efficiency of Group Internal Audit’s work.

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207

 
 
 
Corporate governance and compensation 
Corporate governance

Information policy

We provide regular information to our shareholders and to 
the financial community.

Financial results will be published as follows

First quarter 2010

Second quarter 2010

Third quarter 2010

4 May 2010

27 July 2010

26 October 2010

The Annual General Meeting of shareholders will  
take place as follows

2010

2011

14 April 2010

20 April 2011

We meet with institutional investors worldwide throughout 
the year and regularly hold results presentations, special in-
vestor  seminars,  road  shows,  individual  and  group  meet-
ings. Where possible, meetings involve senior management 
as  well  as  members  of  the  investor  relations  team.  We 
make use of diverse technologies such as webcasting, au-
dio  links  and  cross-location  video-conferencing  to  widen 
our  audience  and  maintain  contact  with  shareholders 
around the world.

Once  a  year,  unless  they  explicitly  choose  not  to,  regis-
tered shareholders receive a summary of our annual report in 
the form of an annual review. It provides an overview of the 
firm and our activities during the year as well as key financial 
information.  Each  quarter,  shareholders  are  mailed  a  brief 
update on our quarterly financial performance. Shareholders 
can also request our complete financial reports, produced on 
a quarterly and annual basis, free of charge.

To ensure fair access to and dissemination of our financial 
information, we make our publications available to all share-
holders at the same time.

➔ Refer to www.ubs.com/investors for a complete set of 

published reporting documents, the corporate calendar, 

access to recent webcasts and a selection of senior 

management industry conference presentations

Financial disclosure principles

Based on discussions with analysts and investors, we believe 
that the market rewards companies that provide clear, con-
sistent  and  informative  disclosure  about  their  business. 
Therefore, we aim to communicate our strategy and results 
in a manner that allows shareholders and investors to gain 
an  understanding  of  how  our  company  works,  what  our 

growth prospects are and what risks our strategy and results 
might  entail.  Feedback  from  analysts  and  investors  is  con-
tinually assessed and, where relevant, reflected in our quar-
terly and annual reports. To continue to achieve these goals, 
we apply the following principles in our financial reporting 
and disclosure:
–  Transparency in disclosure enhances understanding of the 

economic drivers and builds trust and credibility. 

–  Consistency  in  disclosure  within  each  reporting  period 

and between reporting periods.

–  Simplicity in disclosure allows readers to gain an under-

standing of the performance of our businesses.

–  Relevance  in  disclosure  avoids  information  overload  by 
focusing on what is required by regulation or statute and 
is relevant to our stakeholders.

–  Best practice in line with industry norms, leading the way 

to improved standards where possible.

Financial reporting policies

We report our results after the end of every quarter, includ-
ing a breakdown of results by business division and extensive 
disclosures relating to credit and market risk.

Our financial statements are prepared according to IFRS 
as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board. 
➔ Refer to “Note 1 Summary of significant accounting policies” 
in the “Financial information” section of this report for a 

detailed explanation of the basis of UBS’s accounting

We are committed to maintaining the transparency of our 
reported results and to ensuring that analysts and investors 
can make meaningful comparisons with previous periods. If 
there is a major reorganization of our business divisions, or if 
changes to accounting standards or interpretations lead to a 
material change in the Group’s reported results, our results 
are restated for previous periods when required by applica-
ble  accounting  standards,  to  show  how  they  would  have 
been reported according to the new basis and provide clear 
explanations of all relevant changes. 

US regulatory disclosure requirements
As a “foreign private issuer”, we must file reports and other 
information, including certain financial reports, with the US 
Securities  and  Exchange  Commission  (SEC)  under  the  US 
federal securities laws. We file an annual report on Form 20-
F, and submit our quarterly financial reports under cover of 
Form 6-K to the SEC. These reports, as well as materials sent 
to shareholders in connection with AGMs and EGMs, are all 
available at www.ubs.com/investors.

208

On 31 December 2009, an evaluation was carried out un-
der the supervision of management including the Group CEO 
and Group CFO, of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls 
and  procedures  (as  defined  in  Rule  13a–15e)  under  the  US 
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Based upon that evaluation, 
the Group CEO and Group CFO concluded that our disclosure 
controls  and  procedures  were  effective  as  of  that  date.  No 
significant changes have been made in our internal controls 
or in other factors that could significantly affect these controls 
subsequent to the date of their evaluation.

In accordance with Section 404 of the US Sarbanes-Oxley 
Act of 2002, our management is responsible for establishing 
and maintaining adequate internal control over financial re-
porting. The financial statements of this report contain man-
agement’s assessment of the effectiveness of internal control 
over financial reporting, as per 31 December 2009. The ex-
ternal auditors’ report on this assessment is also included in 
this report.

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209

 
 
 
Corporate governance and compensation 
Corporate governance

Regulation and supervision

As a Swiss-registered company, our home country regulator 
and consolidated supervisor is FINMA. However, our opera-
tions are global and are therefore regulated and supervised 
by  the  relevant  authorities  in  each  of  the  jurisdictions  in 
which we conduct business. The next sections describe the 
regulation  and  supervision  of  our  business  in  Switzerland, 
our home market, and the regulatory and supervisory envi-
ronments in the US and the UK, our next two largest areas 
of operations. 

Regulation and supervision in Switzerland

Swiss Federal Legislation
We are regulated by the Swiss Federal Law relating to Banks 
and Savings Banks of 8 November 1934, as amended, and 
the  related  Implementing  Ordinance  of  17  May  1972,  as 
amended, which are together known as the Federal Bank-
ing Law. Depending on the license obtained under this law, 
banks in Switzerland may engage in a full range of financial 
services  activities,  including  commercial  banking,  invest-
ment  banking  and  asset  management.  Banking  groups 
may  also  engage  in  insurance  activities,  but  these  must 
be undertaken through a separate subsidiary. The Federal 
Banking  Law  establishes  a  framework  for  supervision  by 
FINMA.

Switzerland  implemented  the  internationally  agreed 
capital adequacy rules of the Basel Capital Accord (Basel II) 
by  means  of  the  Capital  Adequacy  Ordinance  of  29  Sep-
tember 2006, and subsequent FINMA circulars. Switzerland 
imposes a more differentiated and tighter regime than the 
internationally  agreed  rules,  including  more  stringent  risk 
weights. Capital requirements for the two large banks, UBS 
and  Credit  Suisse,  exceed  the  Swiss  minimum  due  to  a 
mandatory capital buffer under Basel II. The revised decree 
on capital requirements issued at the end of 2008 increased 
the risk-based buffer and complemented it with a leverage 
ratio requirement, i.e. a minimum ratio of capital and bal-
ance sheet assets.

Regulation by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory 
Authority
FINMA is strongly involved in the shaping of the legislative 
framework  for  banks,  especially  through  the  following 
mechanisms:
–  FINMA has substantial influence on the drafting of Swiss 
federal  acts  and  ordinances  from  the  Federal  Council  or 
the parliament (e.g. the Ordinance on the Money Launder-
ing Reporting Office dated 25 August 2004, as amended).
–  On a more technical level, FINMA is empowered to issue 
its  own  ordinances  and  circulars,  55  of  which  are  pres-
ently effective. These include, for example, FINMA-Circu-
lar 08 / 38 on Market Behavior, FINMA-Circular 08 / 24 on 
Supervision and Internal Controls at Banks, and FINMA-
Circular 09 / 1 on Guidelines on Asset Management.

Self-regulation by the SIX Swiss Exchange and the  
Swiss Bankers Association
Certain aspects of securities brokering, such as the organi-
zation of trading, are subject to self-regulation through the 
SIX Swiss Exchange, under the overall supervision of FINMA. 
Examples are:
–  the Listing Regulations of 24 January 1996, as amended 
on  1  July  2009,  and  the  General  Conditions  dated  31 
March 2009; and

–  the Directive on the Disclosure of Management Transac-

tions of 29 October 2008.

FINMA  also  officially  endorses  self-regulatory  guidelines  is-
sued by the banking industry (through the Swiss Bankers As-
sociation), making them an integral part of banking regula-
tion. Examples are:
–  Directives on Fiduciary Investments, 2009;
–  Agreement  on  the  Swiss  banks’  Code  of  Conduct  with 

regard to the Exercise of Due Diligence, 2008;

–  Directives  on  the  Independence  of  Financial  Research, 

2008;

–  Guidelines  on  the  Simplified  Prospectus  for  Structured 

➔ Refer to the “Capital management” section of this report 

Products, 2007;

for more details about capital requirements

–  Agreement  of  Swiss  Banks  on  Deposit  Insurance,  2005; 

The Federal Act of 10 October 1997 on the Prevention of 
Money Laundering in the Financial Sector (Anti-Money Laun-
dering Act, AMLA) lays down a common standard for due 
diligence  obligations  for  the  whole  financial  sector  which 
must be met to prevent money laundering.

and

–  Guidelines on the Handling of Dormant Accounts, Cus-
tody  Accounts  and  Safe-Deposit  Boxes  Held  in  Swiss 
Banks, 2000.

In our capacity as a securities broker, we are governed by 
the  Swiss  Federal  Law  on  Stock  Exchanges  and  Securities 
Trading of 24 March 1995, as amended. FINMA is the com-
petent supervisory authority.

Two-tier system of supervision and direct supervision of  
UBS and Credit Suisse
Generally, supervision in Switzerland is based on a division 
of tasks between FINMA and a number of authorized audit 

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firms.  Under  this  two-tier  supervisory  system,  FINMA  has 
the  responsibility  for  overall  supervision  and  enforcement 
measures while the authorized audit firms carry out official 
duties on behalf of, and subject to, sanctions imposed by 
FINMA. The responsibility of external auditors encompasses 
the audit of financial statements, the reviewing of banks’ 
compliance  with  all  prudential  requirements  and  on-site 
audits.

Because of their importance to the Swiss financial system, 
UBS  and  Credit  Suisse  are  directly  supervised  by  dedicated 
teams at FINMA. The regime of direct supervision is regulat-
ed by the FINMA-Circular 08 / 9 on the Supervision of Large 
Banking  Groups.  Supervisory  tools  include  schedules  of 
meetings with management and information exchange en-
compassing all control and business areas, independent as-
sessments through review activities, and a regular exchange 
of views with internal audit functions, external auditors and 
important host supervisors.

Direct supervision is performed by FINMA’s Supervision of 
Large Banks section, which assigns a dedicated supervisory 
team to each of the two large banking groups. These firm-
specific teams are supported by teams specifically monitor-
ing the investment banking, wealth management and asset 
management  businesses  across  the  large  banking  groups, 
and  the  Risk  Management,  and  Solvency  and  Capital  sec-
tions. 

Disclosures to the Swiss National Bank
While  Switzerland’s  banks  are  primarily  supervised  by  FIN-
MA, compliance with liquidity rules is monitored by the SNB. 
The SNB also takes a direct interest in the stress testing prac-
tice of both large banks. Liquidity regulation is currently be-
ing reformed.

➔ Refer to the “Liquidity and funding management” section 
of this report for more details about liquidity requirements

Regulation and supervision in the US

Banking regulation
Our operations in the US are subject to a variety of regula-
tory regimes. We maintain branches of UBS AG in California, 
Connecticut, Florida, Illinois and New York. The branches lo-
cated  in  California,  Florida  and  New  York  are  federally  li-
censed  by  the  Office  of  the  Comptroller  of  the  Currency. 
Branches located in Connecticut and Illinois are licensed by 
the state banking authority of the state in which the branch 
is located. Each US branch is subject to regulation and ex-
amination by its licensing authority. We also maintain state 
and  federally  chartered  trust  companies  and  other  limited 
purpose  banks,  which  are  regulated  by  state  regulators  or 
the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. In addition, 
the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System exer-
cises  examination  and  regulatory  authority  over  our  state- 
licensed  US  branches.  Only  the  deposits  of  our  subsidiary 

bank located in the state of Utah are insured by the Federal 
Deposit  Insurance  Corporation.  The  regulation  of  our  US 
branches and subsidiaries imposes restrictions on the activi-
ties of those branches and subsidiaries, as well as prudential 
restrictions, such as limits on extensions of credit to a single 
borrower, including UBS subsidiaries and affiliates.

The licensing authority of each US branch has the author-
ity, in certain circumstances, to take possession of the busi-
ness and property of UBS located in the state of the office it 
licenses. Such circumstances generally include violations of 
law, unsafe business practices and insolvency. As long as we 
maintain  one  or  more  federal  branches,  the  Office  of  the 
Comptroller of the Currency also has the authority to take 
possession  of  the  US  operations  of  UBS  AG  under  similar 
circumstances,  and  this  federal  power  may  pre-empt  the 
state insolvency regimes that would otherwise be applicable 
to our state-licensed branches. As a result, if the Office of 
the Comptroller of the Currency exercised its authority over 
the US branches of UBS AG, pursuant to federal law in the 
event of a UBS insolvency, all assets of the US branches of 
UBS AG would most likely be applied first to satisfy creditors 
of these US branches as a group, and then made available 
for application pursuant to any Swiss insolvency proceeding.
In  addition  to  the  direct  regulation  of  our  US  banking 
 offices,  because  we  operate  US  branches,  we  are  subject 
to  oversight  regulation  by  the  Board  of  Governors  of  the 
 Federal  Reserve  System  under  various  laws  (including  the 
 International  Banking  Act  of  1978  and  the  Bank  Holding 
Company  Act  of  1956).  On  10  April  2000,  UBS  AG  was 
 designated a “financial holding company” under the Bank 
Holding Company Act of 1956. Financial holding companies 
may  engage  in  a  broader  spectrum  of  activities  than  bank 
holding companies or foreign banking organizations that are 
not financial holding companies, including underwriting and 
dealing in securities. To maintain our financial holding com-
pany  status,  (i)  UBS,  our  US  subsidiary  federally  chartered 
trust company and our US subsidiary bank located in Utah 
are required to meet certain capital ratios, (ii) our US branch-
es, our US subsidiary federally chartered trust company, and 
our US subsidiary bank located in Utah are required to meet 
certain examination ratings, and (iii) our subsidiary bank in 
Utah is required to maintain a rating of at least “satisfacto-
ry” under the Community Reinvestment Act of 1997. A ma-
jor focus of US governmental policy relating to financial in-
stitutions in recent years has been aimed at fighting money 
laundering and terrorist financing. Regulations applicable to 
UBS and our subsidiaries impose obligations to maintain ef-
fective policies, procedures and controls to detect, prevent 
and report money laundering and terrorist financing and to 
verify the identity of their clients. Failure of a financial institu-
tion to maintain and implement adequate programs to com-
bat money laundering and terrorist financing could have se-
rious consequences for the firm, both in legal terms and in 
terms of our reputation.

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Corporate governance and compensation 
Corporate governance

US regulation of other US operations
In the US, UBS Securities LLC and UBS Financial Services Inc., 
as well as our other US-registered broker-dealer entities, are 
subject to regulations that cover all aspects of the securities 
business,  including:  sales  methods;  trade  practices  among 
broker-dealers;  use  and  safekeeping  of  clients’  funds  and 
 securities; capital structure; record-keeping; the financing of 
clients’ purchases; and the conduct of directors, officers and 
employees. 

These entities are regulated by a number of different gov-
ernment agencies and self-regulatory organizations, includ-
ing the SEC and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority 
(FINRA). Depending on the specific nature of a broker-deal-
er’s business, it may also be regulated by some or all of the 
NYSE,  the  Municipal  Securities  Rulemaking  Board,  the  US 
Department of the Treasury, the Commodities Futures Trad-
ing Commission and other exchanges of which it may be a 
member. In addition, the US states, provinces and territories 
have local securities commissions that regulate and monitor 
activities in the interest of investor protection. These regula-
tors have a variety of sanctions available, including the au-
thority to conduct administrative proceedings that can result 
in censure, fines, the issuance of cease-and-desist orders or 
the suspension or expulsion of the broker-dealer or its direc-
tors, officers or employees.

Created  in  July  2007  through  the  consolidation  of  the 
 National Association of Securities Dealers and the member 
regulation,  enforcement  and  arbitration  functions  of  the 
NYSE, FINRA is dedicated to investor protection and market 
integrity through effective and efficient regulation and com-
plementary compliance and technology-based services.

FINRA covers a broad spectrum of securities businesses, 
including:  registering  and  educating  industry  participants; 
examining  securities  firms;  writing  rules;  enforcing  those 
rules and the federal securities laws; informing and educat-
ing the investing public; providing trade reporting and other 
industry utilities; and administering a dispute resolution fo-

rum for investors and registered firms. It also performs mar-
ket  regulation  under  contract  for  the  NASDAQ  Stock  Mar-
ket, the American Stock Exchange and the Chicago Climate 
Exchange.

Regulation and supervision in the UK

Our operations in the UK are regulated by the Financial Ser-
vices Authority (FSA), which establishes a regime of rules and 
guidance governing all relevant aspects of financial services 
businesses.

The FSA has established a risk-based approach to supervi-
sion and has a wide variety of supervisory tools available to 
it,  including  regular  risk  assessments,  on-site  inspections 
(which may relate to an industry-wide theme or be firm-spe-
cific) and the ability to commission reports by skilled persons 
(who  may  be  the  firm’s  auditors,  IT  specialists,  lawyers  or 
other  consultants  as  appropriate).  The  FSA  also  has  an  ex-
tremely wide set of sanctions which it may impose under the 
Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, broadly similar to 
those available to US regulators.

Some of our subsidiaries and affiliates are also regulated 
by the London Stock Exchange and other UK securities and 
commodities exchanges of which we are a member. We are 
also  subject  to  the  requirements  of  the  UK  Panel  on  Take-
overs and Mergers, where relevant.

Financial services regulation in the UK is conducted in ac-
cordance  with  European  Union  directives  which  require, 
among  other  things,  compliance  with  certain  capital  ade-
quacy standards, client protection requirements and conduct 
of  business  rules  (such  as  Markets  in  Financial  Instruments 
Directive).  These  directives  apply  throughout  the  European 
Union and are reflected in the regulatory regimes of the var-
ious member states. The standards, rules and requirements 
established under these directives are broadly comparable in 
scope and purpose to the regulatory capital and client pro-
tection requirements imposed under applicable US law.

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Compliance with NYSE listing standards on  
corporate governance

As a Swiss company listed on the NYSE, we comply with the 
NYSE  corporate  governance  standards  for  foreign  private 
 issuers.

➔ Refer to the “Board of Directors” section of this report for 
further information on these committees – including their 

mandates, responsibilities and authorities – as well as their 

Independence of directors

Based on the listing standards of the NYSE, our BoD has es-
tablished  specific  criteria  for  defining  the  independence  of 
our external members. Each external director has to person-
ally confirm his or her compliance with the criteria, which are 
published on our website under www.ubs.com/governance.
All current external members have been confirmed by the 
BoD as having no material relationship with UBS, either  directly 
or as a partner, controlling shareholder or executive officer of 
a  company  that  has  a  relationship  with  UBS.  Currently  all 
members of the BoD are external, with the exception of the 
Chairman. Each of the external members has also met all the 
BoD and NYSE requirements with respect to independence.

The NYSE has more stringent independence requirements 
for members of audit committees. All three members of our 
AC are external BoD members who, in addition to satisfying 
the above criteria, do not: receive, directly or indirectly, any 
consulting,  advisory  or  other  compensatory  fees  from  UBS 
other than in their capacity as directors; hold, directly or in-
directly, UBS shares in excess of 5% of the outstanding ca-
pital;  or  (except  as  noted  below)  serve  on  the  audit  com-
mittees  of  more  than  two  other  public  companies.  These 
members are William G. Parrett, Ann F. Godbehere and Mi-
chel Demaré. The NYSE guidelines allow for an exemption 
for AC members to sit on more than three audit committees 
of public companies, provided that all members of the BoD 
determine that the candidate has the time and the availabil-
ity to fulfill his or her obligations. Considering the credentials 
of William G. Parrett, and the fact that he has retired from 
his executive functions, the BoD has granted this exemption 
in his case.

Board of Directors and its committees
We operate under a strict dual board structure mandated by 
Swiss  banking  law.  No  member  of  the  GEB  may  also  be  a 
member  of  the  BoD  and  vice  versa.  This  structure  ensures 
the  institutional  independence  of  the  entire  BoD  from  the 
day-to-day  management.  UBS  has  established  committees 
for  the  following  BoD  mandates:  audit;  human  resources 
and  compensation;  governance  and  nominating;  risk  and 
corporate responsibility. 

activities during 2009

In addition, the BoD elects at least one Vice Chairman who 
must be independent and who acts as the Senior Indepen-
dent  Director.  Sergio  Marchionne  assumed  these  roles  in 
2009.  Mr.  Marchionne  will  not  stand  for  reelection  to  the 
BoD at the AGM in April 2010. The BoD may elect another 
Vice Chairman who does not need to be independent, but 
has not done so this time. More details about the Vice Chair-
man function can be found in the Organization Regulations, 
which are published on www.ubs.com/governance.

The BoD has adopted Organization Regulations that con-
stitute our corporate governance guidelines, which include 
all matters required by the NYSE rules. The BoD has also ad-
opted a “Code of Business Conduct and Ethics”. Both the 
Organization  Regulations  and  the  “Code  of  Business  Con-
duct and Ethics” are available on our website at www.ubs.
com/governance.  In  addition,  the  AC  has  established  rules 
for  the  handling  of  complaints  related  to  accounting  and 
auditing  matters,  the  internal  policies  on  “Whistleblowing 
Protection for Employees” and “Compliance with Attorney 
Standards of Professional Conduct”.

Differences from corporate governance standards 
relevant to US listed companies 

According to the NYSE listing standards on corporate gover-
nance, foreign private issuers have to disclose any significant 
ways  in  which  their  corporate  governance  practices  differ 
from those to be followed by domestic companies.

Responsibility of the Audit Committee for appointment, 
compensation, retention and oversight of the independent 
auditors
Our AC has been assigned all the abovementioned respon-
sibilities, except for appointment of the independent audi-
tors,  which  are  elected  by  the  shareholders  as  per  Swiss 
company law. The AC assesses the performance and qua-
lification  of  the  external  auditors  and  submits  its  proposal 
for  appointment,  re-appointment  or  removal  to  the  full 
BoD, which brings its proposal to the shareholders for vote 
at the AGM.

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Corporate governance and compensation 
Corporate governance

Discussion of risk assessment and risk management policies 
by the Risk Committee
In  accordance  with  our  Organization  Regulations,  the  RC 
has the authority to define our risk principles and risk capac-
ity. The RC is responsible for monitoring our adherence to 
those  risk  principles  and  for  monitoring  whether  business 
and control units run appropriate systems for the manage-
ment and control of risks.

Assistance by Risk Committee of the internal audit function
Both  the  Chairman  and  the  RC  have  the  responsibility  for 
and authority to supervise the internal audit function.

Responsibility of the Human Resources and Compensation 
Committee for oversight of management and evaluation  
by the Board of Directors
Performance  evaluations  of  our  senior  management,  com-
prising  the  Group  CEO  and  the  members  of  the  GEB,  are 
completed by the Chairman of the BoD and the HRCC and 
reported to the full BoD. All BoD committees perform a self-
assessment of their activities and report back to the full BoD. 

The BoD has direct responsibility and authority to evaluate its 
own performance, without preparation by a BoD committee.

Proxy statement reports of the Audit and Human Resources 
and Compensation Committees
Under  Swiss  company  law,  all  reports  addressed  to  share-
holders are provided and signed by the full BoD, which has 
ultimate  responsibility  vis-à-vis  shareholders.  The  commit-
tees submit their reports to the full BoD.

Shareholders’ votes on Equity Compensation Plans
Swiss company law authorizes the BoD to approve compen-
sation plans. Though Swiss law does not allocate such au-
thority to the AGM, it requires that Swiss companies deter-
mine capital in their articles of association and each increase 
of capital is required to be submitted for shareholders’ ap-
proval. This means that, if equity-based compensation plans 
result in a need for a capital increase, AGM approval is man-
datory.  If,  however,  shares  for  such  plans  are  purchased  in 
the market, shareholders do not have the authority to vote 
on their approval.

214

Advisory vote

Compensation and shareholdings

The UBS Total Reward Principles are designed to align employees’ interests with those of shareholders – the 
creation of long-term value and sustainable shareholder returns. These principles, reproduced in full at 
the end of the report, are established by the Human Resources and Compensation Committee of the Board of 
Directors, and provide the basis for 2009 compensation practices.

Letter from the Human Resources and Compensation Committee  
of the Board of Directors

Dear Shareholders
Throughout 2009, the new UBS has 
faced the crucial challenge of rebuild-
ing its key businesses, regaining the 
trust of shareholders and clients and 
establishing and developing the pursuit 
of its longer term strategy to bring 
about sustained profitability. All these 
factors taken together have under-
scored the need to attract and retain 
key talent, which is critical to attaining 
our strategic goals. At the same time, 
the increased competitive market 
pressures, extensive regulatory 
oversight and a rapidly changing 
commercial environment have also 
continued. Our approach to providing 
both a robust and impactful compen-
sation and talent framework has 
certainly been affected by these often 
competing pressures.

At the start of 2009, in response to 
lessons learned from the financial 
crisis, UBS acted as a forerunner in 
implementing a new executive 
compensation framework. The 
framework, which is now in place, 
incorporates significant deferral for 
senior management and places more 
emphasis on compensation at risk. 
We also integrated the focus on 
“economic profit” as a key driver of 
compensation accruals. During the 
year, and building on work already 
started in 2008, we revised the Total 
Reward Principles, which summarize 
the compensation principles for all 
UBS employees. These principles focus 

on a number of long-standing drivers 
including risk awareness, effective risk 
and capital management, sustainable 
profitability, and client focus. They 
also highlight the importance of 
deferred pay, and include additional 
forfeiture clauses in order to better 
align employee compensation with 
medium and longer-term shareholder 
value. 

Rewards based on longer-term risk- 
adjusted performance, especially for key 
senior management, has increased in 
importance. Thus for 2009 perfor-
mance year, the first awards have 
recently been granted to GEB members 
under the Performance Equity Plan 
and the Cash Balance Plan introduced 
at last year’s AGM. In addition the 
Incentive Performance Plan has been 
introduced as a key long-term perfor-
mance and retention tool in 2010. The 
IPP is specifically designed to reward 
participants whose performance can be 
linked to adding sustainable value to 
UBS over the next five years.

We will again hold an advisory vote on 
compensation at the AGM in April 
2010. Shareholder participation in 
compensation matters remains crucial 
and, as such, shareholders will be 
asked to vote on the 2009 compensa-
tion report.

long-term performance. We continu-
ally assess the alignment of our 
compensation framework with 
shareholder interests, the ability of 
that framework to withstand a 
fluctuating market and its effective-
ness at supporting the execution of 
the firm’s people strategy. We have 
closely followed international develop-
ments in compensation, and are 
compliant with the frameworks 
defined by the Financial Stability Board 
and FINMA, as well as those in other 
jurisdictions where we have a substan-
tial presence. In 2009, we extended 
our HRCC charter to reflect a greater 
scope of responsibility, particularly in 
relation to business risks. 

While developments in this area 
continue, we are confident that our 
compensation framework for 2009, 
and the resultant overall compensa-
tion program achieved the appropriate 
balance between the demands of our 
strategic goals, our economic position-
ing, general market conditions and 
the need to effectively reward and 
incent our talent – the most important 
resource to achieving our long-term 
goals. 

The HRCC and the full BoD are 
committed to reinforcing the relation-
ship between compensation and 

Sally Bott
Chairman of the HRCC

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Advisory vote

Corporate governance and compensation 
Compensation and shareholdings

Compensation governance

Human Resources and Compensation Committee

The  HRCC  is  composed  of  three  independent  members  of 
the  BoD.  On  31  December  2009,  the  members  were  Sally 
Bott  (committee  chair),  Bruno  Gehrig  and  Helmut  Panke. 
Hostettler & Partner AG provided independent external ad-
vice to the committee and Towers Perrin supported the com-
mittee with market data during the year.

Authorities and responsibilities

The HRCC is responsible for reviewing the Total Reward Prin-
ciples and for submitting them to the BoD. Additionally, on 
behalf  of  the  BoD,  the  committee  has  the  following  key 
 areas of responsibility:
–  reviewing and approving the design of the total compen-
sation framework, including compensation strategy, pro-
grams  and  plans,  and  proposing  significant  changes  to 
plans and new plans to the BoD for approval;

–  defining the relationship between compensation and per-

formance;

–  reviewing variable incentive funding throughout the year 
and proposing the final outcome to the BoD for approval; 
–  approving base salaries and annual incentive awards for 
GEB members, excluding the Group CEO whose compen-
sation needs to be approved by the BoD upon recommen-
dation by the HRCC;

–  proposing individual GEB appointments to the BoD and 
approving the associated employment agreements; and
–  working with the Governance and Nominating Commit-
tee  and  the  full  BoD  on  reviewing  succession  plans  for 
GEB members including the Group CEO.
In addition, the HRCC charter was amended in 2009 to 
reflect  the  changing  regulatory  environment,  in  particular 
the need to review compensation structures with human re-
sources  (HR)  and  the  risk  management  function  to  ensure 
they do not encourage excessive or unnecessary risk-taking.
Authorities  for  compensation-related  decisions  are  gov-
erned by the “Organization Regulations of UBS AG” (Organi-
zation Regulations), “Annex B – Responsibilities and authori-
ties”,  and  “Annex  C  –  Charter  for  the  committees  of  the 
Board of Directors of UBS AG”. The structure is shown below.

Compensation authorities

Recipients

Compensation recommendations  
developed by

Approved by

Communicated by

Chairman of the BoD

Chairman of the HRCC 1

Group CEO

Chairman of the BoD / HRCC

Members of the GEB

Group CEO

Independent BoD members 
(remuneration system and fees) 

Chairman of the BoD / HRCC

HRCC

BoD

HRCC

BoD

HRCC

HRCC

Group CEO

Chairman of the BoD

Recipients

Variable compensation recommendations  
developed by

Approved by

Communicated by

Employees (excl. GEB)

Respective member of the GEB together 
with functional management team

Divisional pools: HRCC 
Overall: Board of Directors

Line Manager

1 The Human Resources and Compensation Committee.

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The 2010 non-binding vote on the compensation report

We value the opinions of our shareholders and, at the AGM 
to be held in April 2010, we will provide shareholders with 
an opportunity to express their views through a vote on this 
compensation report. As the ultimate decision on compen-
sation is legally within the powers of the BoD, such a vote is 
non-binding  and  advisory  in  nature.  We  believe  that  this 
vote presents a meaningful way of involving our sharehold-
ers in compensation matters. We also encourage sharehold-
ers  to  share  their  views  regarding  our  compensation  pro-
grams  and  related  matters  directly  with  BoD  members  by 
contacting the Company Secretary.

Decision-making process for Group Executive Board Member 
Total Compensation
One of the most important responsibilities of the HRCC is 
to decide and approve the actual amount of variable cash 
and  equity  compensation  to  be  awarded  to  each  GEB 
member  for  performance  during  2009.  This  relies  on  a 
 detailed  and  balanced  review  of  not  only  Group  per-
formance,  but  also  that  of  the  relevant  business  division 
and  also  the  impact  of  specific  individuals.  It  considers 
Group  and  divisional  performance  information  (economic 
profit,  other  financial  and  non-financial  factors  such  as 
leadership  effectiveness,  strategy  execution,  reputation 
 impact, etc.) performance assessments from the Board, ini-
tial compensation recommendations from the Group CEO, 
contractual and related commitments and relevant market 
data. 

Final  decisions  regarding  compensation  for  each  of  the 
members reflected both management and the HRCC’s desire 
to appropriately recognize performance in this difficult year 
but also to be necessarily constrained in light of absolute and 
relative overall performance. 

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Corporate governance and compensation 
Compensation and shareholdings

Total Reward Principles

In September 2009, revised Group-wide Total Reward Prin-
ciples were approved by the BoD following a review by the 
GEB and a proposal by the HRCC. The Total Reward Princi-
ples summarize the compensation structure for all UBS em-
ployees. While the principles reflect recent regulatory devel-
opments, they also focus on long-standing drivers including 
reward  for  performance,  sustainable  profitability,  effective 
risk and capital management, outstanding client focus and 
teamwork as well as sound governance practices. They also 
build  on  our  strategy  of  enhancing  reputation,  integration 
and execution.

The reward structure aims to:

–  align reward with sustainable performance; 
–  support appropriate and controlled risk taking; 
–  foster effective individual performance management and 

communication; and

–  attract and engage a diverse, talented workforce.

Align reward with sustainable performance
Within  the  context  of  UBS  as  a  whole  and  the  markets  in 
which we operate, the sustainable performance of an em-
ployee’s business division is a key component of reward. In 
considering the Group and business division performance, a 
range of factors will be taken into account including finan-
cial  results,  risk,  capital  usage,  market  positioning  and  the 
views  of  shareholders  and  other  stakeholders.  Assessment 
will focus on both current key performance indicators, and 
the long-term actions that preserve and improve our ability 
to deliver value in the future. 

Business  division  reward  recommendations  are  deter-
mined  in  consultation  between  the  Group  CEO  and  the 
CEO(s) of each division, as advised by the Group CFO, Group 
Head HR and, where appropriate, Group Risk. Proposals rec-
ommended  by  the  Group  CEO  are  reviewed  by  the  HRCC 
and final approval is provided by the BoD. 

Support appropriate and controlled risk taking
Rewards are consistent with our risk framework and toler-
ance. Performance reviews recognize the different risk pro-
file and nature of each business, including additional fac-
tors such as the quality and time-horizon of earnings, the 
nature  of  the  relevant  industry  segment  and  competitive 
trends.

Employees are rewarded for achievement against a range 
of  financial  and  non-financial  objectives,  and  not  only  on 
the  basis  of  individual  revenues.  Extraordinary  profits,  as 
well as losses, are examined in the context of the track re-
cord of an employee’s performance, risk management and 
market  conditions,  and  measurement  of  performance  will 
be adjusted for activities and future risks that are not ade-
quately reflected in annual profits. Rewards determined for 
risk, compliance and control functions are determined inde-
pendently  from  the  revenue  producers  they  supervise  and 
support. 

Foster effective individual performance management and 
communication
Beyond contribution to business results and achievement of 
individual performance objectives, rewards also take into ac-
count:
–  observing our corporate values and principles;
–  implementing our strategy of enhancing reputation, inte-

gration and execution;

–  demonstrating leadership of clients, business, people and 

change;

–  leading and supporting effective collaboration and team-

work;

–  actively managing risk and professional behavior;  

and

–  finding  the  appropriate  balance  between  risk  and  re-

ward. 

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Attract and engage a diverse, talented workforce
Our  reward  structure  is  designed  to  provide  talented  em-
ployees  with  rewards  that  are  appropriately  balanced  be-
tween  fixed  and  variable  elements,  that  are  competitive 
within the market and are paid out over an appropriate pe-
riod of time.

Given the importance of these principles, they are repro-
duced  in  their  entirety  at  the  end  of  this  report.  As  previ-
ously  mentioned,  these  principles  form  the  foundation  for 
our overall compensation framework and program in 2009.

Components of compensation

In general, total compensation comprises an annual base sal-
ary, reflecting the individual’s role, skills and knowledge, local 
market-based benefits and, where applicable, a discretionary 
incentive award. Base salary levels are sufficient to allow for 
a flexible discretionary incentive policy. Discretionary annual 
incentives may vary from year to year, particularly for senior 
revenue producers and more highly paid employees. Discre-
tionary  incentive  awards  may  be  split  between  immediate 
cash and long-term awards to be granted in the form of ei-
ther deferred UBS equity or deferred cash. The proportion of 
deferred  incentive  awards  generally  vest  over  three  years, 
and  increase  with  total  compensation  in  order  to  maintain 
focus on our long-term profitability and continued responsi-
ble behavior of the employee. Stock options and / or appre-
ciation rights may be awarded as part of total reward to rec-
ognize the capabilities of key employees who are expected to 
carry out our strategic objectives. For employees in senior po-
sitions,  reward  focus  is  founded  on  sustainable  long-term 
profitability  that  may  require  the  application  of  multi-year 
performance  conditions  to  recognize  outstanding  perfor-
mance.  Guaranteed  incentive  awards  are  used  only  excep-
tionally and are generally limited to a one-year duration.

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Corporate governance and compensation 
Compensation and shareholdings

Cash and equity incentives

Compensation plan awards

This section describes key features of the deferred compen-
sation plans that are used to deliver variable incentive awards 
to members of the GEB and other employees.

Cash Balance Plan
The CBP applies to GEB members only and is designed as one 
of several tools to ensure that GEB compensation is directly 
and tightly linked to performance over the longer term. This 
ensures that the effect of risk events which occur after grant 
are fully captured “over the life of the instrument”. As such, 
the CBP relies on a cash deferral system. Generally, 50% of a 
GEB member’s variable incentive is delivered via the CBP. 

Of that amount, the plan allows for a maximum payout 
of only 60% in March 2010, and is subject to an additional 
cash-cap. A minimum of 40% of a cash incentive award is 
deferred and paid out during the two following years subject 
to  forfeiture,  i.e.  the  entire  cash  incentive  is  only  paid  out 
over a three-year period. 

The forfeiture provisions allow for unvested awards to be 
reduced (including to nil) in certain events including termina-
tion for cause, certain financial losses, behavior that contrib-
utes substantially to a material restatement of financial results 
or to harm to UBS’s reputation, breaches of legal or regulatory 
requirements or of risk and compliance policies, and a number 
of other events such as solicitation of staff or clients and dis-
closure of proprietary information. Therefore, if an executive 
leaves UBS, any remaining balance in the plan will be kept at 
risk until the time called for by the plan.

Performance Equity Plan 
The PEP applies to GEB members and is one of two deferred 
equity components that comprise the remaining 50% of their 
variable incentive award. This plan focuses on creating mid- to 
long-term added value over a three-year period. At the start of 
the performance period, executives are granted a certain num-
ber  of  restricted  performance  shares  that,  subject  to  the 
achievement  of  predefined  economic  profit  and  total  share-
holder return targets at a Group level cliff vest after three years. 
The number of vested shares can be between zero and two 
times the number of the initially granted shares, and depends 
on achievement against two referenced performance targets:
–	 Economic	profit	(EP) is a market-recognized standard for 
measuring  risk-adjusted  profit.  It  is  an  internal  measure 
which is broadly calculated by subtracting the cost of eq-
uity from the annual net profit attributable to UBS share-
holders.  EP  is  only  realized  when  the  return  on  capital 
achieved is greater than the firm’s cost of capital. 

–	 Total	shareholder	return	(TSR) measures the total return of 
a UBS share, i.e. both the dividend yield and the capital 
appreciation  of  the  share  price.  TSR  is  measured  over  a 
three-year period relative to the Dow Jones Banks Titans 
30 Index©, a global index comprising the top 30 compa-
nies in the banking sector as defined by Dow Jones. The 
Dow Jones Banks Titans 30 Index© has been chosen as a 
TSR measure because of its relevance to UBS (banking), its 
transparency (known listed companies), and its sector cov-
erage (30 leading global banks assessed by market capi-
talization, revenues, and net profit), as well as for its ob-
jectivity and independence (managed by Dow Jones). 

The  three-year  target  performance  levels  were  set  after 

consideration of our strategic business plan.

Vesting  is  subject  to  continued  employment  with  UBS. 
The awards are also subject to forfeiture in certain circum-
stances, including in the event of certain harmful acts, such 
as breaches of legal, regulatory and compliance standards or 
behavior that contributes substantially to a material financial 
loss, restatement or reputational risk. 

Incentive Performance Plan
The  IPP,  which  applies  to  GEB  members  and  certain  other 
senior employees, is designed to be aligned with the long-
term  performance  and  value  of  UBS  shares.  The  award  is 
granted  to  senior  key  talent  who  are  actively  leading  the 
drive to achieve sustained profitability at UBS and who are 
expected  to  contribute  most  significantly  to  our  long-term 
future  and  economic  success.  The  IPP  acknowledges  the 
strategic importance of retaining our key talents, returning 
to  leading  performance  levels  in  all  of  our  businesses  and 
growing the UBS share price.

Participants  are  granted  a  certain  number  of  restricted 
performance shares that cliff vest after five years. The num-
ber of vested shares can be between one and three times the 
number of initially granted performance shares, depending 
on the achievement of the share price target (i.e. share price 
at the end of the five-year performance period adjusted for 
dividends). Vesting is subject to continued employment with 
UBS.  The  awards  are  subject  to  the  same  forfeiture  provi-
sions outlined above in relation to PEP awards.

Equity Ownership Plan / Senior Executive Equity 
 Ownership Plan 
Eligible employees receive a portion of their annual variable 
compensation  above  a  certain  threshold  in  the  form  of  a 
mandatory Equity Ownership Plan (EOP) award. This award 
can be in actual UBS shares or in notional UBS shares. For 

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certain employees in the Global Asset Management business 
only,  a  percentage  of  their  variable  incentive  award  that 
would have been delivered in UBS shares was instead grant-
ed over a specifically created Alternative Investment Vehicle. 
The vesting and forfeiture provisions of these awards mirror 
those of EOP. 

EOP awards vest in one-third increments over a three-year 
vesting period, subject to certain conditions. In early 2009, 
and  again  in  2010,  a  small  number  of  senior  employees 
 received  a  portion  of  their  variable  compensation  in  UBS 
shares or notional UBS shares under the related Senior Ex-
ecutive Equity Ownership Plan (SEEOP). These shares vest in 
one-fifth increments over a five-year vesting period, subject 
to certain conditions.

For  awards  granted  in  2010  for  the  2009  performance 
year, we decided to raise the deferral level in keeping with 
industry trends and regulatory considerations and our desire 
to  enhance  further  the  link  between  pay  and  longer  term 
performance and alignment with shareholder interests. Par-
ticipation  in  the  deferral  program  affected  all  employees 
with total compensation over a threshold. Further a “cash-
cap” on variable cash payments was also introduced for this 
year. In addition, the forfeiture provisions of EOP and SEEOP 
have  been  broadened  to  include  forfeiture  in  the  event  of 
certain harmful acts, such as breach of legal, regulatory and 

compliance standards or individual behavior that contributes 
substantially to a material financial loss, restatement or repu-
tational risk.

Conditional Variable Compensation Plan 
As part of the constrained 2008 compensation program, the 
firm implemented CVCP as a one-time forward looking com-
pensation plan. Under this program awards were granted to 
certain employees (excluding GEB members) in second quar-
ter 2009. These awards constituted a contingent right to re-
ceive cash at vesting, subject to the satisfaction of predefined 
performance conditions, and were scheduled to vest in three 
equal tranches over a three-year period. 

Under the CVCP, a tranche is forfeited if either the Group 
or the relevant business division has no profit in the financial 
year preceding the year of vesting (or if there is any govern-
ment  recapitalization  during  the  vesting  period).  Following 
the announcement of the UBS financial results for 2009, the 
first  tranche  of  the  CVCP  award  has  been  forfeited  as  the 
critical performance condition – a net profit for 2009 defined 
according to IFRS – was not met. For 2009, 9,500 employees 
forfeited CVCP awards amounting to approximately CHF 300 
million.  The  remaining  two  tranches  will  continue  to  vest, 
subject generally to continued employment with UBS and to 
the defined requirements being met in subsequent years.

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Corporate governance and compensation 
Compensation and shareholdings

Variable compensation funding framework

Overview

Following approval of the revised Total Reward Principles, we 
also reviewed the framework used to fund variable compen-
sation.  This  year,  we  amended  our  variable  compensation 
funding  framework  to  explicitly  further  take  into  consider-
ation factors such as profitability after deducting cost of cap-
ital and also the underlying business risk. 

The variable compensation pool for each division is based 
on  the  fully  costed  economic  profit  performance  together 
with relevant key performance indicators and other qualita-
tive  measures.  This  includes  market-driven  needs  mainly 
evaluated by competitive benchmarking. These adjustments 
are necessary in certain business areas where the economic 
contribution is currently insufficient, but where we decide, 
based  on  our  long-term  strategy,  to  remain  and  build  our 
business.  The  use  of  performance-driven  pool  funding, 
based on risk-adjusted profit, is in line with our view of how 
to set the most effective compensation strategies and also 
with new regulatory requirements. 

Market driven pool funding

Within UBS, not all units achieved a satisfactory level of eco-
nomic  contribution  in  2009.  However,  achievement  of  our 
strategic goals including offering a greater integrated firm to 
our clients calls for us to continue investment in these lines 
of  business.  Different  businesses  are  at  different  stages  of 
development  and  different  places  on  a  profitability  spec-
trum.  Further,  competitors  are  emerging  from  the  global 
economic  crisis  at  differing  paces  which  is  creating  signifi-
cant compensation tension. Our compensation system needs 
to  be  able  to  anticipate  and  respond  to  these  pressures  in 

order to maintain our ability to attract and retain key talent. 
We  need  to  be  able  to  react  decisively  by  maintaining  the 
flexibility to pay top-performing individuals adequately and 
appropriately  by  taking  into  account  predefined  personal 
objectives,  and  achievements  against  other  relevant  key 
 performance indicators, as set out in the Total Reward Prin-
ciples.

Benchmarking against peers

Compensation  and  benefit  levels  are  primarily  result-driven 
and  further  benchmarked  against  appropriate  peers.  These 
companies are selected for the similarity of their core business 
to  that  of  UBS,  as  well  as  for  comparable  size,  geographic 
distribution,  business  strategy  and  performance.  Typically, 
these are also the companies from which we are most likely to 
hire and to which we are most likely to lose employees. When 
benchmarking GEB members, generally ten peers are consid-
ered to represent the most relevant labor market for compen-
sation  namely  Bank  of  America  Merrill  Lynch,  Barclays,  Citi-
group, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, 
JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and RBS. In the view of the 
HRCC, our executive compensation structure is positioned ap-
propriately relative to these peers. For certain positions, in par-
ticular those below the GEB, additional competitors may be 
taken into account including other major international banks, 
the large Swiss private banks, private equity firms and hedge 
funds, which are increasingly becoming attractive alternatives 
for our employees.

However, market data is only one of several factors in the 
compensation  decision-making  process.  Market  data  in-
forms but does not directly drive any individual decision on 
compensation. 

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Compensation framework

Compensation structure

Chairman of the Board of Directors
Since 2009, the Chairman of the BoD has, in principle, re-
ceived a fixed base salary comprising cash and the right to 
receive  a  pre-determined  number  of  UBS  shares  that  vest 
after  four  years.  This  compensation  package  does  not  in-
clude  any  variable  or  performance-dependent  component, 
but does keep the Chairman’s pay aligned with sustainable 
added  value  through  its  share  component.  However,  al-
though the initial quantity of shares is pre-determined, those 
shares nevertheless remain subject to forfeiture if there is a 
loss-making year during the vesting period. 

➔ Refer to the “2009 compensation for the Board of Directors 

and Group Executive Board” section of this report for 

details of the Chairman’s compensation for 2009

The  process  to  determine  the  overall  compensation  for 
the Chairman of the BoD starts with an annual performance 
assessment by the full BoD (excluding the Chairman) and is 
then based on a recommendation to the full Board from the 
HRCC.  Pay  levels  for  comparable  roles  outside  of  UBS  are 
also taken into account.

Independent members of the Board of Directors
Reflecting their independent status, the remuneration of inde-
pendent  members  of  the  BoD  includes  no  variable  compo-
nent, and is therefore not dependent on the financial perfor-

mance  of  the  Group.  Fees  for  independent  members  are 
reviewed annually. The HRCC reviews a proposal by the Chair-
man of the BoD, and then submits a recommendation to the 
full BoD. Fees are paid 50% in cash and 50% in blocked UBS 
shares.  However,  members  can  elect  to  have  100%  of  their 
remuneration paid in blocked UBS shares. These shares are at-
tributed with a price discount of 15% and restricted from sale 
for four years from the date they are granted. None of the in-
dependent members of the BoD have a contract with UBS that 
provides benefits upon the termination of their term of office.

Group Executive Board
Members of the GEB are entitled to a fixed salary. In addi-
tion, they may receive variable compensation under the CBP, 
the PEP and / or the IPP to be granted in 2010.

The table below gives an overview of the compensation 
structure,  including  details  of  awards  granted  in  February 
2010, with regard to the 2009 performance year.

All UBS employees

Base salary
Base salaries reflect each individual’s role, skills and knowl-
edge, as well as our need to remain competitive in the rele-
vant labor market. Base salaries comprise a fixed amount of 
cash, and any adjustments are limited to significant changes 
in job responsibility or market conditions.

Compensation structure

Elements of compensation

Chairman of the Board

Independent members  
of the Board

Members of the GEB

Other senior employees

Fixed pay

Base salary in cash
Fixed quantity of UBS shares

Fixed fee (min. 50%; max. 
100% in restricted share 
awards)

Base salary in cash

Base salary in cash

Variable cash compensation

No

Variable equity compensation

No

No

No

Yes, subject to the Cash 
Balance Plan (CBP)

Yes

Performance Equity Plan (PEP)
Incentive Performance Plan 
(IPP)

Equity Ownership Plan (EOP) 
Incentive Performance Plan (IPP)

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Advisory vote

Corporate governance and compensation 
Compensation and shareholdings

During 2009, the banking industry faced increasing regu-
latory pressure to ensure that salaries comprise a sufficient 
proportion of total remuneration, while still allowing a firm 
to operate a flexible incentive policy. We recognized this risk-
based requirement and increased employee base salary lev-
els in certain parts of the business where this was deemed 
both necessary and appropriate. While we need to pay com-
petitively in relation to the market, nevertheless, we believe 
that  a  policy  which  encourages  a  general  increase  in  fixed 
remuneration  simply  in  order  to  reduce  the  proportion  of 
variable remuneration would only increase fixed costs, and is 
not in the long-term interest of shareholders. 

Benefits
In order to help attract and retain the best employees in each 
local market where we operate, we provide employee ben-
efits  that  are  competitive  within  each  of  these  markets. 
Changes, terminations and the introduction of new benefits 
are governed by the procedures contained in the Organiza-
tion Regulations. We consider benefits to be a supplemental 
element of total compensation and those offered may vary 
substantially from location to location.

Generally there are no special benefits for GEB members; 
they receive the same benefits as all other employees in the 
location and business where they work.

Pensions
In Switzerland, our general pension plan is made up of two 
defined contribution elements: one plan covering base salary 
and the other covering variable compensation. Management 
shares the same retirement plan benefits as all other employ-
ees.

Outside  Switzerland,  we  provide  appropriately-designed 
local pension plans in which employees and executives par-
ticipate on an equal basis. In the US, employees and man-
agement can choose to participate in a 401(k)-defined con-
tribution  plan  which  is  open  to  all  employees.  In  addition, 
some employees and management participate in legacy de-
fined benefit plans that are no longer available to new hires. 
In the UK, employees and executives either participate in a 
pension  plan  operated  on  a  defined  contribution  basis  or 
participate in a legacy defined benefit plan which was open 
to all employees but is now unavailable for new hires. 
➔ Refer to “Note 30 Pension and other post-retirement 

benefit plans” in the “Financial information” section of this 

report for details on the various retirement benefit plans 

established in Switzerland and other major markets

Cash and equity incentives
“Pay  for  performance”  is  the  guiding  principle  of  the  UBS 
reward  policy.  In  accordance  with  the  Total  Reward  Prin-
ciples,  variable  compensation  awards  take  into  account 
a  range  of  performance  factors  including  delivering  sus-
tainable profitability, effective risk and capital management, 

client focus, teamwork and sound governance. Since perfor-
mance  can  vary,  the  amount  of  variable  compensation  an 
individual  receives  can  also  vary  considerably  from  year  to 
year.

For many years, we have awarded a portion of variable 
remuneration  in  the  form  of  UBS  shares  that  are  deferred 
over three (and, in case of senior management, five) years. 
This approach applies to all employees earning above a cer-
tain threshold, not only to executives and other senior em-
ployees. These awards align employees’ interests with those 
of shareholders by fully exposing employees to fluctuations 
in the UBS share price. In 2008, we announced the develop-
ment  of  the  CBP  and  PEP  for  management,  and  the  first 
awards under these plans were granted in 2010 with regard 
to the 2009 performance year.

During 2009, a further review was carried out and as a 
result, the following changes are being introduced in spring 
2010 (for the 2009 performance year):
–  an increase in the amount to be deferred into UBS shares 

for higher-paid staff above a fixed threshold;

–  a reduction in the fixed threshold;
–  a limit on the amount of the incentive that may be paid 

out immediately in cash;

–  the inclusion of additional forfeiture provisions applying 
to unvested shares in the event of material financial loss-
es, restatement, breach of risk or compliance parameters, 
and reputational risk; and

–  the introduction of the IPP with a five-year performance 
period for senior employees (including GEB members). 

Employment contracts
Employment contracts are determined locally within each ju-
risdiction, and do not contain any extended notice periods or 
special severance terms. Provisions are regularly reviewed in 
accordance with changing legislation and market conditions.
During 2009, notice periods in employment contracts for 
new GEB members were reduced from twelve to six months 
in line with international trends. Under the new contracts, 
any variable incentive paid up to the date of termination is 
fully discretionary and based on Group, business division and 
personal performance during the executive’s period of em-
ployment. Any variable cash incentive will generally be deliv-
ered via the CBP. Equity awards delivered in prior years are 
not  accelerated  at  termination,  except  in  case  of  death  or 
disability,  but  continue  to  vest  on  a  pro-rata  basis  and  are 
subject to a range of forfeiture provisions after the period of 
employment has  ended. We do  not  include “golden  para-
chutes” – ex gratia payments due to termination of employ-
ment – in contracts with GEB members. 

Regulatory framework
Emerging and increasingly complex regulations in a number 
of jurisdictions now impact the way in which UBS and our 
peers are able to pay employees. We believe that our com-

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pensation practices for 2009 already materially comply with 
the relevant rules and guidelines issued by the G-20, as well 
as by FINMA, the US Federal Reserve, the UK FSA and other 
jurisdictions in which we have a substantial presence. These 
rules require that material portions of compensation, in par-

ticular for senior management and risk-takers, are principally 
deferred  into  UBS  shares  over  at  least  a  three-year  period. 
These  awards  are  also  required  to  be  subject  to  forfeiture 
linked to conduct that contributes to substantial future un-
derperformance or restatement of financial results.

n
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225

 
 
 
Advisory vote

Corporate governance and compensation 
Compensation and shareholdings

2009 performance

Besides total UBS and market performance, business division 
and individual performance are key criteria in our employee 
reward process. 

Business division performance 

When  considering  compensation  funding  for  2009,  the 
HRCC took into account a thorough assessment of business 
divisional  performance  as  well  as  the  improvement  in  the 
stability, security and risk position of the firm and overall im-
provement in underlying Group profitability throughout the 
year. 

In December 2009, each divisional CEO met individually 
with the Group CEO, Group CFO and Group Head HR for a 
detailed assessment of their incentive accruals in light of the 
above data, expected business results and other factors such 
as market positioning and business protection. 

Based on the outcomes of these discussions as well as the 
results and trends evidenced by the Group and divisional fi-
nancial results, the HRCC proposed to the BoD the final an-
nual variable compensation pool for 2009 and approved the 
individual divisional pools.

➔ Refer to the “UBS business divisions and Corporate Center” 

section of this report for more information on the 

performance of UBS’s business divisions

Individual performance

Individual  performance  is  formally  assessed  each  year  by 
measuring  achievement  against  personal  objectives.  These 
objectives are focused on a range of financial and non-finan-
cial areas such as: 
–  contribution to Group and business division results; 
–  exceptional  contribution  in  cooperating  across  all  busi-

nesses; 

–  strategic leadership skills and potential; 
–  outstanding professional and technical expertise; 
–  a commitment to UBS; 
–  adherence to corporate values and principles; 
–  active risk management; and 
–  the creation of shareholder value. 

For  employees  in  senior  or  key  positions,  performance 
against each objective and key performance indicators is rig-
orously evaluated, not only by an individual’s immediate su-
perior but also by peers and subordinates. This 360-degree 
assessment  is  qualitative  and  quantitative  –  comprising  fi-
nancial and operational results for the year, as well as indica-
tors of future performance.

226

Advisory vote

2009 compensation for the Board of Directors and  
Group Executive Board

Board of Directors remuneration

Chairman of the Board of Directors 
The total compensation awarded to the Chairman of the BoD, 
Kaspar Villiger, who was elected at the mid-April AGM 2009, 
for the 2009 financial year was CHF 676,571. 

Although the compensation framework provides for the 
Chairman of the BoD to receive a pre-determined fixed num-
ber of UBS shares in addition to his base salary, Kaspar Vil-
liger  has  elected  not  to  receive  a  share  award  and  he  has 
decided  to  voluntarily  reduce  his  annual  base  salary  from 
CHF 2 million to CHF 850,000.

Highest paid member of the Board of Directors
Due  to  the  voluntary  reduction  by  the  Chairman  of  the 
Board, the highest paid member of the BoD is David Sidwell, 
Chairman of the RC, with total fees of CHF 725,000 (base 
fee of CHF 325,000 and RC retainer of CHF 400,000).

Remuneration for the former Chairman of the 
Board of  Directors
Peter Kurer, former Chairman of the BoD, did not stand for 
reelection at the AGM on 15 April 2009, and retired from UBS 
as of April 2009. He received his base salary until the termina-
tion date of 30 April 2009. For ongoing advisory requirements 
and assistance in the handover to his successor, Peter Kurer 
received a flat salary of CHF 1,000,000. For 2009, as was the 
case for 2007 and 2008, he did not receive any discretionary 
incentive or fixed share awards. After assessing his tenure as 
Chairman  and  the  specific  organizational  transition  require-
ments,  the  HRCC  deemed  it  appropriate  to  approve  a  one-
time  contribution  of  CHF  3,332,000  into  the  UBS  pension 
fund on his behalf to cover the deficit in his pension fund.

Independent members of the Board of Directors
The table “Remuneration details and additional information 
for independent members of the BoD” shows remuneration 
for  independent  members  of  the  BoD  between  the  2009 
and  2010  AGMs.  Fees  for  2009  to  2010  remained  un-
changed except for the chair of the HRCC, whose remunera-
tion was increased due to the additional workload associat-
ed  with  the  extensive  plan,  policy  and  regulatory  changes 
introduced during 2009.

Group Executive Board compensation

In 2009, total compensation for members of the GEB in their 
capacity as such, reflected not only the individual performance 
of  each  executive,  but  also  the  improved  operating  perfor-
mance of each business division and the overall UBS Group. The 
HRCC also considered the relevant external competitive mar-
ket and the steps required to ensure that the firm makes fur-
ther significant strives in 2010 towards its strategic objectives. 
The total compensation for the highest-paid member of 
the GEB this year, Carsten Kengeter, amounted to CHF 13 
million for the financial year 2009. The majority of this was 
granted  in  the  form  of  notional  shares  that  vest  over  3–5 
years.

After  Carsten  Kengeter  was  hired  in  September  2008, 
he  joined  in  December  2008  as  a  member  of  the  former 
Group  Managing  Board  and  Global  co-Head  of  Fixed  In-
come, Currencies and Commodities (FICC). He was further 
promoted to the GEB as co-CEO of the Investment Bank, 
together with Alexander Wilmot-Sitwell, on 27 April 2009, 
and maintained his FICC role in parallel until early 2010. He 
was previously a Partner and Co-Head of Goldman Sachs’ 
Securities  division  for  Asia  (ex-Japan),  and  represented  a 

d
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A

Compensation details and additional information for executive members of the BoD

CHF, except where indicated a

Name, function 1
Kaspar Villiger, Chairman

Peter Kurer, former Chairman

Marcel Ospel, former Chairman

Stephan Haeringer,  
former Executive Vice Chairman

For the  
year ended

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

Base salary

602,083

666,667

1,333,333

666,667

1,125,000

Annual incentive 
award (cash)

0

0

0

0

0

Annual incentive 
award (shares 
– fair value) c
0

Discretionary 
award (options 
– fair value) d
0

Benefits  
in kind e
74,488

Contributions to 
retirement 
benefits plans f
0

Total

676,571

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

37,561

58,267

89,780

794,008

174,047

1,565,647

80,755

87,023

834,445

108,846

195,802

1,429,648

1 2009: Kaspar Villiger was the only non-independent member in office on 31 December 2009; Peter Kurer did not stand for reelection at the AGM on 15 April 2009. 2008: Peter Kurer was the only 
executive member in office on 31 December 2008; Marcel Ospel did not stand for reelection at the AGM on 23 April 2008 and Stephan Haeringer stepped down during the year as a member of the BoD, 
and both of these payments are pro-rata for the four and nine months, respectively, in their functions.

227

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Advisory vote

Corporate governance and compensation 
Compensation and shareholdings

very strong strategic hire for the Investment Bank. Carsten 
Kengeter’s  drive,  leadership  and  impact  have  materially 
contributed to the turnaround in the FICC business, to the 
effective unwinding of a large portion of the legacy posi-
tions and to the overall effort to transform the Investment 
Bank as a whole. The resulting compensation is fully sup-
ported  by  the  HRCC  in  light  of  the  skills  and  experience 
that he possesses, the commitments made at his hiring in 
December  2008,  and  the  accomplishments  achieved  dur-
ing 2009.

The Group CEO, Oswald J. Grübel, would have been en-
titled contractually to an incentive award. However, in light 
of UBS’s performance, he decided not to accept any incen-
tive awards for 2009, a decision which was endorsed by the 
HRCC.

Remuneration for members of the Group Executive Board 
who stepped down during 2009
During 2009, Marcel Rohner, Jerker Johansson, Raoul Weil, 
Walter  H.  Stürzinger,  Rory  Tapner  and  Marten  Hoekstra 
stepped down from the GEB. Their total awards of approxi-
mately CHF 39 million are heavily influenced by contractual 
obligations.

Marcel Rohner stepped down as Group CEO on 26 Febru-
ary 2009. In honoring the twelve-month notice period of his 
contract, he received his annual salary of CHF 1,500,000. For 
2009, as also for 2008, he did not receive any discretionary 
incentive awards. After assessing his tenure as Group CEO 
and the specific organizational transition requirements, the 
HRCC deemed it appropriate to approve a one-time contri-
bution of CHF 1,200,000 into the UBS pension fund on his 
behalf to cover the deficit in his pension fund.

Base salary
Base salaries are fixed for all GEB members and reviewed an-
nually by the HRCC. Any adjustments are limited to significant 
changes in market rates or to movements in the foreign ex-
change (FX) rate relative to the Swiss franc. Following its re-
view in 2009, the committee decided not to change the Swiss 
franc amount, but adjusted the salary for GEB members who 
are paid in other currencies due to movements in the FX rates.

Benefits
There  were  no  material  changes  to  GEB  benefits  during 
2009.

➔ Refer to “Note 30 Pension and other post-retirement 
benefit plans“ in the “Financial information” section 

of this report for details on the various retirement 

benefit plans established in Switzerland and other major 

markets

➔ Refer to the “2009 performance” and “Variable compensa-

tion funding framework” sections for information 

concerning the committee’s determination of variable 

incentive awards for 2009, and to the “Cash and equity 

incentives” section for details of the compensation plans 

awarded to GEB members

Compensation to former members of the Board of 
Directors and Group Executive Board

Compensation and benefits in kind paid to former members 
of  the  BoD  and  the  GEB  reflect  legacy  agreements  still 
 honored by UBS. These benefits have been discontinued for 
any  member  of  the  BoD  and  the  GEB  who  stepped  down 
after 1 January 2008.

d
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A

Explanation of the tables outlining compensation details of executive members of 
the BoD and members of the GEB:

a.  Local currencies are converted into CHF using the exchange rates as detailed in “Note 39 Currency translation rates” in the “Financial informa-

tion” section of this report.

b.  The entire cash incentive is only paid out over a three-year period and is subject to forfeiture.
c.  Values per performance share at grant: CHF 16.30 for PEP awards and CHF 22.20 for IPP awards granted in 2010 related to the performance year 
2009. These are based on the performance share valuation which will be used for accounting purposes under IFRS 2. The valuation was carried out 
by PricewaterhouseCoopers and takes into account the relevant performance conditions, targets set, and the range of possible outcomes for these.

d.  No options were granted in 2010 for the performance year 2009.
e.  Benefits in kind – car leasing, company car allowance, staff discount on banking products and services, health and welfare benefits and gen-

eral expense allowances – are all valued at market price.

f.  Swiss executives participate in the same pension plan as all other employees. Under this plan, employees receive a company contribution to 
the plan which covers compensation up to CHF 820,800. The retirement benefits consist of a pension, a bridging pension and a one-off 
payout of accumulated capital. Employees must also contribute to the plan. This figure excludes the mandatory employer’s social security 
contributions (AHV, ALV) but includes the portion attributed to the employer’s portion of the legal BVG requirement. The employee contribu-
tion is included in the base salary and annual incentive award components.

In both the US and the UK, executives participate in the same plans as all other employees. In the US the plans differ between the two business 
divisions. For each business division there are two different plans. The grandfathered plans, which are no longer open to new hires, operate, de-
pending on the business division, either on a cash balance basis or a career average salary basis and participants accrue a pension based on their 
annual compensation limited to USD 250,000 (or USD 150,000 for Wealth Management Americas employees). In the defined contribution plan, 
participants receive company contributions to the plan based on compensation limited to USD 245,000. US management may also participate in 
a 401(k) defined contribution plan (open to all employees), which provides a company matching contribution for employee contributions. In the 
UK, management participates in either the principal pension plan, which operates on a defined contribution basis and is limited to an earnings cap 
of GBP 100,000, or a grandfathered defined benefit plan which provides a pension on retirement based on career average base salary (uncapped).

228

 
Advisory vote

d
e
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A

Remuneration details and additional information for independent members of the BoD

CHF, except where indicated a

n
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C

e
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&
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G

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o
N

i

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e
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y
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b
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R

e
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m
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o
C

e
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t
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A

&
R
H

e
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i

m
m
o
C

k
s
i
R

y
g
e
t
a
r
t
S

e
t
t
i

e For the 
period 
AGM to 
AGM

m
m
o
C

Base fee

Committee 
retainer(s)

Benefits  
in kind

M

M

M

M

C

M

M

M

M

M

M

C

M

M

M

M

M

M

2009/2010 325,000

M 2008/2009 325,000

100,000

200,000

2009/2010

2008/2009 325,000

2009/2010 325,000

2008/2009 162,500

200,000

350,000

75,000

2009/2010 325,000

200,000

2008/2009

M

M

2009/2010 325,000

M 2008/2009 162,500

2009/2010 325,000

2008/2009 162,500

2009/2010 325,000

2008/2009

2009/2010

200,000

150,000

200,000

100,000

250,000

2008/2009 325,000

M

2009/2010 325,000

250,000

200,000

M

M

C

C

2008/2009

2009/2010

2008/2009 162,500

2009/2010 325,000

2008/2009 325,000

2009/2010 325,000

2008/2009 162,500

2009/2010 325,000

2008/2009 325,000

2009/2010

2008/2009 162,500

2009/2010 325,000

M 2008/2009 325,000

2009/2010

150,000

300,000

300,000

300,000

100,000

400,000

450,000

0

100,000

400,000

C

M

2008/2009 325,000

300,000

2008/2009 162,500

100,000

2009/2010

M

M

M

M

C

M

C

M

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Additional 
payments
250,000 6
250,000 6

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Share 
percen-
tage 3
100

Number of 
shares 4,5
51,845

100

76,228

100

50

50

50

100

50

50

50

50

51,596

27,261

12,280

21,203

40,301

16,158

21,203

13,572

23,222

Total

675,000

775,000

525,000

675,000

237,500

525,000

525,000

312,500

525,000

262,500

575,000

575,000

525,000

50

100

29,731

40,301

312,500

625,000

625,000

625,000

262,500

725,000

775,000

162,500

425,000

725,000

50

50

50

50

50

50

50

100

50

50

16,158

25,242

32,316

25,242

13,572

29,281

40,072

15,945

17,164

37,487

262,500

50

13,572

50

32,316

625,000

6,425,000

6,437,500

Name, function 1
Sergio Marchionne, 
Senior Independent 
Director, Vice Chairman

Ernesto Bertarelli, 
former member

Sally Bott,  
member2

Michel Demaré, 
member

Rainer-Marc Frey, 
member2

Bruno Gehrig,  
member2

Ann F. Godbehere, 
member

Gabrielle Kaufmann-
Kohler, former member

Axel P. Lehmann, 
member

Rolf A. Meyer,  
former member2

Helmut Panke,  
member

William G. Parrett, 
member2

David Sidwell,  
member

Peter Spuhler,  
former member2

Peter R. Voser, 
member

Lawrence A. Weinbach, 
former member2

Joerg Wolle,  
former member

Total 2009

Total 2008

Legend: C = Chairperson of the respective committee; M = Member of the respective committee

1 There were 11 independent BoD members in office on 31 December 2009. Michel Demaré, Ann F. Godbehere and Axel P. Lehmann were appointed at the AGM on 15 April 2009 and Ernesto Berta relli, 
Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler and Joerg Wolle stepped down from the BoD at the AGM on 15 April 2009. There were 11 independent BoD members in office on 31 December 2008. David Sidwell was 
appointed at the AGM on 23 April 2008, and Rolf A. Meyer, Peter Spuhler and Lawrence A. Weinbach stepped down from the BoD at the EGM on 2 October 2008. Sally Bott, Rainer-Marc Frey, Bruno 
Gehrig and William G. Parrett were appointed at the EGM on 2 October 2008.    2 Remuneration for 2008 / 2009 is for six months only, as such members either stepped down or were appointed on 2 
October 2008.    3 Fees are paid 50% in cash and 50% in restricted UBS shares. However, independent BoD members can elect to have 100% of their remuneration paid in restricted UBS shares.    4 For 
2009, shares valued at CHF 14.57 (average price of UBS shares at SIX Swiss Exchange over the last 10 trading days of February 2010) included a price discount of 15%, for a new value of discount price 
CHF 12.38. These shares are blocked for four years. For 2008, shares valued at CHF 11.38 (average price of UBS shares at virt-x, now SIX Swiss Exchange, over the last 10 trading days of February 2009) 
included a price discount of 15%, discount price for a new value of CHF 9.67. These shares are blocked for four years.    5 Number of shares is reduced in case of the 100% election to deduct social 
security contribution. All remuneration payments are submitted to social security contribution / withholding tax.    6 This payment is associated with the Senior Independent Director function.

In addition, for 2008 / 2009 only, one-off cash payments were made to the Chairmen of the RC (CHF 500,000), the GNC (CHF 300,000) and the HRCC (CHF 200,000). These payments reflect the sub-
stantial workload of setting up the new RC, and expanding the mandate of the GNC and the HRCC.

229

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Advisory vote

Corporate governance and compensation 
Compensation and shareholdings

d
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A

d
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A

d
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Total payments to all members of the BoD

CHF, except where indicated a
Aggregate of all members of the BoD

Aggregate of all members of the BoD

For the  
year ended

2009

2008

Total

7,895,579

10,267,240

Total compensation for all members of the GEB

CHF, except where indicated a

Name, function

For the  
year ended

Base salary

Annual 
incentive 
award CBP 
and cash b

Annual 
incentive 
award PEP c

Annual 
incentive 
award IPP c

Contributions 
to retirement 
benefits 
plans f

Benefits  
in kind e

Total

Carsten Kengeter, co-CEO Investment Bank 
(highest-paid)

Marcel Rohner, Group Chief Executive Officer 
(highest-paid)

Aggregate of all members of the GEB who 
were in office on 31 December 2009 1
Aggregate of all members of the GEB who 
were in office on 31 December 2008 1
Aggregate of all members of the GEB who 
stepped down during 2009 2
Aggregate of all members of the GEB who 
stepped down during 2008 2

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

669,092

5,003,470

6,155,869

1,349,336

0

12,545

13,190,312

1,500,000

0

0

0

161,768

152,934

1,814,702

12,000,055

25,734,711

13,453,424 3

15,696,333

270,971

1,551,068

68,706,562

7,815,943

0

2,447,544

38,443,097

1,614,871

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

457,652

817,315

9,090,911

215,151

171,122

41,276,914

234,838

258,423

2,108,132

1 Numbers and distribution of GEB members in 2009: 13 GEB members in office on 31 December. 2008: 12 GEB members in office on 31 December.    2 Number and distribution of GEB members in 
2009: includes two months in office as a GEB member for Marcel Rohner, three months in office for Walter H. Stürzinger and Raoul Weil, four months in office for Jerker Johansson, six months in office 
for Rory Tapner and ten for Marten Hoekstra. 2008: includes four months in office as a GEB member for Peter Kurer, eight months in office for Marco Suter and ten months for Joe Scoby.    3 Included in 
the share awards are SEEOP awards at a fair value of GBP 4,655,950 and EOP awards at a fair value of GBP 1,594,250.

Compensation paid to former members of the BoD and GEB1

CHF, except where indicated a

Name, function

Georges Blum, former member of the BoD  
(Swiss Bank Corporation)

Franz Galliker, former member of the BoD  
(Swiss Bank Corporation)

Walter G. Frehner, former member of the BoD  
(Swiss Bank Corporation)

Hans (Liliane) Strasser, former member of the BoD  
(Swiss Bank Corporation)

Robert Studer, former member of the BoD  
(Union Bank of Switzerland)

Alberto Togni, former member of the BoD  
(UBS)

Philippe (Alix) de Weck, former member of the BoD  
(Union Bank of Switzerland)

Aggregate of all former members of the GEB 2

Aggregate of all former members of the BoD and GEB

For the  
year ended

Compensation

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

320,136

318,461

0

0

320,136

318,461

Benefits  
in kind

92,399

101,579

10,659

69,596

25,371

74,663

9,758

32,673

18,751

126,208

355,983

427,949

93,135

109,703

18,293

171,180

624,349

Total

92,399

101,579

10,659

69,596

25,371

74,663

9,758

32,673

18,751

126,208

676,119

746,410

93,135

109,703

18,293

171,180

944,485

1,113,551

1,432,012

1 Compensation or remuneration that is connected with the former members’ activity on the BoD or GEB, or that is not at market conditions.    2 Includes two former GEB members.

230

Advisory vote

d
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t
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u
A

Shares and options held by the Board of Directors and Group 
Executive Board (at end of 2009)

Share and option ownership of members of the BoD on 31 December 2008 / 2009

Name, function 1
Kaspar Villiger, Chairman

Sergio Marchionne,  
Senior Independent Director, Vice Chairman

Ernesto Bertarelli, former member 4

Sally Bott, member

Michel Demaré, member

Rainer-Marc Frey, member

Bruno Gehrig, member

Ann F. Godbehere, member

Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler, former member 4

Peter Kurer, former Chairman 4

Axel P. Lehmann, member

Helmut Panke, member

William G. Parrett, member

David Sidwell, member

Peter R. Voser, member

Joerg Wolle, former member 4

For the 
year ended

Number of 
shares held

Voting rights  
in %

Number of 
options held

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

22,500

–

164,154

87,926

–

89,434

12,281

1

2,500

–

16,158

0

16,572

3,000

0

–

–

18,713

–

416,088

18,151

–

64,287

31,971

17,573

4,000

40,073

1

68,310

30,823

–

41,509

0.001

0.009

0.005

0.005

0.001

0.000

0.000

0.001

0.000

0.001

0.000

0.000

0.001

0

–

0

0

–

0

0

0

0

–

0

0

0

0

0

–

–

0

–

0.025

372,995

0.001

0.003

0.002

0.001

0.000

0.002

0.000

0.004

0.002

0.002

0

–

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

–

0

Potentially conferred 
voting rights in % 2
0.000

Type and quantity 
of options 3

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.022

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

xli: 
xlvii: 
lvi: 
lxiv: 

85,256
95,913
95,913
95,913

1 This table includes vested, unvested, blocked and unblocked shares and options held by members of the BoD including related parties.    2 No conversion rights are outstanding.    3 Refer to “Note 31 Equity 
participation and other compensation plans” in the “Financial information” section of this report for more information on stock option plans.    4 Members of the BoD who stepped down at the AGM 2009.

n
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231

 
 
 
Advisory vote

Corporate governance and compensation 
Compensation and shareholdings

Share and option ownership of members of the GEB on 31 December 2008 / 2009

d
e
t
i
d
u
A

Name, function 1
Oswald J. Grübel,  
Group Chief Executive Officer

Marcel Rohner,  
former Group Chief Executive Officer 4

2009

2008

2009

2008

For the 
year ended

Number of 
shares held

Voting rights  
in %

Number of 
options held

Potentially conferred 
voting rights in % 2
0.217

Type and 
quantity of 
options 3
lxx:  4,000,000

0

–

–

0.000

4,000,000

–

–

711,366

0.042

1,055,043

0.063

John Cryan,  
Group Chief Financial Officer

2009

235,929

0.013

382,673

0.021

2008

235,929

0.014

382,673

0.023

Markus U. Diethelm,  
Group General Counsel

John A. Fraser,  
Chairman and CEO Global Asset Management

2009

2008

2009

112,245

112,245

480,464

0.006

0.007

0.027

0

0

1,088,795

0.000

0.000

0.059

232

31,971 
xxxii: 
xli: 
 213,140 
xlvii:  277,082 
lvi: 
319,710 
lxiv:  213,140

21,362 
iii: 
20,731 
iv: 
20,725 
vii: 
5,454 
xii: 
5,294 
xiii: 
5,292 
xvi: 
23,626 
xxi: 
23,620 
xxiii: 
23,612 
xxvi: 
5,526 
xxviii: 
5,524 
xxix: 
xxx: 
5,524 
xxxviii:  17,072 
17,068 
xl: 
17,063 
xlii: 
14,210 
xliv: 
14,210 
xlv: 
14,207 
xlvi: 
5,330 
liii: 
5,328 
liv: 
5,326 
lv: 
17,762 
lxi: 
17,762 
lxii: 
17,760 
lxiii: 
53,285
lxvi: 

iii: 
21,362 
iv: 
20,731 
vii: 
20,725 
xii: 
5,454 
xiii: 
5,294 
xvi: 
5,292 
xxi: 
23,626 
xxiii: 
23,620 
xxvi: 
23,612 
xxviii: 
5,526 
xxix: 
5,524 
5,524 
xxx: 
xxxviii:  17,072 
17,068 
xl: 
17,063 
xlii: 
14,210 
xliv: 
14,210 
xlv: 
14,207 
xlvi: 
5,330 
liii: 
5,328 
liv: 
5,326 
lv: 
17,762 
lxi: 
17,762 
lxii: 
17,760 
lxiii: 
53,285
lxvi: 

viii: 
76,380 
127,884 
xix: 
xxv:  127,884 
xliii:  170,512 
xlviii:  202,483 
lvi: 
213,140 
lxiv:  170,512

Advisory vote

Share and option ownership of members of the GEB on 31 December 2008 / 2009 (continued)

d
e
t
i
d
u
A

Name, function 1
John A. Fraser,  
Chairman and CEO Global Asset Management

For the 
year ended

2008

Number of 
shares held

561,216

Voting rights  
in %

Number of 
options held

0.035

1,144,808

Potentially conferred 
voting rights in % 2
0.068

Marten Hoekstra,  
former CEO Wealth Management US 4

2009

2008

–

245,397

–

0.015

684,168

0.041

Type and 
quantity of 
options 3
56,013 
i: 
76,380 
viii: 
xix: 
127,884 
xxv:  127,884 
xliii:  170,512 
xlviii:  202,483 
lvi: 
213,140 
lxiv:  170,512

ii: 
8,679 
vi: 
8,421 
ix: 
8,421 
xi: 
8,823 
xiv: 
4,262 
xv: 
8,563 
8,561 
xviii: 
xxxiii:  42,628 
53,285 
xliii: 
53,285 
xlviii: 
lvi: 
85,256 
lxiv:  154,931 
lxvii:  239,053

Jerker Johansson,  
former Chairman and CEO Investment Bank 4

Carsten Kengeter,  
co-CEO Investment Bank

Ulrich Körner,  
Group Chief Operating Officer

Philip J. Lofts,  
Group Chief Risk Officer

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

–

521,544

516,909

–

0

–

0.031

0.028

0.000

–

753,410

905,000

–

0

–

179,234

0.010

577,723

0.045

lxviii:  745,990 
7,420
lxix: 

0.049

lxxi:  905,000

0.000

0.031

2008

186,434

0.011

577,723

0.034

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11,445 
iii: 
11,104 
iv: 
11,098 
vii: 
1,240 
xii: 
5,464 
xiii: 
1,199 
xvi: 
9,985 
xxi: 
9,980 
xxiii: 
9,974 
xxvi: 
1,833 
xxviii: 
1,830 
xxix: 
xxx: 
1,830 
xxxviii:  35,524 
35,524 
xl: 
xlii: 
35,521 
xlvii:  117,090 
117,227 
lvi: 
85,256 
lxiv: 
74,599
lxvii: 

11,445 
iii: 
11,104 
iv: 
11,098 
vii: 
1,240 
xii: 
5,464 
xiii: 
1,199 
xvi: 
9,985 
xxi: 
9,980 
xxiii: 
9,974 
xxvi: 
1,833 
xxviii: 
1,830 
xxix: 
xxx: 
1,830 
xxxviii:  35,524 
35,524 
xl: 
xlii: 
35,521 
xlvii:  117,090 
117,227 
lvi: 
85,256 
lxiv: 
74,599
lxvii: 

233

 
 
 
Advisory vote

Corporate governance and compensation 
Compensation and shareholdings

Share and option ownership of members of the GEB on 31 December 2008 / 2009 (continued)

d
e
t
i
d
u
A

Name, function 1
Robert J. McCann,  
CEO Wealth Management Americas

Franco Morra,  
CEO UBS Switzerland

Walter H. Stürzinger,  
former Chief Operating Officer, Corporate Center 4

Rory Tapner,  
former Chairman and CEO Asia Pacific 4

Raoul Weil,  
former Chairman and CEO Global Wealth 
Management  & Business Banking 4

Alexander Wilmot-Sitwell,  
co-CEO Investment Bank

For the 
year ended

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

Number of 
shares held

602,481

–

153,860

Voting rights  
in %

Number of 
options held

0.033

0

–

Potentially conferred 
voting rights in % 2
0.000

0.008

325,086

0.018

–

–

–

–

296,886

0.018

372,995

0.022

–

827,809

–

315,698

–

0.049

1,379,533

0.082

–

0.019

432,409

0.026

2009

286,767

0.016

353,807

0.019

2008

304,655

0.018

353,807

0.021

Robert Wolf,  
Chairman and CEO, UBS Group Americas /  
President Investment Bank

2009

785,631

0.043

948,473

0.051

2008

827,307

0.049

948,473

0.056

Type and 
quantity of 
options 3

43,911 
lvi: 
lxiv: 
66,866 
lxvii:  114,309 
lxxii:  100,000

xx: 
xli: 
xlvii: 
lvi: 
lxiv: 

31,971 
63,942 
85,256 
95,913 
95,913

281,862 
vii: 
xix: 
213,140 
xxxi:  213,140 
xli: 
170,512 
xlvii:  159,855 
170,512 
lvi: 
lxiv:  170,512

xix: 
53,285 
xlvii:  102,281 
127,884 
lvi: 
lxiv:  148,959

xlvi: 
53,282 
xlix: 
2,130 
liii: 
35,524 
liv: 
35,524 
35,521 
lv: 
lxiv:  106,570 
85,256
lxvii: 

53,282 
xlvi: 
2,130 
xlix: 
35,524 
liii: 
35,524 
liv: 
lv: 
35,521 
lxiv:  106,570 
85,256
lxvii: 

xxv:  287,739 
xliii:  213,140 
xlviii:  127,884 
lvi: 
106,570 
lxiv:  106,570 
lxvii:  106,570

xxv:  287,739 
xliii:  213,140 
xlviii:  127,884 
lvi: 
106,570 
lxiv:  106,570 
lxvii:  106,570

234

Advisory vote

Share and option ownership of members of the GEB on 31 December 2008 / 2009 (continued)

d
e
t
i
d
u
A

Name, function 1
Chi-Won Yoon,  
Chairman and CEO Asia Pacific

For the 
year ended

2009

Number of 
shares held

367,573

Voting rights  
in %

Number of 
options held

0.020

623,253

Potentially conferred 
voting rights in % 2
0.034

Jürg Zeltner,  
CEO Wealth Management

2008

2009

–

16,502

–

0.001

205,470

0.011

Type and 
quantity of 
options 3
11,577 
i: 
11,229 
v: 
11,227 
viii: 
2,252 
x: 
6,446 
xiv: 
2,184 
xvii: 
8,648 
xxii: 
8,642 
xxiv: 
8,635 
xxvii: 
4,262 
xxxiv: 
3,374 
xxxv: 
3,371 
xxxvi: 
xxxvii: 
3,371 
xxxviii:  6,200 
4,262 
xxxix: 
6,198 
xl: 
6,195 
xlii: 
10,659 
xliv: 
10,657 
xlv: 
10,654 
xlvi: 
21,316 
liii: 
21,314 
liv: 
21,311 
lv: 
8,881 
lxi: 
8,880 
lxii: 
8,880 
lxiii: 
lxvi: 
42,628 
lxxii:  350,000

iii: 
iv: 
vii: 
xlii: 
xliv: 
xlv: 
xlvi: 
xlix: 
l: 
li: 
lii: 
liii: 
liv: 
lv: 
lvii: 
lviii: 
lix: 
lx: 
lxi: 
lxii: 
lxiii: 
lxv: 
lxvii: 
lxxii: 

809 
784 
784 
4,972 
7,106  
7,103 
7,103 
93 
161 
149 
127 
7,106 
7,103 
7,103 
110 
242  
230 
221 
7,105 
7,105 
7,103 
223 
42,628 
90,000

1 This table includes vested and unvested shares and options held by members of the GEB, including related parties.    2 No conversion rights are outstanding.    3 Refer to “Note 31 Equity participation 
and other compensation plans“ in the “Financial information” section of this report for more information.    4 GEB members who stepped down during 2009.

2008

–

–

235

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Advisory vote

Corporate governance and compensation 
Compensation and shareholdings

d
e
t
i
d
u
A

Vested and unvested options held by independent members of the BoD and 
by members of the GEB on 31 December 2008 / 2009

Type

Number of options

Year of grant

Vesting date

Expiry date

Subscription ratio

i

ii

iii

iv

v

vi

vii

viii

ix

x

xi

xii

xiii

xiv

xv

xvi

xvii

xviii

xix

xx

xxi

xxii

xxiii

xxiv

xxv

xxvi

xxvii

xxviii

xxix

xxx

xxxi

xxxii

xxxiii

xxxiv

xxxv

xxxvi

xxxvii

xxxviii

xxxix

xl

xli

xlii

xliii

xliv

xlv

xlvi

xlvii

xlviii

xlix

l

li

236

11,577

8,679

33,616

32,619

11,229

8,421

314,469

87,607

8,421

2,252

8,823

6,694

10,758

10,708

8,563

6,491

2,184

8,561

394,309

31,971

33,611

8,648

33,600

8,642

415,623

33,586

8,635

7,359

7,354

7,354

213,140

31,971

42,628

4,262

3,374

3,371

3,371

58,796

4,262

58,790

532,850

63,751

436,937

31,975

31,970

85,246

837,477

383,652

2,223

161

149

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2003

2003

2003

2003

2003

2003

2003

2003

2003

2003

2003

2003

2003

2003

2003

2003

2003

2004

2004

2004

2004

2004

2004

2005

2005

2005

2005

2005

2005

2005

2005

31.01.2002

31.01.2002

31.01.2003

31.01.2004

31.01.2004

31.01.2004

31.01.2005

31.01.2005

31.01.2005

28.02.2002

28.02.2002

28.02.2003

28.02.2004

29.02.2004

29.02.2004

28.02.2005

28.02.2005

28.02.2005

28.06.2005

28.06.2005

01.03.2004

01.03.2004

01.03.2005

01.03.2005

31.01.2006

01.03.2006

01.03.2006

01.03.2004

01.03.2005

01.03.2006

31.01.2006

31.01.2006

31.01.2006

28.02.2005

01.03.2004

01.03.2005

01.03.2006

01.03.2005

27.02.2006

01.03.2006

28.02.2007

01.03.2007

01.03.2007

01.03.2006

01.03.2007

01.03.2008

01.03.2008

01.03.2008

04.03.2007

06.06.2007

09.09.2007

31.01.2012

31.07.2012

31.01.2012

31.01.2012

31.01.2012

31.07.2012

31.01.2012

31.01.2012

31.07.2012

28.02.2012

28.08.2012

28.02.2012

28.02.2012

28.02.2012

28.08.2012

28.02.2012

28.02.2012

28.08.2012

28.06.2012

28.12.2012

31.01.2013

31.01.2013

31.01.2013

31.01.2013

31.01.2013

31.01.2013

31.01.2013

28.02.2013

28.02.2013

28.02.2013

31.01.2013

31.07.2013

31.07.2013

28.02.2013

28.02.2013

28.02.2013

28.02.2013

27.02.2014

27.02.2014

27.02.2014

27.02.2014

27.02.2014

27.02.2014

28.02.2015

28.02.2015

28.02.2015

28.02.2015

28.02.2015

04.03.2015

06.06.2015

09.09.2015

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

Strike price

USD 21.24

USD 21.24

CHF 36.49

CHF 36.49

USD 21.24

USD 21.24

CHF 36.49

USD 21.24

USD 21.24

USD 21.70

USD 21.70

CHF 36.65

CHF 36.65

USD 21.70

USD 21.70

CHF 36.65

USD 21.70

USD 21.70

CHF 37.90

CHF 37.90

CHF 27.81

USD 20.49

CHF 27.81

USD 20.49

USD 22.53

CHF 27.81

USD 20.49

CHF 26.39

CHF 26.39

CHF 26.39

CHF 30.50

CHF 30.50

USD 22.53

USD 19.53

USD 19.53

USD 19.53

USD 19.53

CHF 44.32

CHF 44.32

CHF 44.32

CHF 48.69

CHF 44.32

USD 38.13

CHF 47.58

CHF 47.58

CHF 47.58

CHF 52.32

USD 44.81

CHF 47.89

CHF 45.97

CHF 50.47

Advisory vote

d
e
t
i
d
u
A

Vested and unvested options held by independent members of the BoD and 
by members of the GEB on 31 December 2008 / 2009 (continued)

Type

lii

liii

liv

lv

lvi

lvii

lviii

lix

lx

lxi

lxii

lxiii

lxiv

lxv

lxvi

lxvii

lxviii

lxix

lxx

lxxi

lxxii

Number of options

Year of grant

Vesting date

Expiry date

Subscription ratio

Strike price

127

69,276

69,269

69,261

1,376,036

110

242

230

221

33,748

33,747

33,743

1,415,142

223

95,913

662,415

745,990

7,420

4,000,000

905,000

540,000

2005

2006

2006

2006

2006

2006

2006

2006

2006

2007

2007

2007

2007

2007

2008

2008

2008

2008

2009

2009

2009

05.12.2007

01.03.2007

01.03.2008

01.03.2009

01.03.2009

03.03.2008

09.06.2008

08.09.2008

08.12.2008

01.03.2008

01.03.2009

01.03.2010

01.03.2010

02.03.2009

01.03.2011

01.03.2011

01.03.2011

01.03.2011

26.02.2009

01.03.2012

01.03.2012

05.12.2015

28.02.2016

28.02.2016

28.02.2016

28.02.2016

03.03.2016

09.06.2016

08.09.2016

08.12.2016

28.02.2017

28.02.2017

28.02.2017

28.02.2017

02.03.2017

28.02.2018

28.02.2018

07.04.2018

06.06.2018

25.02.2014

27.12.2019

27.02.2019

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

CHF 59.03

CHF 65.97

CHF 65.97

CHF 65.97

CHF 72.57

CHF 65.91

CHF 61.84

CHF 65.76

CHF 67.63

CHF 67.00

CHF 67.00

CHF 67.00

CHF 73.67

CHF 67.08

CHF 32.45

CHF 35.66

CHF 36.46

CHF 28.10

CHF 10.10

CHF 40.00

CHF 11.35

d
e
t
i
d
u
A

 Total of all blocked and unblocked shares held by independent members of the BoD 1

Total

Of which unblocked

Of which blocked until

Shares held on 31 December 2009

420,059

123,053

Shares held on 31 December 2008

307,378

177,027

1 Includes related parties.

No individual BoD member holds 1% or more of all shares issued.

2010

6,232

2009

12,126

2011

13,352

2010

13,592

2012

35,737

2011

30,193

2013

241,685

2012

74,440

d
e
t
i
d
u
A

Total of all vested and unvested shares held by the non-independent members of the BoD 
and members of the GEB 1

Shares held on 31 December 2009

3,760,095

1,971,557

1,078,664

2010

2011

397,046

2012

222,601

2013

90,227

2014

0

Total

Of which vested

Of which vesting

Shares held on 31 December 2008

5,562,574

2,955,211

1,058,881

1 Includes related parties.

2009

2010

595,638

2011

461,376

2012

319,776

2013

171,692

Total

Of which vested

Of which vesting

No individual BoD or GEB member holds 1% or more of all shares issued.

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237

 
 
 
Advisory vote

Corporate governance and compensation 
Compensation and shareholdings

Group Executive Board

Replacement of forfeited awards for former employer 
compensation
Oswald J. Grübel and Robert J. McCann joined UBS during 
2009. Oswald J. Grübel voluntarily waived his deferred PIP 
awards from Credit Suisse upon joining UBS in order to avoid 
any possible conflicts of interest in his new role. The HRCC 
decided to grant new awards of a similar value at the time in 
recognition of his commitment to UBS. In order to partly re-
flect the highly leveraged Credit Suisse PIP units, he received 
4 million UBS stock appreciation rights, with a strike price of 
CHF 10.10 and fair value of CHF 13,120,000 at grant date 
of 26 February 2009.

Robert  J.  McCann  was  granted  602,481  shares  with  a 
grant date fair market value of USD 10 million. In line with 
market practice, the award for Robert J. McCann was grant-
ed as a replacement for compensation and benefits forfeited 
from his previous employment, as a result of joining UBS. 

Transactions in 2009

In  accordance  with  applicable  rules  and  regulations,  man-
agement transactions in UBS shares by members of the BoD 
and  the  GEB  are  publicly  disclosed.  Transactions  which  re-
quire reporting are those involving all types of financial in-
struments whose price is primarily influenced by UBS shares.
As the SIX Swiss Exchange repatriated the share trading of 
the SWX Europe from London to Zurich as of 4 May 2009, the 
Swiss reporting regime for management transactions became 

applicable, while up to that date the EU requirements (para-
graph 15a of the German Securities Trading Act) regarding the 
reporting of management transactions, were applicable.

From  1  January  to  3  May  2009,  no  share  purchases  or 
sales were reported by either BoD or GEB members or closely 
associated persons.

From 4 May until 31 December 2009, two share purchas-
es were disclosed with a total value of CHF 401,219 as well 
as one share sale with a total value of CHF 1,200,800. Indi-
viduals’ names and transactions made by persons closely as-
sociated  with  the  BoD  or  GEB  are  not  required  to  be  dis-
closed anymore under the Swiss reporting regime.

UBS executives generally receive a substantial portion of 
their compensation in UBS equity-based awards. For this rea-
son, management transactions generally see sales outweigh-
ing purchases. Blackout periods and synchronized dates for 
unblocking or vesting of shares or options granted as com-
pensation  may  lead  to  transactions  being  concentrated  in 
short time periods. 

In  addition,  three  members  of  the  BoD  chose  to  receive 
their full remuneration in UBS shares. These shares, represent-
ing a value of CHF 1,929,753, will be allocated in March 2010.

Loans

The members of the BoD and GEB are granted loans, fixed 
advances and mortgages at arm’s length market terms.
➔ Refer to “Note 32 Related parties” in the “Financial 
information” section of this report for information 

concerning loans granted to current and former executives

238

Advisory vote

Corporate governance and compensation 
Total Reward Principles

Total Reward Principles

The Total Reward Principles summarize the compensation structure for 
all UBS employees. While they reflect recent regulatory developments, 
they also focus on long-standing drivers including reward for performance, 
sustainable profitability, strong management of risk and capital, outstand-
ing client focus and teamwork, and sound governance. They also build 
on the UBS strategy of enhancing reputation, integration and execution. 
These Principles have been reviewed by the Group Executive Board and by 
the Board of Directors’ Human Resources and Compensation Committee 
and were approved by the UBS Board of Directors on 28 September 2009.

Overview

Align reward with sustainable performance

Reward is a key driver of behavior, motivation and culture, 
and can materially impact both reputation and financial 
results.

Within the context of UBS as a whole and the markets in 
which we operate, the sustainable performance of an 
employee’s business division is a key component of reward.

Within UBS our reward structure is aligned with our 
strategic priorities which bind the interests of employees 
with those of our shareholders. Employees are encouraged 
to identify and create sustainable value and profitability, 
and to build a strong client franchise both for their 
business and for UBS as a whole. 

In considering UBS and business division performance, a 
range of factors will be taken into account including risk, 
capital usage, and market positioning. Assessment will 
focus on both current key performance indicators and the 
long-term actions that preserve and improve UBS’s ability 
to deliver future value. 

Reward funding is not purely formulaic; discretion and 
judgment will be applied to ensure all relevant factors 
including market conditions are taken into account.

–  Business division reward recommendations are deter-

mined in consultation between the UBS Group CEO and 
the CEO(s) of each division as advised by the Group CFO, 
Group Head HR and, where appropriate, Group Risk.

–  Proposals recommended by the Group CEO are reviewed 
by the independent Human Resources and Compensa-
tion Committee of the Board of Directors.

–  Final approval is provided by the UBS Board of Directors.

–  The UBS Group CEO and Board of Directors take into 

account the Group and business division financial results 
as well as the views of shareholders and other stake-
holders.

At UBS we reward behavior that helps to build and protect 
the firm’s reputation by focusing on sound risk and 
management practices. We believe in strong integration 
and excellence of execution, within an environment where 
all employees are able to achieve the highest standards of 
performance. 

All UBS employees will be rewarded on the basis of their 
individual and team performance, and that of their 
business division, within the context of UBS as a whole and 
the markets in which we operate. UBS’s reward structure 
aims to:

Align reward with sustainable performance by 
encouraging a culture of integration and collaboration, a 
sense of engagement and long-term alignment with clients 
and shareholders, and quality execution of their orders.

Support appropriate and controlled risk taking 
consistent with UBS’s risk tolerance thereby protecting our 
capital, investors and reputation, and enhancing the quality 
of our financial results.

Foster effective individual performance management 
and communication by rigorously evaluating performance 
and ensuring the appropriate use of reward.

Attract and engage a diverse, talented workforce by 
providing attractive career opportunities underpinned by 
reward that is competitive in the market.

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239

 
 
 
Advisory vote

Corporate governance and compensation 
Total Reward Principles

Support appropriate and controlled risk taking

Attract and engage a diverse, talented workforce

Reward will be consistent with UBS’s risk framework 
and tolerance. 

Performance reviews recognize the different risk profile 
and nature of each business including additional factors 
such as the quality and time horizon of earnings, the nature 
of the relevant industry segment, and competitive trends.

–  Employees are rewarded for achievement against a 

range of financial and non-financial objectives and not 
only on the basis of individual revenues.

–  Extraordinary profits, as well as losses, are examined in 

the context of the track record of an employee’s 
performance, risk management and market conditions.

–  Measurement of performance will be adjusted for 
activities and future risks that are not adequately 
reflected in annual profits.

–  Reward for risk, compliance and control functions is 

determined independently from the revenue producers 
they supervise and support.

Foster effective individual performance management 
and communication

Rigorous evaluation of individual performance combined 
with effective communication ensures a link between 
achievement of business objectives and reward across UBS. 

Beyond contribution to business results and achievement 
of individual performance objectives, rewards will also take 
into account:

–  observing UBS’s corporate values and principles;

–  implementing UBS’s strategy of enhancing reputation, 

integration and execution;

–  demonstrating leadership of our clients, business, people 

and change;

–  leading or supporting effective collaboration and 

teamwork;

–  operating with strong integrity and complying with 

UBS policies;

–  actively managing risk and professional behavior; and

–  finding the appropriate balance between risk 

and  reward. 

The UBS reward structure is designed to provide talented 
employees with reward that is appropriately balanced 
between fixed and variable elements, competitive in the 
market, and paid out over an appropriate period.

In general, total compensation comprises an annual base 
salary, reflecting the individual’s role, skills and knowledge, 
local market-based benefits and, where applicable, a 
discretionary incentive award.

–  Base salary levels should be sufficient to allow a flexible 

discretionary incentive policy.

–  Discretionary annual incentives can be highly variable 

from year to year particularly for senior revenue 
 producers and more highly paid employees.

Discretionary incentive awards may be split between 
immediate cash and long-term awards that can be granted 
in the form of either deferred UBS equity or deferred cash.

–  The proportion of deferred incentive generally increases 
with total compensation in order to maintain focus on 
long-term profitability of the firm and continued 
responsible behavior.

–  Deferred awards generally vest over at least three years.

–  Deferred awards are subject to forfeiture under certain 
circumstances, including if an employee’s conduct or 
judgment results in material financial loss or restatement 
of results, breach of risk or compliance policies, or 
significant harm to the firm’s business or reputation. 

Stock options and / or stock appreciation rights may be 
awarded as part of total reward, to recognize the potential 
of key employees who are expected to drive the achieve-
ment of our strategic objectives.

Other reward programs may also be considered to further 
support the needs of our diverse global business, subject 
to considerations such as cost, risk and prevailing market 
and regulatory requirements. As such:

–  For senior leaders, our reward focus is founded on 

sustainable long-term profitability that may require the 
application of multi-year performance conditions to 
recognize outstanding performance.

–  Guaranteed incentive awards are used only exceptionally 

and are generally limited to one-year duration.

This document provides a summary only and may be supplemented by more detailed global or local 
policies. At UBS we are committed to full and proper disclosure of our remuneration policies, of which 
these Principles form a part, and we provide an annual advisory vote to shareholders at our AGM.

UBS AG
P.O. Box
CH-8098 Zurich

www.ubs.com

240

Financial information

Financial information

Table of contents

244

245

Introduction and accounting principles
Critical accounting policies

249

Consolidated financial statements

249

250

252

255

256

257

258

261

263

263

283

287

288

288

289

290

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296

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297

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300

Management’s report on internal control  
over financial reporting
Report of independent registered public accounting  
firm on internal control over financial reporting
Report of the statutory auditor and the independent 
registered public accounting firm on the consolidated  
financial statements
Income statement
Statement of comprehensive income
Balance sheet
Statement of changes in equity
Statement of cash flows

Notes to the consolidated financial statements
1  Summary of significant accounting policies
2a Segment reporting
2b Segment reporting by geographic location

Income statement notes
3  Net interest and trading income
4  Net fee and commission income
5  Other income
6  Personnel expenses
7  General and administrative expenses
8  Earnings per share (EPS) and shares outstanding

Balance sheet notes: assets 
9a Due from banks and loans (held at amortized cost)
9b Allowances and provisions for credit losses
10 Cash collateral on securities borrowed and lent, 
repurchase and reverse repurchase agreements

11 Trading portfolio
12  Financial assets designated at fair value
13  Financial investments available-for-sale
14  Investments in associates
15  Property and equipment
16  Goodwill and intangible assets
17  Other assets

242

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330

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335

341

347

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360

361

362

363

Balance sheet notes: liabilities
18 Due to banks and customers
19 Financial liabilities designated at fair value and debt issued
20 Other liabilities
21 Provisions and litigation
22 Income taxes
23 Derivative instruments and hedge accounting

Off-balance-sheet information
24 Pledgeable off-balance-sheet securities
25 Operating lease commitments

Additional information
26 Capital increases and mandatory convertible notes
27  Fair value of financial instruments
28 Pledged assets and transferred financial assets 

which do not qualify for derecognition
29  Measurement categories of financial assets 

and financial liabilities

30  Pension and other post-employment benefit plans
31 Equity participation and other compensation plans
32  Related parties
33  Events after the reporting period
34  Significant subsidiaries and associates
35  Invested assets and net new money
36  Business combinations
37  Discontinued operations
38  Reorganizations and disposals
39  Currency translation rates
40  Swiss banking law requirements
41  Supplemental guarantor information required 

under SEC rules

371

UBS AG (Parent Bank)

399

Additional disclosure required under SEC regulations

371

Parent Bank review

399

A – Introduction

400

401

402

403

403

404

404

405

405

405

407

409

410

410

411

412

413

414

415

416

417

418

B – Selected financial data
Key figures
Income statement data
Balance sheet data
Ratio of earnings to fixed charges

C – Information on the company
Property, plant and equipment

D – Information required by industry guide 3
Selected statistical information
Average balances and interest rates
Analysis of changes in interest income and expense
Deposits
Short-term borrowings
Contractual maturities of debt investments 
available-for-sale
Due from banks and loans (gross)
Due from banks and loan maturities (gross)
Impaired and non-performing loans
Cross-border outstandings
Summary of movements in allowances and provisions  
for credit losses
Allocation of the allowances and provisions for credit losses
Due from banks and loans by industry sector (gross)
Loss history statistics

372

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384

385

386

390

392

392

393

395

Parent Bank financial statements
Income statement
Balance sheet
Statement of appropriation of retained earnings 

Notes to the Parent Bank financial statements
Accounting policies

Additional income statement information
Net trading income
Extraordinary income and expenses

Additional balance sheet information 
Allowances and provisions
Statement of shareholders’ equity
Share capital

Off-balance-sheet and other information
Assets pledged or assigned as security for own  
obligations and assets subject to reservation of title
Commitments and contingent liabilities
Derivative instruments
Fiduciary transactions
Due to UBS pension plans
Transactions with related parties
Outsourcing
Personnel
Significant shareholders

Corporate governance and compensation report
Compensation details and additional information for 
executive members of the BoD
Remuneration details and additional information for 
independent members of the BoD
Total payments to all members of the BoD
Total compensation for all members of the GEB
Share and option ownership of members of the BoD
Compensation paid to former members of the BoD and GEB
Share and option ownership of members of the GEB
Vested and unvested options held by independent members 
of the BoD and by members of the GEB
Loans granted to members of the BoD
Loans granted to members of the GEB

Report of the statutory auditor on the financial statements
Confirmations of the auditors concerning conditional  
capital increase 

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Financial information

Introduction and accounting principles

The  financial  information  section  of  UBS’s  Annual  Report 
2009  comprises:  a)  the  critical  accounting  policies  applied 
when  preparing  the  consolidated  financial  statements  of 
UBS Group, b) audited consolidated financial statements of 
UBS Group for 2009, 2008 and 2007, prepared according 
to  International  Financial  Reporting  Standards  (IFRS)  as  is-
sued  by  the  International  Accounting  Standards  Board 
(IASB), c) audited financial statements of UBS AG, the Par-
ent  Bank,  for  2009  and  2008,  prepared  in  order  to  meet 
Swiss regulatory requirements and in compliance with Swiss 
Federal Banking Law, and d) additional disclosures required 
under SEC regulations. 

The  basis  of  accounting  of  UBS’s  Group  financial  state-
ments is described in Note 1 to the financial statements. Ex-
cept where otherwise explicitly stated, all financial data are in 
Swiss francs (CHF), all financial information is presented on a 
consolidated basis under IFRS, and all references to “UBS” re-
fer to the UBS Group and not to the Parent Bank. UBS AG, the 
Swiss Parent Bank, includes branches worldwide and owns all 
the  UBS  companies,  directly  or  indirectly.  All  references  to 
2009,  2008  and  2007  refer  to  UBS  Group  and  the  Parent 
Bank’s fiscal years ended 31 December 2009, 2008 and 2007, 
respectively. The financial statements for UBS Group and the 
Parent Bank have been audited by Ernst & Young Ltd.

244

Critical accounting policies

Basis of preparation and selection of policies

UBS prepares its Financial Statements in accordance with IFRS 
as  issued  by  the  International  Accounting  Standards  Board. 
The application of certain of these accounting principles re-
quires considerable judgment based upon estimates and as-
sumptions that involve significant uncertainty at the time they 
are made. Estimates and judgments are continually evaluated 
and are based on historical experience and other factors, in-
cluding expectations of future events that are believed to be 
reasonable under the circumstances. Changes in assumptions 
may have a significant impact on the Financial Statements in 
the periods where assumptions are changed. Accounting pol-
icies that are deemed critical to UBS’s results and financial po-
sition, in terms of materiality of the items to which the policy 
is applied, and which involve significant assumptions and es-
timates are discussed in this section. A broader and more de-
tailed  description  of  the   accounting  policies  UBS  employs  is 
shown in Note 1 to the Financial Statements.

The application of assumptions and estimates means that 
any selection of different assumptions would cause the re-
ported results to differ. UBS believes that the assumptions it 
has  made  are  appropriate,  and  that  UBS’s  Financial  State-
ments  therefore  present  the  financial  position  and  results 
fairly in all material respects. The alternative outcomes dis-
cussed below are presented solely to assist the reader in un-
derstanding UBS’s Financial Statements, and are not intend-
ed  to  suggest  that  other  assumptions  would  be  more 
appropriate.

Many  of  the  judgments  UBS  makes  when  applying  ac-
counting  principles  depend  on  an  assumption,  which  UBS 
believes to be correct, that UBS maintains sufficient liquidity 
to  hold  positions  or  investments  until  a  particular  trading 
strategy matures – i.e. that UBS does not need to realize po-
sitions at unfavorable prices in order to fund immediate cash 
needs. Liquidity is discussed in more detail in the “Liquidity 
and funding management” section of this report.

Fair value of financial instruments

The fair values of financial instruments where no active mar-
ket exists or where quoted prices are not otherwise available 
are determined by using valuation techniques. In these cas-
es, the fair values are estimated from observable data in re-
spect of similar financial instruments or using models. Where 
market observable inputs are not available, inputs are esti-
mated based on appropriate assumptions. Where valuation 
techniques or models are used to determine fair values, they 
are periodically reviewed and validated by qualified person-

nel  independent  of  those  that  sourced  them.  Models  are 
calibrated  to  ensure  that  outputs  reflect  actual  data  and 
comparative  market  prices.  To  the  extent  practical,  models 
use  only  observable  data;  however,  areas  such  as  default 
rates,  volatilities  and  correlations  require  management  to 
make estimates. 

The  valuation  techniques  or  models  employed  may  not 
fully  reflect  all  factors  relevant  to  the  positions  UBS  holds. 
Valuations are therefore adjusted, where appropriate, to al-
low for additional factors including model risks, liquidity risk 
and  credit  risk.  UBS  uses  different  approaches  to  calculate 
the credit risk, depending on the classification of a financial 
instrument at fair value. A credit valuation adjustment (CVA) 
approach based on an expected exposure profile is used to 
adjust the fair value of Positive replacement values to reflect 
counterparty credit risk if necessary. Correspondingly, a deb-
it valuation adjustment (DVA) approach is applied to incor-
porate the own credit risk in the fair value of uncollateralized 
Negative replacement values. The own credit risk for Finan-
cial  liabilities  designated  at  fair  value  is  calculated  using 
UBS’s senior debt curve.

As of 31 December 2009, financial assets and financial li-
abilities  for  which  valuation  techniques  or  models  are  used 
and whose inputs are observable (level 2) amounted to CHF 
487 billion and CHF 505 billion, respectively. Financial assets 
and  financial  liabilities  whose  valuations  include  significant 
unobservable inputs (level 3) amounted to CHF 38 billion and 
CHF 28 billion, respectively. 

Changes  in  assumptions  for  input  factors  would  affect 
the reported fair value of financial instruments. If manage-
ment had used reasonably possible alternative assumptions 
for  UBS’s  level  3  instruments  accounted  for  at  fair  value 
through profit or loss, the fair value of these assets would 
have been up to CHF 4.1 billion higher or lower and the fair 
value of these liabilities would have been up to CHF 3.3 bil-
lion higher or lower than the amounts recognized on UBS’s 
balance  sheet  at  31  December  2009.  Favorable  valuation 
changes for assets would be offset to a significant degree by 
unfavorable changes in liabilities and vice versa as a consis-
tent use of different assumptions and estimates would pre-
vent  a  simultaneous  favorable  or  unfavorable  valuation 
change of assets and liabilities.

The valuation of financial instruments is described in de-

tail in Note 27.

Goodwill impairment test

The situation in the financial markets made it necessary dur-
ing  2009  to  monitor  closely  whether  there  was  indication 

245

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Financial information

that goodwill allocated to its cash-generating units was im-
paired.  At  31  December  2009,  equity  attributable  to  UBS 
shareholders stood at CHF 41 billion. UBS’s market capital-
ization, excluding the shares to be issued upon conversion of 
the  MCNs,  amounted  to  CHF  57  billion  at  31  December 
2009. On the basis of the impairment testing methodology 
described in Note 16 and Note 1a) 20), UBS concluded that 
the year-end 2009 balances of goodwill allocated to all its 
segments remain recoverable. Goodwill allocated to the In-
vestment Bank at 31 December 2009 amounted to CHF 3.3 
billion  (CHF  4.3  billion  at  31  December  2008),  to  Wealth 
Management  Americas  CHF  3.7  billion  (CHF  3.8  billion  at 
31 December 2008), to Wealth Management & Swiss Bank 
CHF 1.5 billion (CHF 1.5 billion at 31 December 2008) and to 
Global Asset Management CHF 1.6 billion (CHF 2.0 billion at 
31 December 2008). 

In its review of the year-end 2009 goodwill balance, UBS 
specifically considered the performance outlook of its Invest-
ment Bank and Wealth Management Americas divisions and 
the  underlying  business  operations  to  resolve  whether  the 
recoverable  amounts  for  these  units  cover  their  carrying 
amounts. Based on the estimated cash flows these units are 
expected to generate from their businesses, discounted back 
to their present value using a discount rate that reflects the 
risk profiles of the underlying activities, UBS concluded that 
goodwill allocated to the Investment Bank and Wealth Man-
agement  Americas  remained  recoverable  on  31  December 
2009. The conclusion was reached on the basis of the fore-
cast results included in the latest 5 year business plan. The 
forecasts are based on an expectation that the economic en-
vironment will gradually improve over the next three years 
and reach an average growth level thereafter. The fair value 
obtained from the model calculation was subject to a stress 
test  by  decreasing  forecast  cash  flows  by  one-third  and  at 
the same time increasing the discount rate by 3.5 percent-
age points. The stress values covered the book value of the 
Investment Bank and Wealth Management Americas. How-
ever, if the regulatory pressure on the banking industry in-
tensifies and conditions in the financial markets further de-
teriorate and turn out to be worse than anticipated in UBS’s 
performance  forecasts,  the  goodwill  carried  in  these  busi-
ness divisions may need to be impaired in future periods. 

The same model is applied to all segments carrying good-
will. It is most sensitive to changes in the forecast earnings 
available to shareholders in years one to five, to the cost of 
equity and to changes in the long-term growth rate. The ap-
plied long-term growth rate is based on actual growth rates 
and expected inflation. Both applied growth rates and dis-
count  rates  are  disclosed  by  cash-generating  units  in  Note 
16. Earnings available to shareholders are estimated based 
on  forecast  results,  business  initiatives  and  planned  capital 
investments and returns to shareholders. Valuation parame-
ters  used  within  the  Group’s  impairment  test  model  are 
linked  to  external  market  information,  where  applicable. 

Management  believes  that  reasonable  changes  in  key  as-
sumptions used to determine the recoverable amounts of all 
segments will not result in an impairment situation. 

Impairment of loans and receivables  
measured at amortized cost

Loan  impairment  allowances  represent  management’s  best 
estimate of losses incurred in the lending portfolio at the bal-
ance sheet date. The lending portfolio, which is measured at 
amortized cost less impairment, is comprised of financial as-
sets  presented  on  the  balance  sheet  line  items  Due  from 
banks  and  Loans,  including  reclassified  securities.  In  addi-
tion,  irrevocable  loan  commitments  are  also  tested  for  im-
pairment as described below.

Credit loss expense is recognized if there is objective evi-
dence that the Group will be unable to collect all amounts 
due according to the original contractual terms or the equiv-
alent value. A financial asset or group of financial assets is 
impaired only if a loss event occurred after initial recognition 
of the financial asset(s) but not later than at balance sheet 
date (“incurred loss model”). Management is required to ex-
ercise  judgment  in  making  assumptions  and  estimations 
when calculating impairment losses both on a counterparty-
specific level and collectively. 

The impairment loss is the difference between the carry-
ing  value  of  the  financial  asset  and  the  estimated  recover-
able amount. The estimated recoverable amount is the pres-
ent value, using the loan’s original effective interest rate, of 
expected future cash flows, including amounts that may re-
sult  from  restructuring  or  the  liquidation  of  collateral.  An 
allowance for credit losses is reported as a reduction of the 
carrying value of the financial asset on the balance sheet. 

UBS periodically revises its estimated cash flows associated 
with the portfolio of reclassified securities backed by multiple 
assets. Adverse revisions in cash flow estimates related to cred-
it events are recognized in profit or loss as credit loss expenses. 
Increases  in  estimated  future  cash  receipts  as  a  result  of  in-
creased recoverability are recognized as an adjustment to the 
effective interest rate on the loan from the date of change. 

At  31  December  2009,  UBS’s  gross  lending  portfolio 
was  CHF  356  billion;  the  related  allowances  amounted  to 
CHF 2.7 billion. Impairment charges presented as credit loss 
expense were CHF 1.8 billion in 2009, of which CHF 1.0 bil-
lion related to reclassified financial assets. Refer to Note 9b 
for details.

UBS’s policy on allowances and provisions for credit losses 

is described in Note 1a) 11).

Reclassification of financial assets

The  International  Accounting  Standards  Board  published  an 
amendment to International Accounting Standard 39 (IAS 39 
Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement) on 13 

246

October 2008, under which eligible financial assets, subject to 
certain  conditions  being  met,  may  be  reclassified  out  of  the 
“Held for trading” category if the firm has the intent and abil-
ity to hold them for the foreseeable future or until maturity.

In 2008 and first quarter 2009, financial assets with a fair 
value  on  their  reclassification  dates  of  CHF  26  billion  and 
CHF 0.6 billion, respectively, were reclassified out of “Trading 
portfolio assets” to “Loans and receivables”. 

In 2009, the reclassified financial assets generated inter-
est and other income of CHF 1.6 billion, which was partially 
offset  by  an  impairment  charge  of  CHF  1.0  billion  recog-
nized as credit loss expense. Had these financial assets not 
been  reclassified,  a  trading  gain  of  CHF  4.7  billion  would 
have been recognized instead. Refer to Note 29b for details.

Consolidation of Special Purpose Entities

UBS  sponsors  the  formation  of  Special  Purpose  Entities 
(SPEs) primarily to allow clients to hold investments in sepa-
rate legal entities, to allow clients to jointly invest in alter-
native  assets,  for  asset  securitization  transactions  and  for 
buying or selling credit protection. In accordance with IFRS, 
UBS does not consolidate SPEs that it does not control. In 
order  to  determine  whether  UBS  controls  an  SPE  or  not, 
UBS has to make judgments about risks and rewards and 
assess the ability to make operational decisions for the SPE 
in question. In many instances, elements are present that, 
considered  in  isolation,  indicate  control  or  lack  of  control 
over an SPE, but when considered together make it difficult 
to reach a clear conclusion. When assessing whether UBS 
has  to  consolidate  an  SPE  it  evaluates  a  range  of  factors, 
including  whether  (a)  the  activities  of  the  SPE  are  being 
conducted on UBS’s behalf according to its specific business 
needs so that UBS obtains the benefits from the SPE’s op-
erations, or (b) UBS has decision-making powers to obtain 
the majority of the benefits of the activities of the SPE, or 
UBS  has  delegated  these  decision-making  powers  by  set-
ting up an autopilot mechanism, or (c) UBS has the rights to 
obtain the majority of the benefits of the activities of an SPE 
and therefore may be exposed to risks arising from the ac-
tivities of the SPE, or (d) UBS retains the majority of the re-
sidual or ownership risks related to the SPE or its assets in 
order to obtain the benefits from its activities. UBS consoli-
dates an SPE if its assessment of the relevant factors indi-
cates that UBS controls the SPE.

SPEs used to allow clients to hold investments are struc-
tures  that  allow  one  or  more  clients  to  invest  in  an  asset 
or set of assets, which are generally purchased by the SPE 
in the open market and not transferred from UBS. The risks 
and  rewards  of  the  assets  held  by  the  SPE  reside  with 
the clients. Typically, UBS will receive service and commis-
sion fees for creation of the SPE, or because it acts as in-
vestment  manager,  custodian  or  in  some  other  function. 
Many of these SPEs are single-investor or family trusts while 

others allow a broad number of investors to invest in a di-
versified  asset  base  through  a  single  share  or  certificate. 
These latter SPEs range from mutual funds to trusts invest-
ing in real estate. The majority of UBS’s SPEs are created for 
client investment purposes and are not consolidated. How-
ever,  UBS  consolidates  investment  funds  in  certain  cases 
where it provides financial support to a fund. In these in-
stances UBS generally assumes the majority or a significant 
portion  of  the  risks  of  the  fund,  which,  combined  with 
UBS’s role as investment manager, makes it the party that 
can exercise control over the entity.

SPEs  used  to  allow  clients  to  jointly  invest  in  alternative 
assets, e.g. feeder funds, for which generally no active mar-
kets exist, are often in the form of limited partnerships. In-
vestors are the limited partners and contribute all or the ma-
jority  of  the  capital,  whereas  UBS  serves  as  the  general 
partner. In that capacity, UBS is the investment manager and 
has sole discretion over investment and other administrative 
decisions,  but  has  no  or  only  a  nominal  amount  of  capital 
invested. UBS typically receives service and commission fees 
for UBS’s services as general partner but does not, or only to 
a minor extent, participates in the risks and rewards of the 
vehicle, which reside with the limited partners. In most in-
stances, limited partnerships are not c onsolidated under IFRS 
because  UBS’s  legal  and  con tractual  rights  and  obligations 
indicate  that  UBS  does  not  have  the  power  to  govern  the 
financial and operating policies of these entities and concur-
rently does not have the objective of obtaining benefits from 
its activities through such power.

SPEs used for securitization are created when UBS has as-
sets  (for  example,  a  portfolio  of  loans)  which  it  sells  to  an 
SPE, and the SPE in turn sells interests in the assets as securi-
ties to investors. Consolidation of these SPEs depends main-
ly  on  whether  UBS  retains  the  majority  of  the  benefits  or 
risks of the assets in the SPE.

UBS does not consolidate SPEs for securitization if it has 
no control over the assets and no longer retains any signifi-
cant exposure (for gain or loss) to the income or investment 
returns on the assets sold to the SPE or the proceeds of their 
liquidation. This type of SPE is a bankruptcy-remote entity 
– if UBS were to go bankrupt, the holders of the securities 
would clearly be owners of the asset, while if the SPE were 
to  go  bankrupt,  the  securities  holders  would  have  no  re-
course to UBS.

SPEs for credit protection are set up to allow UBS to sell 
the credit risk on portfolios, which may or may not be held 
by  UBS,  to  investors.  They  exist  primarily  to  allow  UBS  to 
have a single counterparty (the SPE), which sells credit pro-
tection  to  it.  The  SPE  in  turn  has  investors  who  provide  it 
with capital and participate in the risks and rewards of the 
credit events that it insures. UBS generally consolidates SPEs 
used for credit protection.

UBS’s policy on consolidation of SPEs is further described 

in Note 1a) 3).

247

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Financial information

Equity compensation

Deferred taxes

UBS recognizes options and share-settled stock appreciation 
rights (SARs) awarded to employees as compensation expense 
based on their fair value at grant date. The options and SARs 
UBS issues to its employees have features that make them in-
comparable  to  options  and  SARs  on  UBS’s  shares  traded  in 
active markets. Accordingly, UBS cannot determine fair value 
by reference to a quoted market price, but UBS rather esti-
mates it using an option valuation model. The model, a Mon-
te Carlo simulation, requires inputs such as interest rates, ex-
pected  dividends,  volatility  measures  and  specific  employee 
exercise behavior patterns based on statistical data.

Some of the model inputs UBS uses are not market ob-
servable and have to be estimated or derived from available 
data. Use of different estimates would produce different op-
tion and SAR values, which in turn would result in higher or 
lower compensation expense being recognized.

Several recognized valuation models exist, but none can 
be singled out as the best or most correct. The model UBS 
applies has been selected because it is able to handle some 
of  the  specific  features  included  in  the  options  and  SARs 
granted  to  UBS’s  employees.  If  UBS  was  to  use  a  different 
model, the option and SAR values produced would be differ-
ent, even if it used the same inputs.

Using  both  different  inputs  and  a  different  valuation 
model  could  have  a  significant  impact  on  the  fair  value  of 
employee options and SARs, which could be either higher or 
lower  than  the  values  produced  by  the  model  UBS  applies 
and the inputs it has used.

Further  information  on  UBS  equity  compensation  plans 
is  disclosed  in  Note  1a)  24)  and  Note  31  to  the  Financial 
Statements.

Deferred tax assets arise from a variety of sources, the most 
significant being: a) tax losses that can be carried forward to 
be  utilized  against  profits  in  future  years;  and  b)  expenses 
recognized in UBS’s income statement but disallowed in the 
tax return until the associated cash flow occurs.

UBS records a valuation allowance to reduce its deferred tax 
assets to the amount which can be recognized in line with the 
relevant accounting standards. The level of deferred tax asset 
recognition  is  influenced  by  management’s  assessment  of 
UBS’s  future  profitability  having  regard  to  relevant  business 
plan  forecasts.  At  each  balance  sheet  date,  existing  assess-
ments are reviewed and, if necessary, revised to reflect changed 
circumstances.  In  a  situation  where  recent  losses  have  been 
incurred, the relevant accounting standards require convincing 
evidence that there will be sufficient future profitability.

At 31 December 2009, the recognized deferred tax assets 
amounted to CHF 8.9 billion, which included an amount of 
CHF 8.2 billion in respect of tax losses (mainly in Switzerland 
and the US) that can be utilized to offset taxable income in 
future years.

Swiss  tax  losses  can  be  carried  forward  for  seven  years 
and US federal tax losses for twenty years. The deferred tax 
assets recognized at 31 December 2009 have been based on 
future profitability assumptions over a five-year horizon, as 
adjusted to take into account the recognition criteria of IAS 
12. The level of deferred tax assets recognized may, howev-
er, need to be adjusted in the future in the event of changes 
to those profitability assumptions. Refer to Note 22 for fur-
ther details. 

UBS’s  policy  on  deferred  taxes  is  further  described  in 

Note 1a) 21).

248

Financial information
Consolidated financial statements

Consolidated financial statements

Management’s report on internal control over financial reporting

The Board of Directors and management of UBS AG (UBS) 
are  responsible  for  establishing  and  maintaining  adequate 
internal control over financial reporting. UBS’s internal con-
trol  over  financial  reporting  is  designed  to  provide  reason-
able assurance regarding the preparation and fair presenta-
tion  of  published  financial  statements  in  accordance  with 
International  Financial  Reporting  Standards  (IFRS)  as  issued 
by the International Accounting Standards Board.

UBS’s  internal  control  over  financial  reporting  includes 

those policies and procedures that:
–  Pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable 
detail, accurately and fairly reflect transactions and dispo-
sitions of assets;

–  Provide  reasonable  assurance  that  transactions  are  re-
corded  as  necessary  to  permit  preparation  and  fair  pre-
sentation  of  financial  statements,  and  that  receipts  and 
expenditures of the company are being made only in ac-
cordance with authorizations of UBS management; and
–  Provide  reasonable  assurance  regarding  prevention  or 
timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or dis-
position of the company’s assets that could have a mate-
rial effect on the financial statements.

Because  of  its  inherent  limitations,  internal  control  over 
financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. 
Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future 
periods are subject to the risk that controls may become in-
adequate because of changes in conditions, or that the de-
gree of compliance with the policies or procedures may de-
teriorate.

UBS management assessed the effectiveness of UBS’s in-
ternal  control  over  financial  reporting  as  of  31  December 
2009  based  on  the  criteria  set  forth  by  the  Committee  of 
Sponsoring  Organizations  of  the  Treadway  Commission 
(COSO) in Internal Control-Integrated Framework. Based on 
this assessment, management believes that, as of 31 Decem-
ber 2009, UBS’s internal control over financial reporting was 
effective.

The effectiveness of UBS’s internal control over financial 
reporting as of 31 December 2009 has been audited by Ernst 
& Young Ltd, UBS’s independent registered public account-
ing firm, as stated in their report appearing on pages 250 to 
251, which expressed an unqualified opinion on the effec-
tiveness of UBS’s internal control over financial reporting as 
of 31 December 2009.

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249

 
Financial information
Consolidated financial statements

250

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251

 
Financial information
Consolidated financial statements

252

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254

Financial information
Consolidated financial statements

Income statement

CHF million, except per share data

Note

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.08

For the year ended

% change from

Continuing operations

Interest income

Interest expense

Net interest income

Credit loss (expense) / recovery

Net interest income after credit loss expense

Net fee and commission income

Net trading income

Other income

Total operating income

Personnel expenses

General and administrative expenses

Depreciation of property and equipment

Impairment of goodwill

Amortization of intangible assets

Total operating expenses

Operating profit from continuing operations before tax

Tax expense

Net profit from continuing operations

Discontinued operations

Profit from discontinued operations before tax

Tax expense

Net profit from discontinued operations

Net profit

Net profit attributable to minority interests

from continuing operations

from discontinued operations

Net profit attributable to UBS shareholders

from continuing operations

from discontinued operations

Earnings per share (CHF)

Basic earnings per share

from continuing operations

from discontinued operations

Diluted earnings per share

from continuing operations

from discontinued operations

3

3

3

4

3

5

6

7

15

16, 38

22

37

22

8

8

23,461

(17,016)

6,446

(1,832)

4,614

17,712

(324)

599

22,601

16,543

6,248

1,048

1,123

200

25,162

(2,561)

(443)

(2,118)

(7)

0

(7)

65,679

(59,687)

5,992

(2,996)

2,996

22,929

(25,820)

692

796

16,262

10,498

1,241

341

213

28,555

(27,758)

(6,837)

(20,922)

198

1

198

109,112

(103,775)

5,337

(238)

5,099

30,634

(8,353)

4,341

31,721

25,515

8,429

1,243

0

276

35,463

(3,742)

1,369

(5,111)

145

(258)

403

(2,125)

(20,724)

(4,708)

610

600

10

(2,736)

(2,719)

(17)

(0.75)

(0.74)

0.00

(0.75)

(0.74)

0.00

568

520

48

(21,292)

(21,442)

150

(7.63)

(7.68)

0.05

(7.63)

(7.69)

0.05

539

539

0

(5,247)

(5,650)

403

(2.40)

(2.59)

0.18

(2.41)

(2.59)

0.18

(64)

(71)

8

(39)

54

(23)

99

(13)

2

(40)

(16)

229

(6)

(12)

91

94

90

(100)

90

7

15

(79)

87

87

90

90

(100)

90

90

(100)

255

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Financial information
Consolidated financial statements

Statement of comprehensive income

CHF million

Net profit

Other comprehensive income

Foreign currency translation

Foreign currency translation movements, before tax

Foreign exchange amounts reclassified to the income statement from equity

Income tax relating to foreign currency translation movements

Subtotal foreign currency translation movements, net of tax

Financial investments available-for-sale

Net unrealized gains / (losses) on financial investments available-for-sale, before tax

Impairment charges reclassified to the income statement from equity

Realized gains reclassified to the income statement from equity

Realized losses reclassified to the income statement from equity

Income tax relating to net unrealized gains / (losses) on financial investments available-for-sale

Subtotal net unrealized gains / (losses) on financial investments available-for-sale, net of tax

Cash flow hedges

Effective portion of changes in fair value of derivative instruments designated as cash flow hedges, before tax

Net unrealized (gains) / losses reclassified to the income statement from equity

Income tax effects relating to cash flow hedges

Subtotal changes in fair value of derivative instruments designated as cash flow hedges

Total other comprehensive income

Total comprehensive income

Total comprehensive income attributable to minority interests

Total comprehensive income attributable to UBS shareholders

For the year ended

31.12.09

(2,125)

31.12.08

(20,724)

31.12.07

(4,708)

(35)

(259)

22

(272)

157

70

(147)

1

(54)

27

78

(756)

257

(421)

(667)

(2,792)

484

(3,276)

(4,509)

202

(17)

(4,324)

(903)

47

(645)

6

341

(1,154)

2,001

178

(520)

1,659

(3,818)

(24,542)

(77)

(24,465)

(1,405)

108

39

(1,258)

1,578

14

(3,423)

7

421

(1,403)

369

172

(130)

411

(2,250)

(6,958)

269

(7,227)

256

Balance sheet

CHF million

Assets

Cash and balances with central banks

Due from banks

Cash collateral on securities borrowed

Reverse repurchase agreements

Trading portfolio assets

Trading portfolio assets pledged as collateral

Positive replacement values

Financial assets designated at fair value

Loans

Financial investments available-for-sale

Accrued income and prepaid expenses

Investments in associates

Property and equipment

Goodwill and intangible assets

Deferred tax assets

Other assets

Total assets

Liabilities

Due to banks

Cash collateral on securities lent

Repurchase agreements

Trading portfolio liabilities

Negative replacement values

Financial liabilities designated at fair value

Due to customers

Accrued expenses and deferred income

Debt issued

Other liabilities

Total liabilities

Equity

Share capital

Share premium

Net income recognized directly in equity, net of tax

Revaluation reserve from step acquisitions, net of tax

Retained earnings

Equity classified as obligation to purchase own shares

Treasury shares

Equity attributable to UBS shareholders

Equity attributable to minority interests

Total equity

Total liabilities and equity

Note

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.08

% change from

9

10

10

11

11

23

12

9

13

14

15

16

22

17

18

10

10

11

23

19

18

19

20, 21, 22

20,899

46,574

63,507

116,689

188,037

44,221

421,694

10,223

306,828

81,757

5,816

870

6,212

11,008

8,868

7,336

32,744

64,451

122,897

224,648

271,838

40,216

854,100

12,882

340,308

5,248

6,141

892

6,706

12,935

8,880

9,931

1,340,538

2,014,815

65,166

7,995

64,175

47,469

409,943

112,653

410,475

8,689

131,352

33,986

125,628

14,063

102,561

62,431

851,864

101,546

465,741

10,196

197,254

42,998

1,291,905

1,974,282

356

34,786

(4,875)

38

11,751

(2)

(1,040)

41,013

7,620

48,633

293

25,250

(4,335)

38

14,487

(46)

(3,156)

32,531

8,002

40,533

1,340,538

2,014,815

(36)

(28)

(48)

(48)

(31)

10

(51)

(21)

(10)

(5)

(2)

(7)

(15)

0

(26)

(33)

(48)

(43)

(37)

(24)

(52)

11

(12)

(15)

(33)

(21)

(35)

22

38

(12)

0

(19)

96

67

26

(5)

20

(33)

257

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Financial information
Consolidated financial statements

Statement of changes in equity

CHF million

Balance at 1 January 2007

Issuance of share capital

Acquisition of treasury shares

Disposition of treasury shares

Cancellation of second trading line treasury shares

Net premium / (discount) on treasury share and own equity derivative activity

Premium on shares issued and warrants exercised

Employee share and share option plans

Tax benefits from deferred compensation awards

Dividends

Equity classified 
as obligation 
to purchase 
own shares

(185)

Treasury  
shares

(10,214)

(7,169)

4,605

2,415

Share  
capital

211

(4)

Share  
premium

12,640

(560)

12

898

(557)

Equity classified as obligation to purchase own shares – movements

111

(2,411)

(4,275)

Retained  

earnings

47,728

Foreign currency 

translation

(1,614)

Financial  

investments  

available- 

for-sale

2,876

Cash flow  

hedges

(443)

Revaluation  

reserve  

from step  

acquisitions

38

Total equity 

attributable  

to UBS  

shareholders

51,037

Minority  

interests

6,089

Total equity

57,126

Preferred securities

New consolidations and other increases

Deconsolidations and other decreases

Total comprehensive income for the year recognized in equity

Balance at 31 December 2007

Issuance of share capital

Acquisition of treasury shares

Disposition of treasury shares

Net premium / (discount) on treasury share and own equity derivative activity

Premium on shares issued and warrants exercised

Employee share and share option plans

Tax benefits from deferred compensation awards

Transaction costs related to share issuances, net of tax

Dividends 

Equity classified as obligation to purchase own shares – movements

Preferred securities

New consolidations and other increases

Deconsolidations and other decreases

Total comprehensive income for the year recognized in equity

Balance at 31 December 2008

Issuance of share capital

Acquisition of treasury shares

Disposition of treasury shares

Net premium / (discount) on treasury share and own equity derivative activity

Premium on shares issued and warrants exercised

Employee share and share option plans

Tax benefits from deferred compensation awards

Transaction costs related to share issuances, net of tax
Dividends 1
Equity classified as obligation to purchase own shares – movements

Preferred securities

New consolidations and other increases

Deconsolidations and other decreases

Total comprehensive income for the year recognized in equity

Balance at 31 December 2009

1 Includes dividend payment obligations for preferred securities.

258

12,433

(10,363)

(74)

(5,247)

35,795

(986)

(2,600)

(1,405)

1,471

411

(32)

38

(367)

7,574

(4,626)

20,003

(1,961)

(176)

(423)

28

(16)

25,250

(3,156)

(46)

(21,292)

14,487

(3,709)

(6,309)

(1,124)

347

1,659

1,627

38

207

86

293

63

(476)

2,592

(1,268)

10,599

291

1

(87)

44

356

34,786

(1,040)

(2)

(2,736)

11,751

(136)

(6,445)

17

364

(421)

1,206

38

(3,276)

41,013

(7,169)

4,605

(560)

12

898

(557)

(4,275)

111

0

0

0

0

0

(7,227)

36,875

86

(367)

7,574

(4,626)

20,003

(1,961)

(176)

(423)

(16)

28

0

0

0

(24,465)

32,531

63

(476)

2,592

(1,268)

10,599

291

(87)

44

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

(7,169)

4,605

(560)

12

898

(557)

(4,675)

111

996

101

(104)

(6,958)

43,826

86

(367)

7,574

(4,626)

20,003

(1,961)

(176)

(423)

(377)

1,618

28

12

(141)

(24,542)

40,533

63

(476)

2,592

(1,268)

10,599

291

1

(87)

(849)

44

(7)

3

(13)

(2,792)

48,633

(400)

996

101

(104)

269

6,951

(361)

1,618

12

(141)

(77)

8,002

(849)

(7)

3

(13)

484

7,620

Statement of changes in equity

CHF million

Balance at 1 January 2007

Issuance of share capital

Acquisition of treasury shares

Disposition of treasury shares

Cancellation of second trading line treasury shares

Net premium / (discount) on treasury share and own equity derivative activity

Premium on shares issued and warrants exercised

Employee share and share option plans

Tax benefits from deferred compensation awards

Dividends

Total comprehensive income for the year recognized in equity

Preferred securities

New consolidations and other increases

Deconsolidations and other decreases

Balance at 31 December 2007

Issuance of share capital

Acquisition of treasury shares

Disposition of treasury shares

Net premium / (discount) on treasury share and own equity derivative activity

Premium on shares issued and warrants exercised

Employee share and share option plans

Tax benefits from deferred compensation awards

Transaction costs related to share issuances, net of tax

Dividends 

Equity classified as obligation to purchase own shares – movements

Total comprehensive income for the year recognized in equity

Preferred securities

New consolidations and other increases

Deconsolidations and other decreases

Balance at 31 December 2008

Issuance of share capital

Acquisition of treasury shares

Disposition of treasury shares

Net premium / (discount) on treasury share and own equity derivative activity

Premium on shares issued and warrants exercised

Employee share and share option plans

Tax benefits from deferred compensation awards

Transaction costs related to share issuances, net of tax

Dividends 1

Equity classified as obligation to purchase own shares – movements

Preferred securities

New consolidations and other increases

Deconsolidations and other decreases

Total comprehensive income for the year recognized in equity

Balance at 31 December 2009

1 Includes dividend payment obligations for preferred securities.

Share  

capital

211

(4)

207

86

293

63

Share  

premium

12,640

(560)

12

898

(557)

(4,626)

20,003

(1,961)

(176)

(423)

(1,268)

10,599

291

1

(87)

Equity classified 

as obligation 

to purchase 

own shares

(185)

Treasury  

shares

(10,214)

(7,169)

4,605

2,415

(367)

7,574

(476)

2,592

28

44

Retained  
earnings

47,728

Foreign currency 
translation

(1,614)

Financial  
investments  
available- 
for-sale

2,876

Cash flow  
hedges

(443)

Revaluation  
reserve  
from step  
acquisitions

38

(2,411)

(4,275)

Equity classified as obligation to purchase own shares – movements

111

12,433

(10,363)

(74)

(5,247)

35,795

(986)

(2,600)

(1,405)

1,471

411

(32)

38

(16)

25,250

(3,156)

(46)

(21,292)

14,487

(3,709)

(6,309)

(1,124)

347

1,659

1,627

38

Total equity 
attributable  
to UBS  
shareholders

51,037

0

(7,169)

4,605

0

(560)

12

898

(557)

(4,275)

111

0

0

0

(7,227)

36,875

86

(367)

7,574

(4,626)

20,003

(1,961)

(176)

(423)

(16)

28

0

0

0

(24,465)

32,531

63

(476)

2,592

(1,268)

10,599

291

1

(87)

0

44

0

0

0

356

34,786

(1,040)

(2)

(2,736)

11,751

(136)

(6,445)

17

364

(421)

1,206

38

(3,276)

41,013

Minority  
interests

6,089

Total equity

57,126

(400)

996

101

(104)

269

6,951

(361)

1,618

12

(141)

(77)

8,002

(849)

(7)

3

(13)

484

7,620

0

(7,169)

4,605

0

(560)

12

898

(557)

(4,675)

111

996

101

(104)

(6,958)

43,826

86

(367)

7,574

(4,626)

20,003

(1,961)

(176)

(423)

(377)

28

1,618

12

(141)

(24,542)

40,533

63

(476)

2,592

(1,268)

10,599

291

1

(87)

(849)

44

(7)

3

(13)

(2,792)

48,633

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Financial information
Consolidated financial statements

Statement of changes in equity (continued)

Preferred securities 1

CHF million

Balance at the beginning of the year

Issuances

Redemptions

Foreign currency translation

Balance at the end of the year

31.12.09

7,381

(7)

(120)

7,254

For the year ended

31.12.08

31.12.07

6,381

1,618

(618)

7,381

5,633

996

(248)

6,381

1 Represents equity attributable to minority interests. Increases and offsetting decreases of equity attributable by minority interests due to dividends are excluded from this table.

Number of shares

Shares issued

Balance at the beginning of the year

Issuance of share capital

Cancellation of second trading line treasury shares

Balance at the end of the year

Treasury shares

Balance at the beginning of the year

Acquisitions

Disposals

Cancellation of second trading line treasury shares

Balance at the end of the year

For the year ended

% change from

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.08

2,932,580,549

2,073,547,344

2,105,273,286

625,532,204

859,033,205

1,294,058

(33,020,000)

3,558,112,753

2,932,580,549

2,073,547,344

61,903,121

33,566,097

158,105,524

13,398,118

(57,915,346)

(109,600,521)

164,475,699

102,074,942

(75,425,117)

(33,020,000)

37,553,872

61,903,121

158,105,524

41

(27)

21

(61)

151

47

(39)

Shares issued
On 25 June 2009, UBS increased its share capital by issuing 
293,258,050 new registered shares. The shares were placed 
with  a  small  number  of  large  institutional  investors.  The 
shares were issued out of authorized capital which had been 
approved  at  the  Annual  General  Meeting  of  shareholders 
(AGM) on 15 April 2009. 

On 19 August 2009, the Swiss Confederation announced 
the  conversion  of  its  UBS  mandatory  convertible  notes 
(MCNs). Upon conversion on 25 August 2009, UBS issued 
332,225,913 new shares from existing conditional capital.

On 27 February 2008 the extraordinary general meeting 
of shareholders approved the creation of a maximum of CHF 
10,370,000 in authorized capital allowing the distribution of 
a stock dividend. That resulted in the issuance of 98,698,754 
shares.

On 23 April 2008, the AGM of shareholders approved a 
capital increase that resulted in the issuance of 760,295,181 
fully paid registered shares.

All issued shares are fully paid.
For  further  information  on  the  capital  increase  and  the 
conversion of the MCNs in 2009, refer to “Note 26 Capital 
increases and mandatory convertible notes” in the financial 
statements.

Conditional share capital
On 31 December 2009, a maximum of 29,350 shares could 
have  been  issued  against  the  future  exercise  of  options 
from  former  PaineWebber  employee  option  plans  and 
149,994,296 shares could have been issued to fund UBS‘s 
employee  share  option  programs.  In  addition,  conditional 
capital  of  up  to  277,750,000  shares  was  available  for  the 
UBS  share  delivery  obligation  due  to  the  issuance  of  the 
March 2008 mandatory convertible notes (MCNs) and con-
ditional capital of up to 100,000,000 shares is available in 
connection  with  the  transaction  with  the  Swiss  National 
Bank  (SNB).  These  shares  are  shown  as  conditional  share 
capital in the UBS AG (Parent Bank) disclosure.

260

Statement of cash flows

CHF million

Cash flow from / (used in) operating activities

Net profit

Adjustments to reconcile net profit to cash flow from / (used in) operating activities

Non-cash items included in net profit and other adjustments:

Depreciation of property and equipment

Impairment of goodwill / amortization of intangible assets

Credit loss expense / (recovery)

Share of net profits of associates

Deferred tax expense / (benefit)

Net loss / (gain) from investing activities

Net loss / (gain) from financing activities

Net (increase) / decrease in operating assets:

Net due from / to banks

Reverse repurchase agreements and cash collateral on securities borrowed

Trading portfolio, net replacement values and financial assets designated at fair value

Loans / due to customers

Accrued income, prepaid expenses and other assets

Net increase / (decrease) in operating liabilities:

Repurchase agreements, cash collateral on securities lent

Accrued expenses, deferred income and other liabilities

Income taxes paid

Net cash flow from / (used in) operating activities

Cash flow from / (used in) investing activities

Purchase of subsidiaries and associates

Disposal of subsidiaries and associates

Purchase of property and equipment

Disposal of property and equipment

Net (investment in) / divestment of financial investments available-for-sale

Net cash flow from / (used in) investing activities

Cash flow from / (used in) financing activities

Net money market papers issued / (repaid)

Net movements in treasury shares and own equity derivative activity

Capital issuance

Dividends paid

Issuance of long-term debt, including financial liabilities designated at fair value

Repayment of long-term debt, including financial liabilities designated at fair value
Increase in minority interests 1
Dividends paid to / decrease in minority interests

Net cash flow from / (used in) financing activities

Effects of exchange rate differences

Net increase / (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year

Cash and cash equivalents comprise:

Cash and balances with central banks
Money market papers 2
Due from banks with original maturity of less than three months

Total

For the year ended

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

(2,125)

(20,724)

(4,708)

1,048

1,323

1,832

(37)

(960)

425

8,355

(57,328)

162,822

11,118

(23,705)

2,214

(41,351)

(8,629)

(505)

54,497

(42)

296

(854)

163

(20,127)

(20,563)

(60,040)

673

3,726

0

67,062

(65,024)

3

(583)

(54,183)

5,529

(14,721)

179,693

164,973

20,899

98,432

45,642

164,973

1,241

554

2,996

6

(7,020)

(797)

(47,906)

(16,561)

236,497

350,099

(183,476)

7,512

(220,935)

(23,592)

(887)

77,007

(1,502)

1,686

(1,217)

69

(712)

(1,676)

(40,637)

623

23,135

0

103,087

(92,894)

1,661

(532)

(5,557)

(39,186)

30,588

149,105

179,693

32,744

86,732

60,217

179,693

1,253

282

238

(120)

(371)

(4,085)

3,779

(60,762)

173,433

60,729

36,168

(2,408)

(271,060)

19,217

(3,663)

(52,078)

(2,337)

885

(1,910)

134

5,981

2,753

32,672

(2,771)

0

(4,275)

110,874

(62,407)

1,094

(619)

74,568

(12,228)

13,015

136,090

149,105

18,793

77,215

53,097

149,105

1 Includes issuance of preferred securities of CHF 1,617 million and CHF 996 million for the years ended 31 December 2008 and 31 December 2007, respectively.    2 Money market papers are included 
in the balance sheet under “Trading portfolio assets”, “Trading portfolio assets pledged as collateral” and “Financial investments available-for-sale”. CHF 57,116 million, CHF 19,912 million and 
CHF 7,881 million were pledged at 31 December 2009, 31 December 2008 and 31 December 2007, respectively. The previously disclosed amounts of pledged money market papers have been adjusted 
to include positions recognized in the balance sheet under “Trading portfolio assets pledged as collateral”.

261

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For the year ended

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

23,844

19,597

1,090

68,232

62,284

2,779

103,828

97,489

5,313

For the year ended

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

14

31

731

1,393

33

22

5

405

114

2

173

24

3

262

2

224

60

Financial information
Consolidated financial statements

Statement of cash flows (continued)

CHF million

Additional information

Cash received as interest

Cash paid as interest

Cash received as dividends on equities (incl. associates)

Significant non-cash investing and financing activities

CHF million

Deconsolidation of UBS Pactual

Financial investments available -for-sale

Property and equipment

Goodwill and intangible assets

Debt issued

Deconsolidation of private equity investments

Property and equipment

Goodwill and intangible assets

Acquisition of Caisse Centrale de Réescompte Group (CCR)

Property and equipment

Goodwill and intangible assets

Debt issued

Acquisition of VermogensGroep

Property and equipment

Goodwill and intangible assets

Acquisition of McDonald Investments branch network

Property and equipment

Goodwill and intangible assets

Acquisition of Daehan Investment Trust Management Company

Property and equipment

Goodwill and intangible assets

Minority interests

262

Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Note 1  Summary of significant accounting policies

a) Significant accounting policies

The  principal  accounting  policies  applied  in  preparation  of 
these  consolidated  financial  statements  are  set  out  below. 
These policies have been consistently applied to all the years 
presented, unless otherwise stated.

1) Basis of accounting
UBS AG and subsidiaries (“UBS” or the “Group”) provide a 
broad range of financial services including advisory services, 
underwriting, financing, market making, asset management 
and brokerage on a global level, and retail banking in Swit-
zerland.  The  Group  was  formed  on  29  June  1998  when 
Swiss  Bank  Corporation  and  Union  Bank  of  Switzerland 
merged. The merger was accounted for using the uniting of 
interests method of accounting.

The consolidated financial statements of UBS (the “Finan-
cial Statements”) are prepared in accordance with Interna-
tional Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), as issued by the 
International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), and stated 
in Swiss francs (CHF), the currency of Switzerland where UBS 
AG is incorporated. On 4 March 2010, the Board of Directors 
approved them for issue. 

Disclosures  under  IFRS  7  Financial  Instruments:  Disclo-
sures about the nature and extent of risks and capital disclo-
sures under IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements have 
been included in the audited parts of the “Risk and treasury 
management” section. Several IFRS 7 credit risk related dis-
closures  are  provided  in  Note  29c  and  several  market  risk 
related disclosures are provided in Note 27c.

2) Use of estimates in the preparation of 
 Financial  Statements
In  preparing  the  Financial  Statements  in  conformity  with 
IFRS,  management  is  required  to  make  estimates  and  as-
sumptions that affect reported income, expenses, assets, li-
abilities  and  disclosure  of  contingent  assets  and  liabilities. 
Use of available information and application of judgment are 
inherent in the formation of estimates. Actual results in the 
future could differ from such estimates, and the differences 
may be material to the Financial Statements. 

3) Subsidiaries 
The Financial Statements comprise those of the parent com-
pany (UBS AG) and its subsidiaries, including special purpose 
entities (SPEs), presented as a single economic entity. UBS con-
trols an entity if it has the power to govern the financial and 

operating policies generally accompanying a shareholding of 
more than one-half of the voting rights. Subsidiaries, including 
special purpose entities, that are directly or indirectly controlled 
by the Group are consolidated from the date on which control 
is transferred to the Group. Subsidiaries to be divested are con-
solidated up to the date of disposal (i.e. loss of control).

Equity attributable to minority interests is presented in the 
consolidated  balance  sheet  within  equity,  separately  from 
equity attributable to UBS shareholders. Net profit attribut-
able to minority interests is shown separately in the income 
statement.
  When UBS acquires a subsidiary, the purchase method of 
accounting is used to account for the acquisition of a subsid-
iary. The cost of acquisition is measured at the fair value of the 
consideration  given  at  the  date  of  exchange,  together  with 
costs  directly  attributable  to  that  acquisition.  The  acquired 
identifiable  assets  or  liabilities  and  contingent  liabilities  are 
measured at fair value at the date of acquisition. Any excess 
of the cost of acquisition over the fair value of UBS’s share of 
the identifiable assets, liabilities and contingent liabilities is re-
corded as goodwill. If the cost of acquisition is less than the 
fair value of UBS’s share of identifiable assets, liabilities and 
contingent liabilities of the business acquired, the difference is 
recognized immediately in the income statement.

The Group sponsors the formation of entities, which may 
or may not be directly or indirectly owned subsidiaries, for 
the  purpose  of  asset  securitization  transactions  and  struc-
tured debt issuance, and to accomplish certain narrow and 
well defined objectives. These companies may acquire assets 
directly or indirectly from UBS or its affiliates. Some of these 
companies are bankruptcy-remote entities whose assets are 
not available to satisfy the claims of creditors of the Group or 
any of its subsidiaries. UBS also has employee benefit trusts 
that  are  used  in  connection  with  share-based  payment  ar-
rangements  and  deferred  compensation  schemes.  Such 
trusts  and  other  special  purpose  entities  are  consolidated 
in the Group’s Financial Statements when the substance of 
the relationship between the Group and the company indi-
cates that the company is controlled by the Group. 

The following circumstances may indicate a relationship 
in which, in substance, UBS controls and consequently con-
solidates the SPE:
–  the activities of the SPE are being conducted on behalf of 
UBS according to its specific business needs so that UBS 
obtains benefits from the SPE’s operations;

263

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Notes to the consolidated financial statements

–  UBS has the decision-making powers to obtain the major-
ity of the benefits of the activities of the SPE or, by setting 
up an “autopilot” mechanism, UBS has delegated these 
decision making powers;

–  UBS has rights to obtain the majority of the benefits of 
the SPE and therefore may be exposed to risks incident to 
the activities of the SPE; or

–  UBS retains the majority of the residual or ownership risks 
related to the SPE or its assets in order to obtain benefits 
from its activities.
UBS continuously evaluates whether triggering events re-
quire  the  reconsideration  of  the  consolidation  conclusions 
made  at  inception  of  its  involvement  with  special  purpose 
entities,  especially  securitization  vehicles  and  collateralized 
debt obligations (CDOs). Triggering events generally include 
items such as restructurings, the vesting of potential rights 
and acquisition, disposal or expiration of interests. In these 
circumstances, special purpose entities may be consolidated 
depending on how the conditions have changed. 

Intercompany transactions, balances and unrealized gains 
or losses on transactions between the Group companies are 
eliminated. 

Consolidated financial statements are prepared using uni-
form  accounting  policies  for  like  transactions  and  other 
events in similar circumstances.

Assets and liabilities of subsidiaries are classified as “held 
for  sale”  if  their  carrying  amount  will  be  recovered  princi-
pally through a sale transaction rather than through continu-
ing use – see parts 19) and 28). Major lines of business and 
subsidiaries that were acquired exclusively with the intent for 
resale are presented as discontinued operations in the state-
ment of comprehensive income in the period when the sale 
occurred or it becomes highly probable that a sale will occur 
within 12 months – see part 28). 

4) Associates and jointly controlled entities
Investments in associates in which UBS has a significant in-
fluence  are  accounted  for  under  the  equity  method  of  ac-
counting. Significant influence is normally evidenced when 
UBS  owns  between  20%  to  50%  of  a  company’s  voting 
rights. Investments in associates are initially recorded at cost, 
and the carrying amount is increased or decreased to recog-
nize the Group’s share of the investee’s net profit or loss (in-
cluding net profit or loss recognized directly in equity) after 
the date of acquisition.

Interests in jointly controlled entities, in which UBS and one 
or more third parties have joint control, are accounted for un-
der the equity method. A jointly controlled entity is subject to 
a contractual agreement between UBS and one or more third 
parties,  which  establishes  joint  control  over  its  economic  ac-
tivities.  Interests  in  such  entities  are  reflected  under  Invest-
ments in associates on the balance sheet, and the related dis-
closures  are  included  in  the  disclosures  for  associates.  UBS 
holds certain interests in jointly controlled real estate entities.

Investments  in  associates  and  interests  in  jointly  con-
trolled entities are classified as “held for sale” if their carry-
ing  amount  will  be  recovered  principally  through  a  sale 
transaction rather than through continuing use – see parts 
19) and 28). 

5) Recognition and derecognition of financial instruments
UBS  recognizes  financial  instruments  on  its  balance  sheet 
when the Group becomes a party to the contractual provi-
sions of the instrument.

Financial assets
UBS enters into transactions where it transfers financial as-
sets  recognized  on  its  balance  sheet  but  retains  either  all 
risks and rewards of the transferred financial assets or a por-
tion of them. If all or substantially all risks and rewards are 
retained,  the  transferred  financial  assets  are  not  derecog-
nized  from  the  balance  sheet.  Transfers  of  financial  assets 
with retention of all or substantially all risks and rewards in-
clude, for example, securities lending and repurchase trans-
actions described in this Note under parts 13) and 14). They 
further  include  transactions  where  financial  assets  are  sold 
to a third party with a concurrent total rate of return swap 
on the transferred assets to retain all their risks and rewards. 
These  types  of  transactions  are  accounted  for  as  secured 
 financing transactions. 

In transactions where substantially all of the risks and re-
wards of ownership of a financial asset are neither retained 
nor transferred, UBS derecognizes the financial asset if con-
trol over the asset is lost. The rights and obligations retained 
in the transfer are recognized separately as assets and liabili-
ties as appropriate. In transfers where control over the finan-
cial asset is retained, the Group continues to recognize the 
asset  to  the  extent  of  its  continuing  involvement,  deter-
mined by the extent to which it is exposed to changes in the 
value of the transferred asset. Examples of such transactions 
are transfers of financial assets involving guarantees, writing 
put options, acquiring call options, or specific types of swaps 
linked to the performance of the asset.

Financial liabilities
UBS removes a financial liability from its balance sheet when 
it  is  extinguished,  i.e.  when  the  obligation  specified  in  the 
contract is discharged or cancelled or expires. Where an ex-
isting financial liability is exchanged for a new one from the 
same lender on substantially different terms, or the terms of 
an  existing  liability  are  substantially  modified,  such  an  ex-
change or modification is treated as a derecognition of the 
original liability and recognition of a new liability. The differ-
ence  in  the  respective  carrying  amounts  is  recognized  in 
profit or loss.

UBS acts as trustee and in other fiduciary capacities that 
result in the holding or placing of assets on behalf of indi-
viduals,  trusts,  retirement  benefit  plans  and  other  institu-

264

tions. These assets and income arising therefrom are exclud-
ed from UBS’s financial statements, as they are not assets of 
UBS, provided the recognition criteria are not satisfied. 

6) Determination of fair value 
The fair value principles applied when determining fair value 
are  considered  significant  accounting  policies.  Fair  value  is 
the amount for which an asset could be exchanged or a lia-
bility  settled  between  knowledgeable,  willing  parties  in  an 
arm’s length transaction. Details of the determination of fair 
value of financial instruments, fair value hierarchy, valuation 
techniques and inputs by products, day 1 profit or loss and 
other related fair value disclosures are disclosed in Note 27.

7) Trading portfolio assets and liabilities
Trading portfolio assets consist of debt instruments (including 
those in the form of securities, money market paper, traded 
corporate  and  bank  loans),  equity  instruments  (including 
those in the form of securities), assets held under unit-linked 
contracts and precious metals and other commodities owned 
by the Group (“long” positions). Trading portfolio liabilities 
consist of obligations to deliver financial instruments such as 
debt  and  equity  instruments  which  the  Group  has  sold  to 
third parties but does not own (“short” positions). The trad-
ing  portfolio  includes  non-derivative  financial  instruments 
(including those with embedded derivatives) and commodi-
ties. Financial instruments which are considered derivatives in 
their entirety are generally presented on the balance sheet as 
Positive and Negative replacement values, refer to part 15). 
UBS’s trading portfolio assets and liabilities (refer to Note 11) 
include proprietary positions, hedge positions and client busi-
ness-related positions (provided the recognition criteria men-
tioned in part 5) are satisfied). 

The  trading  portfolio  is  carried  at  fair  value.  Gains  and 
losses  realized  on  disposal  or  redemption  and  unrealized 
gains  and  losses  from  changes  in  the  fair  value  of  trading 
portfolio assets and liabilities are reported as Net trading in-
come. Interest and dividend income and expense on trading 
portfolio assets or liabilities are included in Interest and divi-
dend income or Interest and dividend expense.

An  acquired  non-derivative  financial  asset  or  liability  is 
classified at acquisition as held for trading and presented in 
the trading portfolio if it is (a) acquired or incurred principally 
for the purpose of selling or repurchasing it in the near term; 
or  (b)  part  of  a  portfolio  of  identified  financial  instruments 
that are managed together and for which there is evidence of 
a recent actual pattern of short-term profit-taking. 

The Group uses settlement date accounting when record-
ing  trading  financial  asset  transactions.  From  the  date  the 
purchase transaction is entered into (trade date), UBS recog-
nizes any unrealized profits and losses arising from revaluing 
that contract to fair value in Net trading income. The corre-
sponding receivable or payable is presented on the balance 
sheet as a Positive or Negative replacement value. When the 

transaction is consummated (settlement date), a resulting fi-
nancial asset is recognized on the balance sheet at the fair 
value  of  the  consideration  given  or  received  plus  or  minus 
the change in fair value of the contract since the trade date. 
When the Group becomes party to a sales contract of a fi-
nancial  asset  classified  in  its  trading  portfolio,  unrealized 
profits and losses are no longer recognized from the date the 
sales transaction is entered into (trade date) and it derecog-
nizes the asset on the day of its transfer (settlement date).

Trading  portfolio  assets  transferred  to  external  parties 
that do not qualify for derecognition (see part 5)) are reclas-
sified on UBS‘s balance sheet from Trading portfolio assets to 
Trading portfolio assets pledged as collateral, if the transfer-
ee has received the right to sell or repledge them.

Following an amendment to IAS 39 in 2008 (refer to Note 
1b and Note 29b), subject to certain conditions being met, 
financial assets may be reclassified from the “Held for trad-
ing” category to the “Loans and receivables” category if the 
firm has the intent and ability to hold them for the foresee-
able  future  or  until  maturity.  UBS  applied  this  option  in 
fourth quarter 2008 and first quarter 2009 and reclassified 
several  illiquid  financial  assets  (such  as  purchased  asset-
backed  securities,  including  mortgage-backed  securities 
(MBS),  originated  by  third  parties)  to  the  category  “loans 
and receivables”, as a result of which these instruments to 
be no longer fair valued through profit or loss but rather ac-
counted for at amortized cost less impairment.

8) Financial assets and Financial liabilities designated at fair 
value through profit or loss (“Fair Value Option”)
A financial instrument may only be designated at fair value 
through profit or loss at inception and this designation can-
not subsequently be changed. Financial assets (refer to Note 
12) and financial liabilities (refer to Note 19) designated at 
fair value are presented in separate lines on the face of the 
balance sheet.

The conditions for applying the fair value option are met 

when 
a)  they are hybrid instruments which consist of a debt host 

and an embedded derivative component, or 

b)  they  are  items  that  are  part  of  a  portfolio  which  is  risk 
managed  on  a  fair  value  basis  and  reported  to  senior 
management on that basis, or 

c)  the application of the fair value option reduces or elimi-
nates  an  accounting  mismatch  that  would  otherwise 
arise.
Hybrid instruments which fall under criterion a) above in-
clude i) bonds and compound debt liabilities issued, ii) com-
pound debt liabilities – OTC, and iii) hybrid financial assets 
from reverse repurchase agreements. Bonds and compound 
debt liabilities issued and OTC generally include embedded 
derivative  components  which,  for  example,  refer  to  an 
 underlying equity price, interest rate, commodities price or 
index. 

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

UBS has designated most of its issued hybrid debt instru-
ments as Financial liabilities designated at fair value through 
profit or loss. These instruments include predominantly the 
following categories of underlyings:
–  Credit-linked: bonds, notes linked to the performance (cou-
pon and / or redemption amount) of single names (such as 
a company or a country) or a basket of reference entities. 
–  Equity-linked:  bonds,  notes  that  are  linked  to  a  single 

stock, a basket of stocks or an equity index. 

–  Rates-linked: bonds, notes linked to a reference interest 

rate, interest rate spread or formula. 
Besides  hybrid  instruments,  the  fair  value  option  is  also 
applied  to  certain  loans  and  loan  commitments  which  are 
substantially hedged with credit derivatives. The application 
of the fair value option to these instruments reduces an ac-
counting mismatch, as loans would have been otherwise ac-
counted  for  at  amortized  cost  or  as  financial  investments 
available-for-sale  (refer  to  part  9)),  whereas  the  hedging 
credit protection is accounted for as a derivative instrument 
at fair value through profit or loss. 

UBS has also applied the fair value option to a hedge fund 
investment  and  structured  reverse  repurchase  agreement 
which are part of portfolios managed on a fair value basis. 
Fair value changes related to financial instruments designat-
ed at fair value through profit or loss are recognized in Net 
trading income.

Interest income and interest expense on financial assets 
and liabilities designated at fair value through profit or loss 
are included in Interest income on financial assets designat-
ed at fair value or Interest on financial liabilities designated 
at fair value. Refer to Note 3.

UBS applies the same recognition and derecognition prin-
ciples  to  financial  instruments  designated  at  fair  value  as  to 
 financial instruments held for trading (refer to parts 5) and 7)). 

9) Financial investments available-for-sale
Financial investments available-for-sale are non-derivative fi-
nancial assets that are not classified as held for trading, des-
ignated at fair value through profit or loss, or loans and re-
ceivables. They are recognized on a settlement date basis.
Financial investments available-for-sale include highly liquid 
short term debt securities, strategic equity investments, cer-
tain investments in real estate funds as well as instruments 
that, in management’s opinion, may be sold in response to 
or in anticipation of needs for liquidity or changes in interest 
rates,  foreign  exchange  rates  or  equity  prices. Financial  in-
vestments  available-for-sale  consist  mainly  of  highly  liquid 
short term debt securities issued by government and govern-
ment-controlled institutions, generally with residual maturi-
ties of less than three months. In addition, certain equity in-
struments,  including  private  equity  investments  as  well  as 
debt instruments and non-performing loans acquired in the 
secondary  market  are  classified  as  financial  investments 
available-for-sale.

Financial investments available-for-sale are initially recog-
nized at fair value including direct transaction costs and are 
subsequently  measured  at  fair  value.  Unrealized  gains  or 
losses are reported in Equity, net of applicable income taxes, 
until such investments are sold, collected or otherwise dis-
posed of, or until any such investment is determined to be 
impaired.  On  disposal  of  an  investment,  the  accumulated 
unrealized  gain  or  loss  included  in  Equity  is  transferred  to 
Net  profit  for  the  period  and  reported  in  Other  income. 
Gains and losses on disposal are determined using the aver-
age cost method and are included in the income statement.
Interest  and  dividend  income  on  financial  investments 
available-for-sale  are  included  in  Interest  and  dividend  in-
come from financial investments available-for-sale. 
UBS assesses at each balance sheet date whether there are in-
dicators of impairment of an available-for-sale investment. An 
available-for-sale investment is impaired when there is objective 
evidence that as a result of one or more events that occurred 
after  the  initial  recognition  of  the  investment,  the  estimated 
future  cash  flows  of  the  investment  have  been  affected.  For 
equity investments available-for-sale, a significant or prolonged 
decline in fair value below its original cost is considered to be 
objective evidence of impairment. For debt investments avail-
able-for-sale, objective evidence of impairment includes for ex-
ample a significant financial difficulty of the issuer or counter-
party, default or delinquency in interest or principal payments 
or probability that the borrower will enter bankruptcy or finan-
cial re-organization. If a financial investment available-for-sale 
is  determined  to  be  impaired,  the  cumulative  net  unrealized 
loss previously recognized in Equity is included in Net profit for 
the period and reported as a deduction from Other income. To 
the extent impairments of financial investments available-for-
sale are covered by fair value decreases of the current year-to-
date period, impairments are directly recognized in the income 
statement.  To  the  extent  impairments  relate  to  fair  value  de-
creases of previous periods, amounts are released from other 
comprehensive income to the income statement and separate-
ly presented in the statement of comprehensive income.

After the recognition of impairment on a financial invest-
ment  available-for-sale,  increases  in  fair  value  of  equity  in-
struments are reported in Equity and increases in fair value of 
debt instruments up to original cost are recognized in Other 
income, provided the fair value increase has been triggered 
by a specific event (as defined by IFRS).

UBS applies the same recognition and derecognition prin-
ciples to financial assets available-for-sale as “Financial instru-
ments designated at fair value” or “Held-for-trading”, except 
that unrealized gains or losses between trade date and settle-
ment date recognized in Equity (refer to parts 5) and 7)). 

10) Loans and receivables
For an overview of financial assets and financial liabilities ac-
counted  for  as  “Loans  and  receivables”,  refer  to  the  mea-
surement categories presented in Note 29.

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“Loans  and  receivables”  are  non-derivative  financial  as-
sets  with  fixed  or  determinable  payments  which  are  not 
classified as held-for-trading, not designated as at fair value 
through  P&L  or  available-for-sale  and  are  not  those  for 
which  the  Group  may  not  recover  substantially  all  of  its 
 initial  net  investment,  other  than  because  of  credit  dete-
rioration. 

“Loans and receivables” include: 

–  originated loans where money is provided directly to the 
borrower, participation in a loan from another lender and 
purchased loans (certain purchased non-performing loans 
are  also  classified  as  financial  investment  available-for-
sale at inception) initially classified as “loans and receiv-
ables”;

–  securities initially classified as “Loans and receivables” due 

to illiquid markets such as Auction Rate Securities;

–  reclassified  securities  previously  “Held-for-trading”  (refer 

to Note 29b; and 

–  reclassified loans such as leverage finance loans previous-

ly “held-for-trading” (refer to Note 29b). 
In  fourth  quarter  2008  and  first  quarter  2009,  UBS  re-
classified  certain  debt  financial  assets  from  the  category 
“Held-for-trading”  to  “Loans  and  receivables”,  mainly  due 
to illiquid markets for these instruments (refer to Note 1b, 
Note  29b  and  Note  9a  and  9b).  When  a  financial  asset  is 
reclassified  from  “held-for-trading”  to  “loans  and  receiv-
ables”, the financial asset is reclassified at its fair value on 
the date of reclassification. Any gain or loss recognized in 
the income statement before reclassification is not reversed. 
The fair value of a financial asset on the date of reclassifica-
tion becomes its cost basis or amortized cost basis, as ap-
plicable.

Loans are recognized when cash is advanced to borrow-
ers. They are initially recorded at fair value, which is the cash 
given to originate or purchase the loan, plus any direct trans-
action  costs,  and  are  subsequently  measured  at  amortized 
cost using the effective interest rate method.

Interest on loans is included in Interest earned on loans 
and  advances  and  is  recognized  on  an  accrual  basis.  Fees 
and direct costs relating to loan origination, refinancing or 
restructuring  and  to  loan  commitments  are  deferred  and 
amortized to Interest earned on loans and advances over the 
life of the loan using the straight-line method which approx-
imates the effective interest rate method. Fees received for 
commitments that are not expected to result in a loan are 
included  in  Credit-related  fees  and  commissions  over  the 
commitment period. Loan syndication fees where UBS does 
not  retain  a  portion  of  the  syndicated  loan  are  credited  to 
commission income. 

Renegotiated loans
Subject to assessment on a case by case basis, UBS may ei-
ther restructure a loan or take possession of collateral. Re-
structuring  may  involve  extending  the  payment  arrange-

ments and agreeing to new loan conditions. Once the terms 
have been renegotiated any impairment is measured using 
the effective interest rate (EIR) as calculated before the mod-
ification of terms and the loan is not considered as past due. 
Management  continuously  reviews  renegotiated  loans  to 
ensure that all criteria are met and that future payments are 
likely to occur. The loans continue to be subject to impair-
ment assessment, calculated  using the loan’s original EIR.

Commitments
Letters of credit, guarantees and similar instruments com-
mit UBS to make payments on behalf of third parties under 
specific  circumstances.  These  instruments,  as  well  as  un-
drawn irrevocable credit facilities, carry credit risk and are 
included  in  the  exposure  to  credit  risk  table  in  Note  29c, 
with their gross maximum exposure to credit risk less provi-
sions.

11) Allowance and provision for credit losses
An allowance or provision for credit losses (refer to Note 9b) 
is  established  if  there  is  objective  evidence  that  the  Group 
will be unable to collect all amounts due on a claim accord-
ing to the original contractual terms or the equivalent value. 
A “claim” means a loan or receivable carried at amortized 
cost, or a commitment such as a letter of credit, a guarantee, 
a commitment to extend credit or other credit products. 
  Objective evidence of impairment include:
–  significant financial difficulty of the issuer or counterparty; 

or 

–  default or delinquency in interest or principal payments; 

or

–  probability  that  the  borrower  will  enter  bankruptcy  or 

 financial re-organization.

An allowance for credit losses is reported as a reduction 
of the carrying value of a claim on the balance sheet. For an 
off-balance sheet item, such as a commitment, a provision 
for credit loss is reported in Other liabilities. Additions to al-
lowances and provisions for credit losses are made through 
Credit loss expense.

Allowances and provisions for credit losses are evaluated 
at a counterparty-specific level and collectively based on the 
following principles:

Counterparty-specific:  A  claim  is  considered  impaired 
when management determines that it is probable that the 
Group will not be able to collect all amounts due according 
to the original contractual terms or the equivalent value.

Individual  credit  exposures  are  evaluated  based  on  the 
borrower’s  character,  overall  financial  condition,  resources 
and payment record; the prospects for support from any fi-
nancially responsible guarantors; and, where applicable, the 
realizable value of any collateral.

The  estimated  recoverable  amount  is  the  present  value, 
using the loan’s original effective interest rate, of expected 

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Notes to the consolidated financial statements

future cash flows, including amounts that may result from 
restructuring  or  the  liquidation  of  collateral.  Impairment  is 
measured and allowances for credit losses are established for 
the  difference  between  the  carrying  amount  and  the  esti-
mated recoverable amount.

Upon  impairment,  the  accrual  of  interest  income  based 
on  the  original  terms  of  the  claim  is  discontinued,  but  the 
increase of the present value of impaired claims due to the 
passage of time is reported as Interest income.

All impaired claims are generally reviewed and analyzed 
at least annually. Any subsequent changes to the amounts 
and timing of the expected future cash flows compared with 
the prior estimates result in a change in the allowance for 
credit losses and are charged or credited to Credit loss ex-
pense.

An allowance for impairment is reversed only when the 
credit  quality  has  improved  to  such  an  extent  that  there  is 
reasonable assurance of timely collection of principal and in-
terest  in  accordance  with  the  original  contractual  terms  of 
the claim or equivalent value.

A write-off is made when all or part of a claim is deemed 
uncollectible or forgiven. Write-offs are charged against pre-
viously established allowances for credit losses or directly to 
Credit  loss  expense  and  reduce  the  principal  amount  of  a 
claim. Recoveries in part or in full of amounts previously writ-
ten off are credited to Credit loss expense. A restructuring of 
a financial asset could result in the original loan being derec-
ognized and a new loan being recognized. The new loan is 
measured at fair value at initial recognition. Any allowance 
taken  against  the  original  loan  is  removed  by  increasing 
write-offs. The gross counterparty exposure, however, may 
remain unaffected, if the rights existing prior to the restruc-
turing have not been legally waived.

A loan is classified as non-performing when the payment 
of interest, principal or fees is overdue by more than 90 days 
and there is no firm evidence that it will be made good by 
later  payments  or  the  liquidation  of  collateral,  insolvency 
proceedings  have  commenced  against  the  firm,  or  obliga-
tions have been restructured on concessionary terms.

Collectively: All loans for which no impairment is identi-
fied  on  a  counterparty-specific  level  are  grouped  into  sub-
portfolios with similar credit risk characteristics to collectively 
assess whether impairment exists within a portfolio. Allow-
ances from collective assessment of impairment are recog-
nized  as  Credit  loss  expense  and  result  in  an  offset  to  the 
aggregated loan position. As the allowance cannot be allo-
cated to individual loans, the loans are not considered to be 
impaired and interest is accrued on each loan according to 
its contractual terms.

Reclassified securities: UBS periodically revises its estimat-
ed  cash  flows  associated  with  the  portfolio  of  reclassified 
securities  backed  by  multiple  assets.  Adverse  revisions  in 
cash flows estimates related to credit events are recognized 
in profit or loss as credit loss expenses. Increases in estimated 

future cash receipts as a result of increased recoverability are 
recognized as an adjustment to the effective interest rate on 
the loan from the date of change. 

12) Securitization structures set up by UBS
UBS securitizes various financial assets, which generally re-
sults in the sale of these assets to special purpose entities, 
which in turn issue securities to investors. UBS’s involvement 
in securitization structures significantly declined in 2008 and 
remained  low  in  2009.  UBS  applies  the  policies  set  out  in 
part  3)  in  determining  whether  the  respective  special  pur-
pose entity must be consolidated and those set out in part 5) 
in determining whether derecognition of transferred finan-
cial  assets  is  appropriate.  The  following  statements  mainly 
apply to financial asset transfers which are considered true 
sales to non-consolidated entities.

Interests  in  the  securitized  financial  assets  may  be  re-
tained  in  the  form  of  senior  or  subordinated  tranches, 
 interest-only  strips  or  other  residual  interests  (“retained 
 interests”).  Retained  interests  are  primarily  recorded  in 
Trading portfolio assets and carried at fair value. Gains or 
losses  on  securitization  are  recognized  in  Net  trading  in-
come, which is generally when the derecognition criteria 
are  satisfied.  Typically,  the  Group  seeks  to  exit  its  risk  in 
retained interests shortly after close of the securitization. 
Synthetic securitization structures typically involve deriva-
tive financial instruments for which the principles set out 
in part 15) apply. 

UBS  acts  as  structurer  and  placement  agent  in  various 
MBS  and  other  ABS  securitizations.  In  such  capacity,  UBS 
purchases collateral on its own behalf or on behalf of cus-
tomers  during  the  period  prior  to  securitization.  UBS  typi-
cally sold the collateral into designated trusts at the close of 
the securitization and underwrites the offerings to investors, 
earning fees for its placement and structuring services. Con-
sistent with the valuation of similar inventory, fair value of 
retained  tranches  is  initially  and  subsequently  determined 
using  market  price  quotations  where  available  or  internal 
pricing models that utilize variables such as yield curves, pre-
payment speeds, default rates, loss severity, interest rate vol-
atilities and spreads. Where possible, assumptions based on 
observable transactions are used to determine the fair value 
of  retained  tranches,  but  for  several  of  them,  substantially 
no observable information is available.

13) Securities borrowing and lending
Securities borrowing and securities lending transactions are 
generally entered into on a collateralized basis. In such trans-
actions, UBS typically lends or borrows securities in exchange 
for  securities  or  cash  collateral.  Additionally,  UBS  borrows 
securities from its clients’ custody accounts in exchange for 
a  fee.  The  majority  of  securities  lending  and  borrowing 
agreements  involve  shares,  and  the  remainder  typically  in-
volve bonds and notes. The transactions are conducted un-

268

der standard agreements employed by financial market par-
ticipants and are undertaken with counterparties subject to 
UBS’s normal credit risk control processes. UBS monitors the 
market value of the securities received or delivered on a dai-
ly basis and requests or provides additional collateral or re-
turns or recalls surplus collateral in accordance with the un-
derlying agreements.

The securities which have been transferred, whether in a 
borrowing / lending transaction or as collateral, are not rec-
ognized on or derecognized from the balance sheet unless 
the risks and rewards of ownership are also transferred. In 
such transactions where UBS transfers owned securities and 
where the borrower is granted the right to sell or repledge 
them,  the  securities  are  reclassified  on  the  balance  sheet 
from  Trading  portfolio  assets  to  Trading  portfolio  assets 
pledged as collateral. Cash collateral received is recognized 
with a corresponding obligation to return it (Cash collateral 
on securities lent). Cash collateral delivered is derecognized 
with a corresponding receivable reflecting UBS’s right to re-
ceive it back (Cash collateral on securities borrowed). Securi-
ties received in a lending or borrowing transaction are dis-
closed  as  off-balance  sheet  items  if  UBS  has  the  right  to 
resell or repledge them, with securities that UBS has actually 
resold or repledged also disclosed separately (see Note 24). 
Additionally, the sale of securities received in a borrowing or 
lending transaction triggers the recognition of a trading lia-
bility (short sale).

Consideration  exchanged  in  financing  transactions  (i.e. 
interest received or paid) is recognized on an accrual basis 
and recorded as Interest income or Interest expense.

14) Repurchase and reverse repurchase transactions
Securities purchased under agreements to resell (Reverse re-
purchase agreements) and securities sold under agreements 
to repurchase (Repurchase agreements) are generally treated 
as collateralized financing transactions. Nearly all repurchase 
and  reverse  repurchase  agreements  involve  debt  instru-
ments,  such  as  bonds,  notes  or  money  market  paper.  The 
transactions are conducted under standard agreements em-
ployed by financial market participants and are undertaken 
with counterparties subject to UBS’s normal credit risk con-
trol processes. UBS monitors the market value of the securi-
ties  received  or  delivered  on  a  daily  basis  and  requests  or 
provides additional collateral or returns or recalls surplus col-
lateral in accordance with the underlying agreements.

In a reverse repurchase agreement, the cash delivered is 
derecognized and a corresponding receivable, including ac-
crued interest, is recorded in the balance sheet line Reverse 
repurchase agreements, recognizing UBS’s right to receive it 
back. In a Repurchase agreement, the cash received is recog-
nized and a corresponding obligation, including accrued in-
terest,  is  recorded  in  the  balance  sheet  line  Repurchase 
agreements.  Securities  received  under  reverse  repurchase 
agreements and securities delivered under repurchase agree-

ments are not recognized on or derecognized from the bal-
ance  sheet,  unless  the  risks  and  rewards  of  ownership  are 
obtained  or  relinquished.  In  repurchase  agreements  where 
UBS  transfers  owned  securities  and  where  the  recipient  is 
granted the right to resell or repledge them, the securities 
are  reclassified  in  the  balance  sheet  from  Trading  portfolio 
assets to Trading portfolio assets pledged as collateral. Secu-
rities  received  in  a  reverse  repurchase  agreement  are  dis-
closed as off-balance sheet items if UBS has the right to re-
sell or repledge them, with securities that UBS has actually 
resold or repledged also disclosed separately (see Note 24). 
Additionally, the sale of securities received in reverse repur-
chase transactions triggers the recognition of a trading liabil-
ity (short sale).

Interest earned on reverse repurchase agreements and in-
terest  incurred  on  repurchase  agreements  is  recognized  as 
interest  income  or  interest  expense  over  the  life  of  each 
agreement.

The Group offsets reverse repurchase agreements and re-
purchase agreements with the same counterparty, maturity, 
currency and Central Securities Depository (CSD) for transac-
tions  covered  by  legally  enforceable  master  netting  agree-
ments when net or simultaneous settlement is intended.

15) Derivative instruments and hedge accounting
Derivatives  are  initially  recognized  at  fair  value  at  the  date 
the derivative contract is entered into and are subsequently 
remeasured to fair value. The resulting gain or loss is recog-
nized in profit or loss unless the derivative is designated and 
effective as a hedging instrument, in which event the timing 
of the recognition in profit or loss depends on the nature of 
the hedge relationship. 

Derivative instruments are reported on the balance sheet 
as Positive replacement values or Negative replacement val-
ues  (except  for  futures,  100%  daily-margined  exchange 
traded  options  and  London  Clearing  House  (LCH)  interest 
rate  swaps).  Where  the  Group  enters  into  derivatives  for 
trading  purposes,  gains  and  losses  are  recognized  in  Net 
trading  income.  Credit  losses  incurred  on  over-the-counter 
(OTC) derivatives are also reported in Net trading income.

Futures and LCH Interest rate swaps with daily margining 
and 100% daily margined exchange traded options are trans-
acted and measured at fair value. They do not have a replace-
ment value as the variation margin, expressing the cumulative 
market movements each day, is settled daily on a cash basis. 
Any unpaid variation margin represents a receivable or payable 
with fixed amount and settlement date and is presented on 
the balance sheet under Due from banks and loans or Due to 
banks and customers. The daily cash settlement (i.e. change in 
market value) is booked to Net trading income.

Hedge accounting
The Group also uses derivative instruments as part of its as-
set and liability management activities to manage exposures 

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Notes to the consolidated financial statements

to interest rate, foreign currency and credit risks, including 
exposures arising from forecast transactions. The Group ap-
plies either fair value or cash flow hedge accounting when 
transactions meet the specified criteria to obtain hedge ac-
counting treatment.

At  the  time  a  financial  instrument  is  designated  as  a 
hedge, the Group formally documents the relationship be-
tween the hedging instrument(s) and hedged item(s), includ-
ing the risk management objectives and strategy in under-
taking  the  hedge  transaction,  together  with  the  methods 
that will be used to assess the effectiveness of the hedging 
relationship.  Accordingly,  the  Group  assesses,  both  at  the 
inception of the hedge and on an ongoing basis, whether 
the hedging derivatives have been “highly effective” in off-
setting changes in the fair value or cash flows of the hedged 
items. UBS regards a hedge as highly effective if the follow-
ing  criteria  are  met:  a)  at  inception  of  the  hedge  and 
throughout its life, the hedge is expected to be highly effec-
tive  in  achieving  offsetting  changes  in  fair  value  or  cash 
flows attributable to the hedged risk, and b) actual results of 
the hedge are within a range of 80% to 125%. In the case 
of hedging a forecast transaction, the transaction must have 
a high probability of occurring and must present an exposure 
to  variations  in  cash  flows  that  could  ultimately  affect  the 
reported  net  profit  or  loss.  The  Group  discontinues  hedge 
accounting  when  it  determines  that  a  derivative  is  not,  or 
has ceased to be, highly effective as a hedge; when the de-
rivative expires or is sold, terminated or exercised; when the 
hedged item matures, is sold or repaid; or when a forecast 
transaction is no longer deemed highly probable.

Hedge  ineffectiveness  represents  the  amount  by  which 
the changes in the fair value of the hedging derivative differ 
from  changes  in  the  fair  value  of  the  hedged  item  or  the 
amount by which changes in the present value of cash flows 
of the hedging derivative differ from changes (or expected 
changes) in the present value of cash flows of the hedged 
item. Such ineffectiveness is recorded in current period earn-
ings in Net trading income. 

Fair value hedges
For qualifying fair value hedges, the change in fair value of 
the  hedging  derivative  is  recognized  in  the  income  state-
ment. Those changes in fair value of the hedged item that 
are  attributable  to  the  risks  hedged  with  the  derivative  in-
strument are reflected in an adjustment to the carrying value 
of the hedged item, which is also recognized in the income 
statement.  The  fair  value  change  of  the  hedged  item  in  a 
portfolio  hedge  of  interest  rate  risks  is  reported  separately 
from the hedged portfolio in Other assets or Other liabilities 
as  appropriate.  If  the  hedge  relationship  is  terminated  for 
reasons  other  than  the  derecognition  of  the  hedged  item, 
the  difference  between  the  carrying  value  of  the  hedged 
item at that point and the value at which it would have been 
carried had the hedge never existed (the “unamortized fair 

value adjustment”) is, in the case of interest-bearing instru-
ments, amortized to the income statement over the remain-
ing term of the original hedge, while for non-interest-bear-
ing  instruments  that  amount  is  immediately  recognized  in 
earnings. If the hedged item is derecognized, e.g. due to sale 
or repayment, the unamortized fair value adjustment is rec-
ognized immediately in profit or loss.

Cash flow hedges
A fair value gain or loss associated with the effective portion 
of a derivative designated as a cash flow hedge is recognized 
initially in Equity. When the cash flows that the derivative is 
hedging  materialize,  resulting  in  income  or  expense,  then 
the associated gain or loss on the hedging derivative is simul-
taneously  transferred  from  Equity  to  the  corresponding  in-
come or expense line item.

If a cash flow hedge for a forecast transaction is deemed to 
be no longer effective, or if the hedge relationship is termi-
nated, the cumulative gain or loss on the hedging derivative 
previously reported in Equity remains there until the commit-
ted or forecast transaction occurs or is no longer expected to 
occur, at which point it is transferred to profit or loss.

Hedges of net investments in foreign operations
Hedges  of  net  investments  in  foreign  operations  are  ac-
counted for similarly to cash flow hedges. Gains or losses on 
the hedging instrument relating to the effective portion of 
the hedge are recognized directly in Equity (and presented in 
the statement of equity and statement of comprehensive in-
come under Foreign currency translation), while any gains or 
losses  relating  to  the  ineffective  portion  are  recognized  in 
the income statement. On disposal of the foreign operation, 
the cumulative value of any such gains or losses recognized 
directly in Equity is reclassified to the income statement.

Economic hedges which do not qualify for hedge accounting
Derivative  instruments  which  are  transacted  as  economic 
hedges but do not qualify for hedge accounting are treated 
in the same way as derivative instruments used for trading 
purposes,  i.e.  realized  and  unrealized  gains  and  losses  are 
recognized in Net trading income except that, in certain cas-
es, the forward points on short duration foreign exchange 
contracts are reported in Net interest income. Refer to Note 
23 for more information on “economic hedges”.

Embedded derivatives
A derivative may be embedded in a “host contract”. Such 
combinations  are  known  as  hybrid  instruments  and  arise 
predominantly from the issuance of certain structured debt 
instruments. If the host contract is not carried at fair value 
with changes in fair value reported in the income statement, 
the  embedded  derivative  is  generally  required  to  be  sepa-
rated from the host contract and accounted for as a stand-
alone  derivative  instrument  at  fair  value  through  profit  or 

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loss if the economic characteristics and risks of the embed-
ded derivative are not closely related to the economic char-
acteristics and risks of the host contract, and the embedded 
derivative actually meets the definition of a  derivative. Bifur-
cated embedded derivatives are presented on the same bal-
ance sheet line as the host contract, and are shown in Note 
29  in  the  “Held  for  trading”  category,  reflecting  the  mea-
surement and recognition principles  applied.

Typically,  UBS  applies  the  fair  value  option  to  hybrid  in-
struments (see part 8)), in which case bifurcation of an em-
bedded derivative component is not required.

16) Loan commitments
Loan  commitments  are  defined  amounts  (unutilized  credit 
lines or undrawn portions of credit lines) against which cus-
tomers can borrow money at defined terms and conditions. 
Loan commitments that can be cancelled by UBS at any 
time  (without  giving  a  reason)  according  to  their  general 
terms  and  conditions  are  neither  recognized  on-balance 
sheet nor off-balance sheet. Upon a loan draw down by the 
counterparty,  the  amount  of  the  loan  is  accounted  for  as 
“Loans and receivables” (refer to part 10). 

Irrevocable loan commitments (where UBS has no right to 
withdraw the loan commitment once communicated to the 
beneficiary or that is revocable only due to automatic cancel-
lation  upon  the  deterioration  in  a  borrower’s  creditworthi-
ness) are classified into the following categories: 
–  Derivative  loan  commitments  (loan  commitments  that 
can be settled net in cash or by delivering or issuing an-
other financial instrument) or if there is evidence that UBS 
is  selling  similar  loans  resulting  from  its  loan  commit-
ments before or shortly after origination (refer to part 15).
–  Loan commitments designated at fair value through prof-

it and loss (“Fair value option”) (refer to part 8).

–  Below  market  loan  commitments.  Below  market  loan 
commitments  are  recognized  at  fair  value  and  subse-
quently measured at the higher of the initially recognized 
liability  at  fair  value  less  cumulative  amortization  and  a 
provision (refer to part 26). UBS uses them only in specific 
situations (e.g. restructuring, insolvency).

–  Other  loan  commitments.  Other  loan  commitments  are 
not recorded in the balance sheet. However, a provision is 
recognized if it is probable that a loss has been incurred 
and a reliable estimate of the amount of the obligation 
can be made (refer to part 26).

17) Cash and cash equivalents
For  purposes  of  the  cash  flow  statement,  cash  and  cash 
equivalents comprise balances with less than three months’ 
maturity  from  the  date  of  acquisition  including  cash  and 
non-restricted  balances  with  central  banks,  treasury  bills, 
balances included in Due from banks, as well as money mar-
ket paper included in Trading portfolio assets and Financial 
investments available-for-sale. 

18) Physical commodities
Physical commodities (precious metals, base metals, energy 
and other commodities) held by UBS as a result of its broker-
trader activities are accounted for at fair value less costs to 
sell and recognized within the Trading portfolio. Changes in 
fair value less costs to sell are recorded in Net trading  income.

19) Property and equipment
Property  and  equipment  includes  own-used  properties,  in-
vestment  properties,  leasehold  improvements,  IT,  software 
and communication and other machines and equipment.

With  the  exception  of  investment  properties,  Property 
and equipment is carried at cost, less accumulated deprecia-
tion and accumulated impairment losses, and is periodically 
reviewed  for  impairment.  The  useful  life  of  property  and 
equipment is estimated on the basis of the economic utiliza-
tion of the asset.

Classification for own-used property
Own-used property is defined as property held by the Group 
for  use  in  the  supply  of  services  or  for  administrative  pur-
poses,  whereas  investment  property  is  defined  as  property 
held to earn rental income and / or for capital appreciation. If 
a property of the Group includes a portion that is own-used 
and another portion that is held to earn rental income or for 
capital appreciation, the classification is based on whether or 
not these portions can be sold separately. If the portions of 
the property can be sold separately, they are separately ac-
counted for as own-used property and investment property. 
If the portions cannot be sold separately, the whole property 
is classified as own-used property unless the portion used by 
the Group is minor. The classification of property is reviewed 
on a regular basis to account for major changes in its usage.

Leasehold improvements
Leasehold improvements are investments made to custom-
ize  buildings  and  offices  occupied  under  operating  lease 
contracts to make them suitable for the intended purpose. 
The present value of estimated reinstatement costs to bring 
a leased property into its original condition at the end of the 
lease, if required, is capitalized as part of the total leasehold 
improvements costs. At the same time, a corresponding lia-
bility  is  recognized  to  reflect  the  obligation  incurred.  Rein-
statement  costs  are  recognized  in  profit  and  loss  through 
depreciation of the capitalized leasehold improvements over 
their estimated useful lives.

Software
Software development costs are capitalized when they meet 
certain  criteria  relating  to  identifiability,  it  is  probable  that 
future economic benefits will flow to the enterprise, and the 
cost can be measured reliably. Internally developed software 
meeting these criteria and purchased software are classified 
within IT, software and communication.

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Property held for sale
Non-current property formerly own-used or leased to third 
parties under an operating lease and equipment the Group 
has decided to sell and for which sale within 12 months is 
highly probable are classified as non-current assets held for 
sale and recorded in Other assets. Upon classification as held 
for  sale,  they  are  no  longer  depreciated  and  are  carried  at 
the lower of book value or net realizable value. Foreclosed 
properties  and  other  properties  classified  as  current  assets 
are included in Properties held for sale and recorded in Other 
assets. They are carried at the lower of book value and net 
realizable value.

Investment property
Investment property is carried at fair value with changes in 
fair value recognized in the income statement in the period 
of change. UBS employs internal real estate experts to deter-
mine the fair value of investment property by applying rec-
ognized  valuation  techniques.  In  cases  where  prices  of  re-
cent  market  transactions  of  comparable  properties  are 
available,  fair  value  is  determined  by  reference  to  these 
transactions.

Estimated useful life of property and equipment
Property and equipment is depreciated on a straight-line ba-
sis over its estimated useful life as follows:

Properties, excluding land 

Leasehold improvements 

Other machines and equipment 

IT, software and communication 

Not exceeding 50 years

Residual lease term,
but not exceeding 10 years 

Not exceeding 10 years

Not exceeding 5 years

20) Goodwill and intangible assets
Goodwill represents the excess of the cost of an acquisition 
over  the  fair  value  of  the  Group’s  share  of  net  identifiable 
assets  of  the  acquired  entity  at  the  date  of  acquisition. 
Goodwill is not amortized; it is tested yearly for impairment, 
and,  additionally,  when  a  reasonable  indication  of  impair-
ment  exists.  The  impairment  test  is  conducted  at  the  seg-
ment  level  as  reported  in  Note  2a.  The  segment  has  been 
determined as the cash-generating unit for impairment test-
ing purposes as this is the level at which the performance of 
investments is reviewed and assessed by management. Refer 
to Note 16 for details.

Intangible assets comprise separately identifiable intangi-
ble items arising from business combinations and certain pur-
chased  trademarks  and  similar  items.  Intangible  assets  are 
recognized at cost. The cost of an intangible asset acquired in 
a business combination is its fair value at the date of acquisi-
tion. Intangible assets with a definite useful life are amortized 
using  the  straight-line  method  over  their  estimated  useful 
economic  life,  generally  not  exceeding  20  years.  Intangible 
assets with an indefinite useful life are not amortized. Gener-

ally, all identified intangible assets of UBS have a definite use-
ful life. At each balance sheet date, intangible assets are re-
viewed for indications of impairment or changes in estimated 
future benefits. If such indications exist, the intangible assets 
are analyzed to assess whether their carrying amount is fully 
recoverable. An impairment loss is recognized if the carrying 
amount exceeds the recoverable amount.

Intangible assets are classified into two categories: a) in-
frastructure,  and  b)  customer  relationships,  contractual 
rights and other. Infrastructure consists of an intangible asset 
recognized in connection with the acquisition of PaineWeb-
ber  Group,  Inc.  Customer  relationships,  contractual  rights 
and  other  includes  mainly  intangible  assets  for  client  rela-
tionships,  non-compete  agreements,  favorable  contracts, 
proprietary software, trademarks and trade names acquired 
in business combinations. 

21) Income taxes
Income tax payable on profits is recognized as an expense 
based on the applicable tax laws in each jurisdiction in the 
period in which profits arise. The tax effects of income tax 
losses  available  for  carry  forward  are  recognized  as  a  de-
ferred tax asset if it is probable that future taxable profit will 
be available against which those losses can be utilized.

Deferred tax liabilities are recognized for temporary  dif-
ferences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabili-
ties in the balance sheet and their amounts as measured for 
tax purposes, which will result in taxable amounts in future 
periods.  Deferred  tax  assets  are  recognized  for  temporary 
differences  that  will  result  in  deductible  amounts  in  future 
periods, but only to the extent it is probable that sufficient 
taxable  profits  will  be  available  against  which  these  differ-
ences can be utilized.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured at the tax 
rates that are expected to apply in the period in which the 
asset will be realized or the liability will be settled based on 
enacted rates.

Tax assets and liabilities of the same type (current or de-
ferred) are offset when they arise from the same tax report-
ing  group,  they  relate  to  the  same  tax  authority,  the  legal 
right to offset exists, and they are intended to be settled net 
or realized simultaneously.

Current and deferred taxes are recognized as income tax 
benefit or expense except for current and deferred taxes rec-
ognized (i) upon the acquisition of a subsidiary, (ii) for unreal-
ized  gains  or  losses  on  financial  investments  available-for-
sale,  for  changes  in  fair  value  of  derivative  instruments 
designated as cash flow hedges, and for certain foreign cur-
rency  translations  of  foreign  operations,  (iii)  for  certain  tax 
benefits on deferred compensation awards, and (iv) for gains 
and losses on the sale of treasury shares. Deferred taxes rec-
ognized in a business combination (item (i)) are considered 
when  determining  goodwill.  Items  (ii),  (iii)  and  (iv)  are  re-
corded in Net income recognized directly in equity.

272

 
22) Debt issued 

Money Market paper
Money market paper issued is initially measured at fair value, 
which is the consideration received, net of transaction costs 
incurred. Subsequent measurement is at amortized cost, us-
ing  the  effective  interest  rate  method  to  amortize  cost  at 
inception to the redemption value over the life of the debt. 

Debt without embedded derivative
Issued  debt  instruments  without  embedded  derivatives  are 
accounted for at amortized cost. However, it is the Group’s 
policy to apply fair value hedge accounting to its fixed-rate 
debt instruments when the interest rate risk is managed on 
a mark-to-market basis. When fair value hedge accounting is 
applied to fixed-rate debt instruments, the carrying values of 
debt issued are adjusted for changes in fair value related to 
the hedged exposure rather than carried at amortized cost 
– refer to part 15) for further discussion.

Debt with embedded derivatives (related to UBS AG shares)
Debt instruments issued with embedded derivatives that are re-
lated to UBS AG shares (e.g. mandatory convertible notes) are 
separated into a liability and an equity component at issue date 
if the derivative is settled by UBS receiving or delivering a fixed 
number  of  its  own  shares  in  exchange  for  a  fixed  amount  of 
cash or another financial asset. When a hybrid debt instrument 
is issued, a portion of the net proceeds is allocated to the debt 
component  based  on  its  fair  value.  The  determination  of  fair 
value is generally based on quoted market prices for UBS debt 
instruments  with  comparable  terms.  The  debt  component  is 
subsequently measured at amortized cost or at fair value through 
profit or loss, if the fair value option is applied. The remaining 
amount of the net proceeds is allocated to the equity compo-
nent  and  reported  in  Share  premium.  Subsequent  changes  in 
fair  value  of  the  separated  equity  component  are  not  recog-
nized. However, if the hybrid debt instrument or the embedded 
derivative related to UBS AG shares is to be cash settled or if it 
contains a cash or net share settlement alternative, then the sep-
arated derivative is accounted for as a freestanding derivative, 
with changes in fair value recorded in Net trading income unless 
the  entire  hybrid  debt  instrument  is  designated  at  fair  value 
through profit or loss (“Fair Value Option”) – refer to part 8).

Debt with embedded derivatives  
(not related to UBS AG shares)
Debt instruments issued with embedded derivatives that are 
related  to  non-UBS  AG  equity  instruments,  foreign  ex-
change, interest rate, credit instruments or indices are con-
sidered  structured  debt  instruments.  UBS  has  designated 
most of its structured debt instruments at fair value through 
profit or loss (“Fair Value Option”) – see part 8). If such in-
struments  have  not  been  designated  at  fair  value  through 
profit or loss, the embedded derivative is separated from the 

host contract and accounted for as a standalone derivative if 
the criteria for separation are met. The host contract is sub-
sequently measured at amortized cost. The fair value option 
is  not  applied  to  certain  hybrid  instruments  which  contain 
bifurcatable  embedded  derivatives  with  references  to  for-
eign exchange rates and precious metal prices and which are 
not hedged by derivative instruments. Those hybrids are still 
subject to bifurcation of the embedded derivative.

Bonds  issued  by  UBS  held  as  a  result  of  market  making 
activities or deliberate purchases in the market are treated as 
redemption of debt. A gain or loss on redemption is recorded 
depending on whether the repurchase price of the bond is 
lower or higher than its carrying value. A subsequent sale of 
own bonds in the market is treated as a reissuance of debt.

Interest expense on debt instruments is included in Inter-
est on debt issued. Refer to Note 19 for further details on 
debt issued.

23) Post-employment benefits
UBS sponsors a number of post-employment benefit plans 
for its employees worldwide, which include defined benefit 
and  defined  contribution  plans,  and  other  post-retirement 
benefits such as medical and life insurance benefits. 

Defined benefit plans
Typically defined benefit plans define an amount of pension 
benefit that an employee will receive on retirement, usually 
dependent on one or more factors such as age, years of ser-
vice and compensation. 

The  defined  benefit  liability  recognized  in  the  balance 
sheet is the present value of the defined obligation at the bal-
ance sheet date less the fair value of the plan assets at the 
balance sheet date, together with adjustments for any unrec-
ognized actuarial gains and losses and unrecognized past ser-
vice cost. If the defined benefit liability is negative (i.e. a de-
fined benefit asset) measurement of the asset is limited to the 
lower of the defined benefit asset and the total of any cumu-
lative  unrecognized  net  actuarial  losses  plus  unrecognized 
past service cost plus the present value of economic benefits 
available in the form of refunds from the plan or reductions 
in future contributions to the plan. UBS applies the projected 
unit credit method to determine the present value of its de-
fined benefit obligation and the related current service cost 
and, where applicable, past service cost. These amounts are 
calculated  annually  by  independent  actuaries.  The  principal 
actuarial assumptions used are set out in Note 30.

UBS recognizes a portion of its actuarial gains and losses 
as income or expense if the net cumulative unrecognized ac-
tuarial gains and losses at the end of the previous reporting 
period are outside the corridor defined as the greater of:

a) 10% of the present value of the defined benefit obligation at that 
date (before deducting the fair value of plan assets); and

b) 10% of the fair value of any plan assets at that date.

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

The  unrecognized  actuarial  gains  and  losses  exceeding 
the greater of these two values are recognized in the income 
statement  over  the  expected  average  remaining  working 
lives of the employees participating in the plans.

UBS recognizes curtailments on its defined benefit plans 
when  the  reductions  in  expected  future  service  and  in  the 
defined benefit obligation are 10% or more. Reductions in 
expected future service and in the defined benefit obligation 
of between 5% and 10% are recognized if deemed materi-
al, and reductions of less than 5% are generally not recog-
nized.

Defined contribution plans
A defined contribution plan is a pension plan under which 
UBS pays fixed contributions into a separate entity. UBS has 
no legal or constructive obligation to pay further contribu-
tions if the plan does not hold sufficient assets to pay em-
ployees the benefits relating to employee service in the cur-
rent  and  prior  periods.  UBS’s  contributions  are  expensed 
when the employees have rendered services in exchange for 
such contributions; this is generally in the year of contribu-
tion. Prepaid contributions are recognized as an asset to the 
extent that a cash refund or a reduction in the future pay-
ments is available.

Other post-retirement benefits
UBS also provides post-retirement medical and life insurance 
benefits to retirees in the US and the UK. The expected costs 
of these benefits are recognized over the period of employ-
ment using the same accounting methodology used for the 
defined benefit plans. 

24) Equity participation and other compensation plans 

Equity participation plans
UBS has established several equity participation plans in the 
form of share plans, option plans and share-settled stock ap-
preciation right (SAR) plans. UBS’s equity participation plans 
are mandatory, discretionary, or voluntary plans. UBS recog-
nizes the fair value of share, option and SAR awards, deter-
mined at the date of grant, as compensation expense over 
the  period  that  the  employee  is  required  to  provide  active 
services in order to earn the award. 
  Plans containing voluntary termination non-compete pro-
visions (i.e. good leaver clauses) and no vesting conditions are 
considered vested at the grant date because no future service 
is required. Compensation expense is fully recognized on the 
grant date or is recognized in a period prior to the grant date 
if the bank can substantiate that the award is attributable to 
past service and the amount of the award can be reasonably 
and reliably estimated. The awards remain forfeitable until the 
legal vesting date if certain conditions are not met. Forfeiture 
events occurring after the grant date do not result in a reversal 
of  compensation  expense  because  the  related  services  have 

been  received.  Forfeiture  events  occurring  before  the  grant 
date result in the reversal of compensation expense. 
  Plans  containing  vesting  conditions  have  either  a  tiered 
vesting structure, which vest in increments over that period 
or a cliff vesting structure, which vest at the end of the pe-
riod. Such plans may contain provisions that shorten the re-
quired service period due to retirement eligibility. In such in-
stances,  UBS  recognizes  compensation  expense  over  the 
shorter of the legal vesting period and the period from grant 
to the retirement eligibility date of the employee. Forfeiture 
of these awards during the service period results in a reversal 
of compensation expense.

The fair value of a share is determined as the average of 
the high and low UBS share price at the date of grant ad-
justed, where applicable, for an employee’s non-entitlement 
to dividends during the vesting period, any post-vesting sale 
and hedge restrictions, and non-vesting conditions. The fair 
value of an option and a SAR is determined by means of a 
Monte Carlo simulation which takes into account the spe-
cific terms and conditions under which the options and SARs 
are granted. 

Equity settled awards are classified as equity instruments. 
The fair value of an equity-settled award is not remeasured 
subsequent to the grant date, unless an award is modified 
such  that  its  fair  value  immediately  after  modification  ex-
ceeds  its  fair  value  immediately  prior  to  modification.  Any 
increase in fair value resulting from a modification is recog-
nized  as  compensation  expense,  either  over  the  remaining 
service period or immediately for vested awards.

Cash settled awards are classified as liabilities and remea-
sured to fair value at each balance sheet date as long as the 
award is outstanding. Decreases in fair value reduce compen-
sation expense, and no compensation expense, on a cumu-
lative basis, is recognized for awards that expire worthless or 
remain unexercised.

Other compensation plans
UBS has established other fixed and variable deferred cash 
compensation  plans,  the  value  of  which  is  not  linked  to 
UBS’s own equity. UBS’s deferred cash compensation plans 
are mandatory or discretionary plans. 

The grant date fair value of fixed deferred cash awards is 
recognized as compensation expense over the service peri-
od, which is the period the employee is obligated to work in 
order to become entitled to the award. 

Variable deferred cash compensation is generally awarded 
in  the  form  of  alternative  investment  vehicles  (AIVs).  The 
grant date fair value for AIVs is based on the fair value of the 
underlying  assets  (i.e.  money  market  funds,  UBS  and  non-
UBS mutual funds and other UBS sponsored funds) on grant 
date and is subsequently marked-to-market at each reporting 
date until the award is distributed. Forfeiture of these awards 
results in the reversal of expense. Refer to Note 31 for further 
details on equity participation and other compensation plans.

274

25) Amounts due under unit-linked investment contracts
UBS’s financial liabilities from unit-linked contracts are pre-
sented as Other liabilities (refer to Note 20) on the balance 
sheet. These contracts allow investors to invest in a pool of 
assets through investment units issued by a UBS subsidiary. 
The unit holders receive all rewards and bear all risks associ-
ated with the reference asset pool. The financial liability rep-
resents the amount due to unit holders and is equal to the 
fair value of the reference asset pool.

Assets  held  under  unit-linked  investment  contract  are 

presented as trading portfolio assets.

26) Provisions
Provisions are recognized when UBS has a present legal or 
constructive obligation as a result of past events, it is prob-
able that an outflow of resources will be required to settle 
the  obligation  and  the  amount  can  be  reliably  estimated. 
Provisions are reflected under Other liabilities on the balance 
sheet. Refer to Note 21.

The  majority  of  UBS’s  provisions  relate  to  operational 
risks,  including  litigation  and  restructuring  costs.  When  a 
provision is recognized, its amount needs to be estimated as 
the  exact  amount  of  the  obligation  is  generally  unknown. 
The  estimate  is  based  on  all  available  information  and  re-
flects the amount that has the highest probability of being 
paid. UBS revises existing provisions up or down as soon as it 
is able to quantify the amounts more accurately. 

27) Equity, treasury shares and contracts on UBS shares

UBS AG shares held
UBS AG shares held by the Group are classified in Equity as 
Treasury  shares  and  accounted  for  at  cost.  Treasury  shares 
are deducted from total shareholders’ equity until they are 
cancelled or reissued. The difference between the proceeds 
from  sales  of  Treasury  shares  and  their  weighted  average 
cost (net of tax, if any) is reported as Share premium.

Contracts with gross physical settlement  
(except physically settled written put options and  
forward share purchase contracts)
Contracts that require gross physical settlement in UBS AG 
shares are classified in Equity as Share premium (provided a 
fixed  amount  of  shares  are  exchanged  against  a  fixed 
amount of cash) and accounted for at cost. They are added 
to  or  deducted  from  equity  until  settlement  of  such  con-
tracts. Upon settlement of such contracts, the difference be-
tween  the  proceeds  received  and  their  cost  (net  of  tax,  if 
any) are reported as Share premium.

Transaction cost related to share issuance of equity 
instruments
Incremental  costs  directly  attributable  to  the  issue  of  new 
shares or contracts with physical settlement (classified as eq-

uity  instruments)  are  shown  in  equity  as  “transaction  cost 
related to share issuance” and are a deduction of equity, net 
of tax, from the proceeds.

Contracts with net cash settlement or net cash settlement 
option
Contracts  on  UBS  AG  shares  that  require  net  cash  settle-
ment, or provide the counterparty or UBS with a settlement 
option  which  includes  a  choice  of  settling  net  in  cash  are 
classified as trading instruments, with changes in fair value 
reported in the income statement as “net trading income”, 
except for written put options and forward share purchase 
contracts.

Physically settled written put options and forward share 
purchase contracts
Physically settled written put options and forward share pur-
chase  contracts,  including  contracts  where  physical  settle-
ment is a settlement alternative, result in the recognition of 
a financial liability. At inception of the contract, the present 
value of the obligation to purchase own shares in exchange 
for cash is transferred out of Equity and recognized as a lia-
bility. The liability is subsequently accreted, using the effec-
tive interest rate method, over the life of the contract to the 
nominal  purchase  obligation  by  recognizing  interest  ex-
pense. Upon settlement of the contract, the liability is derec-
ognized, and the amount of equity originally recognized as a 
liability  is  reclassified  within  Equity  to  Treasury  shares.  The 
premium received for writing put options is recognized di-
rectly in Share premium.

Minority interests
Net profit and Equity are presented including minority inter-
ests.  Net  profit  is  split  into  Net  profit  attributable  to  UBS 
shareholders  and  Net  profit  attributable  to  minority  inter-
ests. Equity is split into Equity attributable to UBS sharehold-
ers and Equity attributable to minority interests. 

Trust preferred securities issued
UBS has issued trust preferred securities through consolidat-
ed preferred funding trusts which hold debt issued by UBS. 
UBS AG has fully and unconditionally guaranteed all of these 
securities. UBS’s obligations under these guarantees are sub-
ordinated to the prior payment in full of the deposit liabilities 
of  UBS  and  all  other  liabilities  of  UBS.  The  trust  preferred 
securities  represent  equity  instruments  which  are  held  by 
third parties and treated as minority interests in UBS’s con-
solidated  financial  statements.  The  full  dividend  payment 
obligation on these trust preferred securities issued is reclas-
sified from Equity to a corresponding liability once a coupon 
payment becomes mandatory, i.e. when it is triggered by a 
contractually determined event. In the income statement the 
full dividend payment is reclassified from Net profit attribut-
able to UBS shareholders to Net profit attributable to minor-

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

ity interests at that time. UBS bonds held by preferred fund-
ing trusts are eliminated in consolidation.

finance lease, while the non-existence of such conditions nor-
mally leads to a classification as an operating lease. 

28) Discontinued operations and non-current assets held 
for sale
UBS classifies individual non-current non-financial assets and 
disposal  groups  as  held  for  sale  if  such  assets  or  disposal 
groups are available for immediate sale in their present con-
dition subject to terms that are usual and customary for sales 
of such assets or disposal groups, management is committed 
to a plan to sell such assets and is actively looking for a buy-
er,  the  assets  are  being  actively  marketed  at  a  reasonable 
sales price in relation to their fair value, the sale is expected 
to be completed within one year, and their sale is considered 
highly  probable.  These  assets  (and  liabilities  in  the  case  of 
disposal groups) are measured at the lower of their carrying 
amount and fair value less costs to sell and presented in Oth-
er assets and Other liabilities (see Notes 17 and 20). Netting 
of assets and liabilities is not permitted.

UBS presents discontinued operations in a separate line in 
the income statement if an entity or a component of an entity 
has  been  disposed  of  or  is  classified  as  held  for  sale  and  a) 
represents a separate major line of business or geographical 
area of operations, b) is part of a single coordinated plan to 
dispose of a separate major line of business or geographical 
area  of  operations,  or  c)  is  a  subsidiary  acquired  exclusively 
with a view to resale (e.g. certain private equity investments). 
Net profit from discontinued operations includes the net total 
of  operating  profit  and  loss  before  tax  from  operations,  in-
cluding net gain or loss on sale before tax or measurement to 
fair  value  less  costs  to  sell  and  discontinued  operations  tax 
expense. A component of an entity comprises operations and 
cash flows that can be clearly distinguished, operationally and 
for financial reporting purposes, from the rest of UBS’s opera-
tions and cash flows. If an entity or a component of an entity 
is  classified  as  a  discontinued  operation,  UBS  restates  prior 
periods in the income statement. Refer to Note 37 for details.

29) Leasing
UBS  enters  into  lease  contracts,  predominantly  of  premises 
and equipment, as a lessor and a lessee. The terms and condi-
tions of these contracts are assessed and the leases are classi-
fied  as  operating  leases  or  finance  leases  according  to  their 
economic substance. When making such an assessment, the 
Group focuses on the following aspects: a) transfer of owner-
ship of the asset to the lessee at the end of the lease term; b) 
existence of a bargain purchase option held by the lessee; c) 
whether the lease term is for the major part of the economic 
life of the asset; d) whether the present value of the minimum 
lease payments is substantially equal to the fair value of the 
leased asset at inception of the lease term; and e) whether the 
asset  is  of  a  specialized  nature  that  only  the  lessee  can  use 
without  major modifications being made. If one or more of 
the  conditions  are  met,  the  lease  is  generally  classified  as  a 

Lease contracts classified as operating leases where UBS is 
the lessee are disclosed in Note 25. These contracts include 
non-cancellable long-term leases of office buildings in most 
UBS  locations.  Lease  contracts  classified  as  operating  leases 
where  UBS  is  the  lessor,  and  finance  lease  contracts  where 
UBS is the lessor or the lessee, are not material. Contractual 
arrangements which are not considered leases in their entirety 
but which include lease elements are not material to UBS. 

UBS  recognizes  a  provision  for  a  lease  contract  of  office 
space if the unavoidable costs of a contract exceed the bene-
fits to be received under it, which requires that a lease contract 
is considered onerous in its entirety. A provision for onerous 
lease contracts often includes significant vacant rental space.

30) Fee income
UBS earns fee income from a diverse range of services it pro-
vides to its customers. Fee income can be divided into two 
broad categories: income earned from services that are pro-
vided over a certain period of time, for which customers are 
generally billed on an annual or semi-annual basis, and in-
come earned from providing transaction-type services. Fees 
earned from services that are provided over a certain period 
of time are recognized ratably over the service period. Fees 
earned  from  providing  transaction-type  services  are  recog-
nized when the service has been completed. Performance-
linked fees or fee components are recognized when the rec-
ognition  criteria  are  fulfilled.  Loan  commitment  fees  on 
lending  arrangements  where  the  initial  expectation  is  that 
the loan will be drawn down at some point are deferred un-
til the loan is drawn down, and then recognized as an ad-
justment to the effective yield over the life of the loan.

The following fee income is predominantly earned from 
services that are provided over a period of time: investment 
fund fees, fiduciary fees, custodian fees, portfolio and other 
management  and  advisory  fees,  insurance-related  fees, 
credit-related fees and commissions received up-front. Fees 
predominantly  earned  from  providing  transaction-type  ser-
vices include underwriting fees, corporate finance fees and 
brokerage fees.

31) Foreign currency translation
Transactions  denominated  in  foreign  currency  are  translated 
into the functional currency of the reporting unit at the spot 
exchange rate on the date of the transaction. At the balance 
sheet date, all assets and liabilities denominated in foreign cur-
rency except non-monetary items are translated using the clos-
ing exchange rate. Non-monetary items measured in terms of 
historical cost are translated at the exchange rate at the date 
of the transaction. Resulting foreign exchange differences are 
recognized  in  Net  trading  income,  except  for  non-monetary 
financial investments available-for-sale which are recorded di-
rectly in Equity until the asset is sold or becomes impaired.

276

Upon consolidation, assets and liabilities of foreign oper-
ations are translated into Swiss francs (CHF) – UBS’s presen-
tation currency – at the closing exchange rate at the balance 
sheet date, and income and expense items are translated at 
the  average  rate  for  the  period.  Differences  resulting  from 
the use of different exchange rates are recognized directly in 
Foreign currency translation within Equity. Upon disposal of 
foreign  operations  the  related  foreign  currency  translation 
impact previously deferred in equity is reclassified to Other 
income.

32) Earnings per share (EPS) 
Basic  earnings  per  share  are  calculated  by  dividing  the  net 
profit  or  loss  for  the  period  attributable  to  ordinary  share-
holders by the weighted average number of ordinary shares 
outstanding during the period.

Diluted earnings per share are calculated using the same 
method as for basic EPS and adjusting the net profit or loss 
for the period attributable to ordinary shareholders and the 
weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding to 
reflect the potential dilution that could occur if options, war-
rants, convertible debt securities or other contracts to issue 
ordinary  shares  were  converted  or  exercised  into  ordinary 
shares.

33) Segment reporting 
In  2009,  UBS‘s  businesses,  i.e.  wealth  management  and 
Swiss banking business, asset management and investment 
banking were organized on a worldwide basis into four busi-
ness divisions and the Corporate Center, taken into consid-
eration the economic characteristics of the businesses. The 
four  business  divisions,  also  known  as  the  operating  seg-
ments or reportable segments, were Wealth Management & 
Swiss  Bank,  Wealth  Management  Americas,  Global  Asset 
Management and Investment Bank. In the internal manage-
ment report to the Group Executive Board (GEB) or the chief 
operating  decision  maker,  the  financial  information  about 
the  four  reportable  segments  and  Corporate  Center  was 
separately  presented.  This  internal  management  view  was 
the basis for the external segment reporting. Corporate Cen-
ter  predominantly  includes  certain  costs  relating  to  Group 
functions and elimination items and it is not considered an 
operating segment under IFRS 8. The costs of shared service 
functions  like  risk  management  and  control,  finance,  legal 
and compliance, marketing and communications, human re-
sources,  information  technology  infrastructure  and  service 
centres are charged out to the business divisions based on 
internal accounting policies.

UBS’s internal accounting policies determine the revenues 
and expenses directly attributable to each business division. 
Internal charges and transfer pricing adjustments are reflect-
ed in the business division performances.

Revenue-sharing  agreements  are  used  to  allocate  exter-
nal customer revenues to business divisions on a reasonable 
basis.  Due  to  the  present  arrangement  of  revenue-sharing 
agreements, the total intersegment revenues for UBS are im-
material. 

The costs of shared services and control functions man-
aged  by  Corporate  Center  are  allocated  to  the  direct  cost 
lines of personnel expenses, general and administrative ex-
penses  and  depreciation  in  the  respective  business  division 
income  statements,  based  on  internally  determined  alloca-
tion keys. 

Net interest income is allocated to the business divisions 
based  on  their  balance  sheet  positions.  Assets  and  liabili-
ties of the business divisions are funded through and invest-
ed with the central treasury department, with the net mar-
gin  reflected  in  the  results  of  each  business  division.  To 
complete the allocation, Corporate Center transfers interest 
income  earned  from  managing  UBS’s  consolidated  equity 
back to the reportable segments based on the average at-
tributed equity.

Commissions are credited to the business division based 
on the corresponding customer relationship. Revenue-shar-
ing agreements are used for the allocation of customer rev-
enues  where  several  business  divisions  are  involved  in  the 
value-creation chain.

In line with the internal management reporting, segment 
assets are reported without intercompany balances or on a 
third-party  view  basis.  Refer  to  Note  2a  “Segment  report-
ing”. For the purpose of segment reporting under IFRS 8, the 
non-current  assets  consist  of  investment  in  associates  and 
joint  ventures,  goodwill,  other  intangible  assets  as  well  as 
plant, property and equipment.

34) Netting
UBS nets assets and liabilities in its balance sheet if it has a 
legally enforceable right to set off the recognized amounts 
and intends either to settle on a net basis, or to realize the 
asset and settle the liability simultaneously. Netted positions 
include positive and negative replacement values of OTC in-
terest  rate  swaps  transacted  with  London  Clearing  House. 
The positions are netted by currency and across maturities. 
Furthermore,  amounts  included  in  Loans  and  Due  to  cus-
tomers  related to UBS’s Prime Brokerage Business have been 
netted, where possible.

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277

 
Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

b) Changes in accounting policies, comparability and other adjustments

Restatements made to the financial statements 2008

UBS  has  restated  its  2008  financial  statements  to  correct 
identified  accounting  errors  related  to  the  2008  financial 
statements. These errors were not material to the annual or 
quarterly 2008 financial statements, but related corrections 
would  have  been  material  to  first  quarter  2009  financial 
statements. On 21 May 2009, UBS re-filed its US Form 20-F 
for the year 2008, which included the restated 2008 finan-
cial  statements.  The  restatement  comprises  three  items  in 
excess of CHF 100 million as follows: 

The fair value of auction rate securities purchase commit-
ments at 31 December 2008, which are recognized as nega-
tive  replacement  values  on  UBS’s  balance  sheet,  was  in-
creased  by  CHF  112  million,  resulting  in  a  corresponding 
charge to net trading income.

For  certain  assets  reclassified  from  “Held-for-trading”  to 
“Loans and receivables” in fourth quarter 2008, recognition 
of interest income based on the effective interest rate meth-
od was reduced by CHF 180 million. Other assets were re-
duced accordingly as of 31 December 2008.

The partial disposals of an investment in a consolidated 
investment fund in 2008 gave rise to the realization of the 
related  foreign  currency  translation  loss  deferred  in  share-
holders’  equity.  This  adjustment  reduced  other  income  for 
the  year  2008  by  CHF  192  million  but  did  not  have  a  net 
impact on UBS’s equity. In addition to the abovementioned 
items, a number of misstatements individually below CHF 65 
million  were  adjusted.  The  aggregate  net  effect  of  these 
items on net profit attributable to UBS shareholders was an 
increase of net profit attributable to shareholders of CHF 79 
million.

The total net impact of all restated items on the 2008 re-
sults was a reduction of net profit and net profit attributable 
to UBS shareholders of CHF 405 million, a reduction of eq-
uity and equity attributable to UBS shareholders of CHF 269 
million,  and  a  reduction  of  basic  and  diluted  earnings  per 
share by CHF 0.15 and CHF 0.14 respectively. There was no 
effect on income tax expense. 

Effective 2009

IAS 1 (revised) Presentation of Financial Statements 
Effective 1 January 2009, the revised International Account-
ing  Standard  (IAS)  1  affected  the  presentation  of  owner 
changes in equity and of comprehensive income. UBS con-
tinued to present owner changes in equity in the “statement 
of changes in equity”, but detailed information relating to 
non-owner  changes  in  equity,  such  as  foreign  exchange 
translation,  cash  flow  hedges  and  financial  investments 
available-for-sale, were presented in the “Statement of com-
prehensive income”. 

When implementing these amendments effective 1 Janu-
ary 2009, UBS also adjusted the format of its “statement of 
changes  in  equity”  and  replaced  the  “statement  of  recog-
nized  income  and  expense”  in  the  financial  statements  of 
previous  years  with  a  “statement  of  comprehensive  in-
come”. Preferred securities issued by consolidated trusts are 
reported  as  “equity  attributable  to  minority  interests”,  as 
they  are  equity  instruments  held  by  third  parties.  As  these 
securities make up the largest part of UBS’s equity attribut-
able to minority interests, UBS discloses movement informa-
tion in a separate table.

UBS  also  re-assessed  its  accounting  treatment  of  divi-
dends from trust preferred securities. In line with the classifi-
cation  of  trust  preferred  securities  as  equity  instruments, 
UBS recognizes liabilities for the full dividend payment obli-
gation  once  a  coupon  payment  becomes  mandatory,  i.e., 
when it is triggered by a contractually determined event. In 
the income statement, the same amount is reclassified from 
net profit attributable to UBS shareholders to net profit at-
tributable to minority interests.

IAS 1 (revised) Presentation of Financial Statements, and 
IAS 32 (revised) Financial Instruments: Presentation
The  IASB  issued  a  further  amendment  to  IAS  1  and  an 
amendment  to  IAS  32  regarding  puttable  financial  instru-
ments  and  obligations  arising  on  liquidation.  The  IAS  32 
amendment clarifies under which circumstances puttable fi-
nancial  instruments  and  obligations  arising  on  liquidation 
have to be treated as equity instruments.

The  amendment  is  limited  in  scope  and  is  restricted  to 
the  accounting  for  such  instruments  under  IAS  1,  IAS  32, 
IAS 39 and IFRS 7. The amendment to IAS 1 requires addi-
tional  information  about  puttable  financial  instruments 
and  obligations  arising  on  liquidations  which  have  to  be 
treated  as  equity  instruments.  UBS  adopted  the  amend-
ments on 1 January 2009. The adoption of the amendments 
did  not  have  a  significant  impact  on  UBS’s  Financial  State-
ments.

IFRS 8 Operating Segments 
Effective as of 1 January 2009, UBS adopted IFRS 8 Operat-
ing  Segments  which  replaced  IAS  14  Segment  Reporting. 
Under the requirements of the new standard, UBS’s external 
segmental reporting is now based on the internal manage-
ment reporting to the Group Executive Board (or the “chief 
operating decision maker”), which makes decisions on the 
allocation of resources and assesses the performance of the 
reportable segments.

In accordance with the new UBS structure announced in 
February  2009,  UBS  disclosed  four  reportable  segments. 
These segments are the business divisions – Wealth Manage-
ment & Swiss Bank, Wealth Management Americas, Global 

278

Asset Management and Investment Bank. While the Corpo-
rate Center does not meet the requirements of an operating 
segment,  it  is  also  shown  separately.  Segment  information 
from prior periods in Note 2a has been restated to conform 
to the requirements of this new standard. In addition, good-
will  and  intangible  assets  presented  in  Note  16  have  also 
been reallocated in order to reflect the revised segment re-
porting structure. 

As UBS’s reportable segment operations are mainly finan-
cial, the total interest income and expense for all reportable 
segments are presented on a net basis. Based on the present 
arrangement of revenue-sharing agreements, the total inter-
segment revenues for UBS are immaterial. Apart from that, 
the segment assets are disclosed without the intercompany 
balances and this basis is in line with the internal manage-
ment reporting. For more details on the basis on which the 
segment  information  is  prepared  and  reconciled  to  the 
amounts presented in UBS’s income statement and balance 
sheet, refer to Note 2a.

IFRS 7 (revised) Financial Instruments: Disclosures
This standard was revised in March 2009 when the Interna-
tional  Accounting  Standards  Board  (IASB)  published  the 
amendment  “Improving  Disclosures  about  Financial  Instru-
ments”. Effective 1 January 2009, the amendment requires 
enhanced disclosures about fair value measurements and li-
quidity risk.

The  enhanced  fair  value  measurement  disclosure  require-
ments include: a fair value hierarchy (i.e. categorization of all 
financial instruments into levels 1, 2 and 3 based on the rele-
vant definitions); significant transfers between level 1 and level 
2; reconciliation of level 3 instruments at the beginning of the 
period to the ending balance (level 3 movement table); level 3 
profit or loss for positions still held at balance sheet date; and 
sensitivity information for the total position of level 3 instru-
ments and the basis for the calculation of such information. 

The amended liquidity risk disclosure requirements largely 
confirm  the  previous  rules  for  providing  maturity  informa-
tion  for  non-derivative  financial  liabilities,  but  amend  the 
rules for providing maturity information for derivative finan-
cial liabilities. 

Reassessment of Embedded Derivatives 
The  International  Financial  Reporting  Interpretations  Com-
mittee (IFRIC) issued in March 2009 the supplement Embed-
ded  Derivatives:  Amendments  to  IFRIC  9  and  IAS  39.  This 
guidance  amends  IFRIC  9  Reassessment  of  Embedded  De-
rivatives, and IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and 
Measurement. The amendments clarify that on reclassifica-
tion of a financial asset out of the “Held for trading” catego-
ry, all embedded derivatives have to be assessed and, if nec-
essary, separately accounted for in the financial statements. 
The  application  of  this  guidance  did  not  materially  impact 
UBS’s financial statements.

IFRIC 15 Agreements for the Construction of Real Estate
IFRIC 15 was issued on 3 July 2008 and is effective for annual 
periods beginning on or after 1 January 2009. IFRIC 15 pro-
vides guidance on the accounting for agreements for the con-
struction of real estate where entities enter into agreements 
with buyers before construction has been completed and the 
timing of revenue recognition. The application of this guidance 
did not materially impact UBS’s financial statements.

IFRIC 16 Hedges of a Net Investment in a Foreign Operation
IFRIC 16 was issued on 1 October 2008 and became effec-
tive on 1 January 2009. IFRIC 16 provides guidance in iden-
tifying the foreign currency risks that qualify as a hedged risk 
in  the  hedge  of  a  net  investment  in  a  foreign  operation; 
where, within a group, hedging instruments that are hedges 
of  a  net  investment  in  a  foreign  operation  can  be  held  to 
qualify for hedge accounting, and how an entity should de-
termine the amounts to be reclassified from equity to profit 
or  loss  for  both  the  hedging  instrument  and  the  hedged 
item.  The  impact  of  this  interpretation  on  UBS’s  financial 
statements was immaterial.

IAS 24 Related Party Disclosures
In November 2009, the IASB amended IAS 24 Related Party 
Disclosures with latest possible effective date 1 January 2011. 
UBS has early adopted the revised requirements in its annual 
financial statements 2009. The revised standard amends the 
definition of related parties, in particular the relationship be-
tween UBS and associated companies of UBS’s key manage-
ment personnel or their close family members. Transactions 
between UBS and associated companies of UBS key manage-
ment personnel over which UBS key management personnel 
does not have control or joint control are no longer consid-
ered related party transactions. Due to the application of the 
revised  guidance,  related  party  transactions  disclosed  in  
Note 32e of the annual financial statements 2008 have been 
significantly  reduced.  Balances  and  movements  of  loans  to 
related  parties  have  been  reduced  by  CHF  668  million  at  
31  December  2008  and  CHF  530  million  at  31  December 
2007;  and  fees  received  for  services  provided  by  UBS  have 
been reduced by CHF 11 million in 2008 and CHF 10 million 
in 2007.

Allocation of Shared Services Costs in Segment Disclosures
From 2009 onwards, ITI and Group Off-shoring costs man-
aged by the Corporate Center are allocated to the direct cost 
lines personnel expenses, general and administrative expens-
es, and depreciation, in the respective business division in-
come  statements,  based  on  appropriate  internally  deter-
mined  allocation  keys.  In  the  Corporate  Center  income 
statement, costs allocated to the business divisions are de-
ducted  from  the  respective  cost  lines.  In  previous  reports, 
these  costs  were  presented  as  an  expense  on  the  line 
 “Services  (to) / from  other  business  divisions”  within  each 

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Impact on income statement lines

For the comparative 12-month period in 2008, the following allocations were made:

CHF million

Personnel expenses

General and administrative expenses

Depreciation of property and equipment

Services (to) / from other business divisions

Wealth 
Management & 
Swiss Bank

Wealth 
Management 
Americas

Global Asset 
Management

Investment 
Bank

Corporate
Center

228

328

163

(719)

85

121

60

(267)

20

28

15

(62)

300

431

216

(949)

(633)

(909)

(455)

1,997

business  division  and  an  offsetting  corresponding  amount 
on that line in the Corporate Center. The new presentation 
format  provides  greater  transparency  by  allocating  shared 
service  costs  to  direct  cost  lines  in  divisional  income  state-
ments. Comparative periods have been adjusted. 

Group results and business division performance before tax 
in previous periods were not impacted by this policy change. 

Unit-linked Investment Contracts
In fourth quarter 2009, UBS decided to present Wealth Man-
agement & Swiss Banking’s obligations under unit-linked in-
vestment  contracts  under  Other  liabilities  in  order  to  align 
the treatment with similar contracts issued by Global Asset 
Management.  In  the  past,  the  respective  obligations  of 
Wealth Management & Swiss Banking have been reported 
under Due to customers. UBS has retrospectively applied this 
change in presentation. The change in presentation resulted 
in the following effects on the balance sheet for 1 January 
2008 and 31 December 2008: a decrease of Due to custom-
ers and a corresponding increase in amounts due under Oth-
er  liabilities  on  the  balance  sheet  (unit-linked  investment 
contracts) of CHF 11,787 million and CHF 9,033 million, re-
spectively. The change in presentation did not impact UBS’s 
total liabilities, income statements or earnings per share for 
these periods.

Effective in 2008 and earlier

IFRS 2 Share-based Payment:  
Vesting Conditions and Cancellations
On 1 January 2008, UBS adopted an amendment to IFRS 2 
Share-based Payment: Vesting Conditions and Cancellations 
and  fully  restated  the  two  comparative  prior  years.  The 
amended standard clarifies the definition of vesting condi-
tions and the accounting treatment of cancellations. Under 
the  amended  standard,  UBS  is  required  to  distinguish  be-
tween vesting conditions (such as service and performance 
conditions) and non-vesting conditions.

The amended standard no longer considers vesting con-

ditions to include certain non-compete provisions.

The  impact  of  this  change  is  that  UBS  compensation 
awards are expensed over the period that the employee is 
required to provide active services in order to earn the award. 

Post-vesting  sale  and  hedge  restrictions  and  non-vesting 
conditions are considered when determining grant date fair 
value. The effect of the restatement on the opening balance 
sheet  at  1  January  2006  was  as  follows:  reduction  of  re-
tained earnings by approximately CHF 2.3 billion, increase of 
share premium by approximately CHF 2.3 billion, increase of 
liabilities (including deferred tax liabilities) by approximately 
CHF  0.5  billion,  and  increase  of  deferred  tax  assets  by  ap-
proximately  CHF  0.5  billion.  Net  profit  attributable  to  UBS 
shareholders  declined  by  CHF  863  million  in  2007  and  by 
CHF 730 million in 2006. Additional compensation expenses 
of CHF 797 million and CHF 516 million was recognized in 
2007 and 2006, respectively. These additional compensation 
expenses  include  awards  granted  in  2008  for  the  perfor-
mance  year  2007.  The  impact  of  the  restatement  on  total 
equity as of 31 December 2007 was a decrease of CHF 366 
million. Retained earnings at 31 December 2007 decreased 
by approximately CHF 3.9 billion, share premium increased 
by  approximately  CHF  3.5  billion,  liabilities  (including  de-
ferred tax liabilities) increased by approximately CHF 0.6 bil-
lion and deferred tax assets increased by approximately CHF 
0.2  billion.  The  restatement  decreased  basic  and  diluted 
earnings per share for the year ended 31 December 2007 by 
CHF 0.40 each and for the year ended 31 December 2006 by 
CHF  0.33  and  CHF  0.31,  respectively.  In  order  to  provide 
comparative information, these amounts also reflect the ret-
rospective adjustments to shares outstanding in 2007 due to 
the capital increase and the share dividend paid in 2008. 

The additional compensation expense is attributable to the 
acceleration  of  expenses  related  to  share-based  awards  as 
well as for certain alternative investment vehicle awards and 
deferred cash compensation awards which contain non-com-
pete provisions and sale and hedge restrictions that no longer 
qualify as vesting conditions under the amended standard.

Reclassifications of Financial Assets
The  International  Accounting  Standards  Board  published  an 
amendment to International Accounting Standard 39 (IAS 39 
Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement) on 13 
October 2008, under which eligible financial assets, subject to 
certain conditions being met, may be reclassified out of the 
“Held for trading” category if the firm had the intent and abil-
ity to hold them for the foreseeable future or until maturity.

280

Although the amendment could have been applied retro-
spectively from 1 July 2008, UBS decided at the end of Octo-
ber 2008 to apply the amendment with effect from 1 Octo-
ber 2008 following an assessment of the implications on its 
financial statements. Refer to Note 29b for further details on 
reclassification of financial assets.

Changes to segment reporting
UBS has continuously reduced its private equity business in 
Industrial Holdings over the last three years. The business no 
longer includes consolidated industrial private equity invest-
ments.  Starting  first  quarter  2008,  UBS  presented  the  re-
maining activities from this business, mainly financial invest-
ments available-for-sale, under Corporate Center.

c) International Financial Reporting Standards and Interpretations to be adopted in 2010 and later

Effective in 2010

International  Accounting  Standards  Board 

Improvements to IFRS 2009
The 
issued 
amendments to twelve IFRS standards as part of its annual 
improvements  project  in  April  2009.  The  adoption  of  the 
amendments could result in accounting changes for presen-
tation, recognition or measurement purposes. The improve-
ments to IFRS 2009 will be adopted by UBS as of 1 January 
2010.  UBS  does  not  expect  these  amendments  to  have  a 
significant impact on UBS’s financial statements. 

Amendments to IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition 
and Measurement – Eligible Hedged Items
The  amendment  to  IAS  39  was  issued  in  July  2008.  The 
amendments  provide  additional  guidance  on  the  designa-
tion  of  a  hedged  item.  The  amendment  clarifies  how  the 
existing  principles  underlying  hedge  accounting  should  be 
applied in two particular situations: a) a one-sided risk in a 
hedged item and b) inflation in a financial hedged item. The 
amendments to IAS 39 will be adopted by UBS as of 1 Janu-
ary 2010. UBS does not expect the amendments to have a 
significant impact on UBS’s financial statements. 

−  Transaction costs incurred by the acquirer will no longer 
be  part  of  the  acquisition  cost  but  will  have  to  be  ex-
pensed as incurred.
The revised IFRS 3 and IAS 27 are effective for annual pe-
riods beginning on 1 January 2010 and have to be applied 
prospectively from the date of adoption. Business combina-
tions consummated prior to that date will not be impacted.

The amendments to IAS 27 (including the consequential 
amendments to IAS 21) require the effects (including foreign 
exchange  translation)  of  all  transactions  with  non-control-
ling interests to be recorded in equity if there is no change in 
control.  The  standards  also  specify  the  accounting  when 
control is lost: any remaining interest in the entity is remea-
sured to fair value, and a gain or loss (including foreign ex-
change  translation)  is  recognized  in  profit  or  loss.  The 
amendments to IAS 21 further clarify that no deferred for-
eign currency translation gains and losses are to be released 
upon  a  partial  repayment  of  share  capital  of  a  subsidiary 
without a loss of control. The IAS 21 amendments are effec-
tive on 1 January 2010 and have to be applied prospectively 
from the date of adoption.

Effective in 2011 and later, if not adopted early

IFRS 3 Business Combinations and IAS 27 Consolidated and 
Separate Financial Statements
In January 2008, the IASB issued a revised Standard of IFRS 3 
Business Combinations and amendments to IAS 27 Consoli-
dated and Separate Financial Statements. The most signifi-
cant changes under revised IFRS 3 are as follows:
−  Contingent consideration will be recognized at fair value 
as part of the consideration transferred at the acquisition 
date.  Currently  contingent  consideration  is  only  recog-
nized once it meets the probability and reliably measur-
able criteria.

−  Non-controlling  interests  in  an  acquiree  will  either  be 
measured at fair value or as the non-controlling interest’s 
proportionate  share  of  the  fair  value  of  net  identifiable 
assets of the entity acquired. The option is available on a 
transaction-by-transaction basis.

IFRS 9 Financial Instruments
In November 2009, the IASB issued IFRS 9 Financial instru-
ments,  which  includes  revised  guidance  on  the  classifica-
tion and measurement of financial assets. The publication 
of  IFRS  9  represents  the  completion  of  the  first  part  of  a 
multi-stage project to replace IAS 39 Financial instruments: 
recognition and measurement. Under the revised guidance, 
a  financial  asset  is  to  be  accounted  for  at  amortized  cost 
only if it is held within a business model whose objective is 
to hold assets in order to collect contractual cash flows and 
the  contractual  terms  of  the  financial  asset  give  rise  on 
specified  dates  to  cash  flows  that  are  solely  payments  of 
principal and interest on the principal amount outstanding. 
Non-traded  equity  instruments  may  be  accounted  for  at 
fair  value  through  equity,  but  the  subsequent  release  of 
amounts booked directly to equity into the income state-

281

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

ment is no longer permitted. All other financial assets are 
measured  at  fair  value  through  profit  or  loss.  UBS  is  cur-
rently assessing the impact of the new standard on its fi-
nancial  statements.  It  is  likely  that  a  number  of  financial 
assets currently accounted for at amortized cost will be ac-
counted  for  at  fair  value  through  profit  or  loss  under  the 
new  standard  because  a)  their  contractual  cash  flows  do 
not comprise solely payments of principal and interest on 
the principal, and / or b) UBS does not hold the assets with 
the intention to collect contractual cash flows they gener-
ate. Certain debt securities currently classified as available-
for-sale  may  satisfy  the  criteria  for  “amortized  cost”  ac-
counting;  debt  securities  available-for-sale  failing  these 
criteria  will  be  accounted  for  at  fair  value.  The  effective 
date for mandatory adoption is 1 January 2013, with early 

adoption permitted. UBS did not adopt IFRS 9 for the year 
ended 31 December 2009.

IFRIC 14 Prepayments of a Minimum Funding Requirement
In November 2009, the IASB issued the amended IFRIC 14 The 
Limit on a Defined Benefit Asset, Minimum Funding Require-
ments and their Interaction, which itself is an interpretation of 
IAS 19 Employee Benefits. The amendment applies in the lim-
ited  circumstances  when  an  entity  is  subject  to  minimum 
funding requirements and makes an early payment of contri-
butions to cover those requirements. The amendment permits 
an entity to treat the benefit of such an early payment as an 
asset. The amendment is effective on 1 January 2011. Early 
application is permitted. UBS does not expect to have an im-
pact from this interpretation on its financial statements.

282

Note 2a  Segment reporting

In 2009, UBS’s businesses were reorganized on a worldwide 
basis  into  four  business  divisions  and  the  Corporate  Center. 
The  business  divisions  Wealth  Management  &  Swiss  Bank, 
Wealth  Management  Americas,  Global  Asset  Management 
and the Investment Bank constitute one segment each. In to-
tal,  UBS  reports  four  business  segments  and  the  Corporate 
Center in 2009. The Corporate Center includes all corporate 
functions, elimination items as well as the remaining industrial 
holdings activities and is not considered a business segment. 

Global Asset Management
Global  Asset  Management  is  a  large-scale  asset  manager 
with  well  diversified  businesses  across  regions,  capabilities 
and  distribution  channels.  It  offers  investment  capabilities 
and investment styles across all major traditional and alter-
native  asset  classes.  These  include  equities,  fixed  income, 
currency, hedge fund, real estate, infrastructure and private 
equity investment capabilities that can also be combined in 
multi-asset strategies.

Wealth Management & Swiss Bank
Wealth  Management  &  Swiss  Bank  focuses  on  delivering 
comprehensive financial services to high net worth and ultra 
high net worth individuals around the world – except to those 
served by Wealth Management Americas – as well as private 
and corporate clients in Switzerland. UBS provides clients in 
over  40  countries,  including  Switzerland,  with  financial  ad-
vice, products and tools to fit their individual needs. UBS has 
a leading position across all client segments in Switzerland.

Wealth Management Americas
Wealth Management Americas provides advice-based relation-
ships through financial advisors who deliver a fully integrated 
set  of  products  and  services  specifically  designed  to  address 
the needs of ultra high net worth, high net worth and core af-
fluent individuals and families. It includes the former Wealth 
Management US business unit, as well as the domestic Cana-
dian  business  and  the  international  business  booked  in  the 
United States.

Investment Bank
The Investment Bank provides securities and other financial 
products  and  research  in  equities,  fixed  income,  rates,  for-
eign exchange and precious metals. It also provides advisory 
services and access to the world’s capital markets for corpo-
rate,  institutional,  intermediary  and  alternative  asset  man-
agement clients.

Corporate Center
The  Corporate  Center  seeks  to  ensure  that  the  business 
 divisions operate as a coherent and effective whole by pro-
viding and managing support and control functions for the 
business divisions and the Group in such areas as risk con-
trol,  finance,  legal  and  compliance,  funding,  capital  and 
 balance  sheet  management,  management  of  foreign  cur-
rencies, communication and branding, human resources, in-
formation  technology,  real  estate,  procurement,  corporate 
development and service centres.

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Note 2a  Segment reporting (continued)

Internal charges and transfer pricing adjustments are reflected in the performance of each business. Revenue-sharing agree-
ments are used to allocate external customer revenues to a business division on a reasonable basis. Transactions between 
business divisions are conducted at internally agreed transfer prices or at arm’s length.

CHF million

For the year ended 31 December 2009
Net interest income 1
Non-interest income
Income 2
Credit loss (expense) / recovery

Total operating income

Personnel expenses

General and administrative expenses

Services to / from other business divisions

Depreciation of property and equipment
Impairment of goodwill 3
Amortization of intangible assets 3
Total operating expenses

Performance from continuing operations before tax

Performance from discontinued operations before tax
Performance before tax 4
Tax expense on continuing operations

Tax expense on discontinued operations

Net profit
Additional information 5
Total assets

Additions to non-current assets

Wealth 
Management & 
Swiss Bank

Wealth 
Management 
Americas

Global Asset 
Management

Investment 
Bank

Corporate 
Center

4,533

6,989

11,523

(133)

11,390

5,197

2,017

(90)

289

0

67

7,480

3,910

0

3,910

800

4,746

5,546

3

5,550

4,231

1,017

4

170

34

62

5,518

32

0

32

2

2,134

2,137

0

2,137

996

387

(74)

36

340

13

1,698

438

0

438

2,339

2,494

4,833

(1,698)

3,135

5,568

2,628

(147)

360

749

59

9,216

(6,081)

0

(6,081)

(1,229)

1,623

394

(5)

389

551

199

306

193

0

0

1,250

(860)

(7)

(867)

UBS

6,446

17,987

24,433

(1,832)

22,601

16,543

6,248

0

1,048

1,123

200

25,162

(2,561)

(7)

(2,569)

(443)

0

(2,125)

248,140

43

53,197

59

20,238

11

991,964

81

26,999

745

1,340,538

939

1  Net  interest  income  is  disclosed  to  comply  with  the  IFRS  requirements.  Refer  to “Note  3  Net  interest  and  trading  income”  for  the  information  which  corresponds  to  the  view  of  management.  
2 Impairments of financial investments available-for-sale for the year ended 31 December 2009 were as follows: Wealth Management & Swiss Bank CHF 158 million; Global Asset Management CHF 20 
million; Investment Bank CHF 142 million; Corporate Center CHF 29 million. The total inter-segment revenues for the Group are immaterial as the majority of the revenues are allocated across the busi-
ness divisions by means of revenue-sharing agreements.    3 Refer to “Note 16 Goodwill and intangible assets” of this report for further information regarding goodwill and other intangible assets by 
business division.    4 Refer to “Note 38 Reorganizations and disposals” for further information on the impact on performance before tax of the disposal of UBS Pactual and restructuring charges, and 
to “Note 27 Fair value of financial instruments” for further information on the allocation on own credit charges.    5 The segment assets are based on a third-party view and this is in line with the report-
ing to the management, i.e. the amounts do not include inter-company balances.

284

Note 2a  Segment reporting (continued)

Internal charges and transfer pricing adjustments are reflected in the performance of each business. Revenue-sharing agree-
ments are used to allocate external customer revenues to a business division on a reasonable basis. Transactions between 
business divisions are conducted at internally agreed transfer prices or at arm’s length.

CHF million

For the year ended 31 December 2008

Net interest income

Non-interest income
Income 1
Credit loss (expense) / recovery

Total operating income

Personnel expenses

General and administrative expenses

Services to / from other business divisions

Depreciation of property and equipment
Impairment of goodwill 2
Amortization of intangible assets 2
Total operating expenses

Performance from continuing operations before tax

Performance from discontinued operations before tax

Performance before tax

Tax expense on continuing operations

Tax expense on discontinued operations

Net profit
Additional information 3
Total assets

Additions to non-current assets

Wealth 
Management & 
Swiss Bank

Wealth 
Management 
Americas

Global Asset 
Management

Investment 
Bank

Corporate 
Center

5,424

9,989

15,413

(392)

15,021

5,430

3,295

(73)

323

0

33

9,008

6,013

0

6,013

938

5,340

6,278

(29)

6,249

4,271

2,558

16

162

0

65

7,072

(823)

0

(823)

(2)

2,906

2,905

0

2,904

946

462

88

44

0

33

1,572

1,333

0

1,333

2,007

(23,808)

(21,800)

(2,575)

(24,375)

5,182

3,830

41

447

341

83

9,925

(34,300)

0

(34,300)

(2,375)

3,373

998

0

998

433

353

(73)

265

0

0

979

19

198

217

UBS

5,992

(2,200)

3,792

(2,996)

796

16,262

10,498

0

1,241

341

213

28,555

(27,758)

198

(27,560)

(6,837)

1

(20,724)

251,487

275

39,039

135

24,640

430

1,680,257

809

19,392

961

2,014,815

2,609

1 Impairments of financial investments available-for-sale for the year ended 31 December 2008 were as follows: Wealth Management & Swiss Bank CHF 19 million; Wealth Management Americas CHF 
1 million; Global Asset Management CHF 22 million; Investment Bank CHF 121 million; Corporate Center CHF 40 million.    2 Refer to “Note 16 Goodwill and intangible assets” of this report for further 
information  regarding goodwill and other intangible assets by business division.    3 The segment assets are based on a third-party view and this is in line with the reporting to the management, i.e. the 
amounts do not include inter-company balances.

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Note 2a  Segment reporting (continued)

Internal charges and transfer pricing adjustments are reflected in the performance of each business. Revenue-sharing agree-
ments are used to allocate external customer revenues to a business division on a reasonable basis. Transactions between 
business divisions are conducted at internally agreed transfer prices or at arm’s length.

CHF million

For the year ended 31 December 2007

Net interest income

Non-interest income
Income 2
Credit loss (expense) / recovery

Total operating income

Personnel expenses

General and administrative expenses

Services to / from other business divisions

Depreciation of property and equipment
Amortization of intangible assets 4
Total operating expenses

Performance from continuing operations before tax

Performance from discontinued operations before tax

Performance before tax

Tax expense on continuing operations

Tax expense on discontinued operations

Net profit
Additional information 5
Total assets

Additions to non-current assets

Wealth 
Management & 
Swiss Bank

Wealth 
Management 
Americas

Global Asset 
Management

Investment 
Bank

Corporate
Center1

5,600

12,089

17,689

30

17,718

6,356

2,514

(43)

334

15

9,176

8,543

0

8,543

824

6,329

7,153

(2)

7,151

5,060

1,209

28

163

70

6,530

621

0

621

(76)

4,170

4,094

0

4,094

1,883

593

73

72

19

2,640

1,454

0

1,454

209

(747)

(538)

(266)

(804)

11,633

3,800

(171)
431 3
172

15,865

(16,669)

0

(16,669)

(1,220)

4,782

3,562

(0)

3,562

583

312

114

243

0

1,252

2,310

145

2,455

UBS

5,337

26,622

31,959

(238)

31,721

25,515

8,429

0

1,243

276

35,463

(3,742)

145

(3,597)

1,369

(258)

(4,708)

256,738

223

34,730

416

43,500

553

1,922,815

1,111

17,109

1,927

2,274,891

4,230

1 Includes data from Industrial Holdings which was considered a reportable segment in 2007. Results of Industrial Holdings: Total operating income CHF 689 million, total operating expenses CHF 
163 million, performance from continuing operations before tax CHF 526 million, profit from discontinued operations before tax CHF 138 million.    2 Impairments of financial investments available-for-
sale for the year ended 31 December 2007 were as follows: Wealth Management & Swiss Bank CHF 11 million; Global Asset Management CHF 39 million; Investment Bank CHF 22 million; Corporate 
Center CHF 2 million.    3 Includes CHF 34 million for impairments of leasehold improvements and other machines and equipment.    4 Refer to “Note 16 Goodwill and intangible assets” of this report 
for further information regarding goodwill and other intangible assets by business division.    5 The segment assets are based on a third-party view and this is in line with the reporting to the management, 
i.e. the amounts do not include inter-company balances.

286

Note 2b  Segment reporting by geographic location

The geographic analysis of operating income and non-current assets is based on the location of the entity in which the trans-
actions and assets are recorded. The divisions of the Group are managed on an autonomous basis worldwide with a focus on 
cross-divisional collaboration and the interest of UBS’s clients to yield the maximum possible profitability by product line for 
the Group. The geographical analysis of operating income and non-current assets is provided in order to comply with IFRS.

For the year ended 31 December 2009

Switzerland

United Kingdom

Rest of Europe

United States

Asia Pacific

Rest of the world

Total

For the year ended 31 December 2008

Switzerland

United Kingdom

Rest of Europe

United States

Asia Pacific

Rest of the world

Total

For the year ended 31 December 2007

Switzerland

United Kingdom

Rest of Europe

United States

Asia Pacific

Rest of the world

Total

Total operating income

Total non-current assets

CHF million

Share %

CHF million

Share %

11,939

(3,999)

1,264

9,333

3,770

294

22,601

53

(18)

6

41

17

1

100

5,137

743

1,266

9,928

451

565

18,090

28

4

7

55

3

3

100

Total operating income

Total non-current assets

CHF million

Share %

CHF million

Share %

11,564

(9,219)

6,132

(10,519)

3,122

(284)

796

1,453

(1,158)

770

(1,321)

392

(36)

100

5,207

805

1,337

10,505

495

2,184

20,533

25

4

7

51

2

11

100

Total operating income

Total non-current assets

CHF million

Share %

CHF million

Share %

18,787

(1,671)

2,541

880

6,393

4,791

31,721

59

(5)

8

3

20

15

100

5,355

2,336

1,006

11,686

388

2,980

23,751

22

10

4

49

2

13

100

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Income statement notes

Note 3  Net interest and trading income

Accounting standards require separate disclosure of “Net in-
terest income” and “Net trading income” (see the tables on 
this and the next page). This required disclosure, however, 
does not take into account that net interest and trading in-
come  are  generated  by  a  range  of  different  businesses.  In 
many cases, a particular business can generate both net in-
terest and trading income. Fixed income trading activity, for 
example,  generates  both  trading  profits  and  coupon  in-
come.  UBS  considers  it  to  be  more  meaningful  to  analyze 
net interest and trading income according to the businesses 
that drive it. The second table below (“Breakdown by busi-

CHF million

Net interest and trading income

Net interest income

Net trading income

Total net interest and trading income

Breakdown by businesses
Net income from trading businesses 1
Net income from interest margin businesses

Net income from treasury activities and other

Total net interest and trading income

Net interest income 2
Interest income
Interest earned on loans and advances 3
Interest earned on securities borrowed and reverse repurchase agreements

Interest and dividend income from trading portfolio

Interest income on financial assets designated at fair value

Interest and dividend income from financial investments available-for-sale

Total

Interest expense

Interest on amounts due to banks and customers

Interest on securities lent and repurchase agreements

Interest and dividend expense from trading portfolio

Interest on financial liabilities designated at fair value

Interest on debt issued

Total

Net interest income

nesses”) provides information that corresponds to this view: 
“Net income from trading businesses” includes both interest 
and trading income generated by the Investment Bank, in-
cluding its lending activities, and trading income generated 
by  the  other  business  divisions;  “Net  income  from  interest 
margin businesses” comprises interest income from the loan 
portfolios of Wealth Management & Swiss Bank and Wealth 
Management Americas; “Net income from treasury activities 
and other” reflects all income from the Group’s centralized 
treasury function.

For the year ended

% change from

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.08

6,446

(324)

6,122

382

5,053

687

6,122

13,202

2,629

7,150

316

164

23,461

3,873

2,179

3,878

2,855

4,231

17,016

6,446

5,992

(25,820)

(19,828)

(27,203)

6,160

1,214

(19,828)

20,213

22,521

22,397

404

145

65,679

18,150

16,123

9,162

7,298

8,954

59,687

5,992

5,337

(8,353)

(3,016)

(10,658)

6,230

1,412

(3,016)

21,263

48,274

39,101

298

176

109,112

29,318

40,581

15,812

7,659

10,405

103,775

5,337

8

99

(18)

(43)

(35)

(88)

(68)

(22)

13

(64)

(79)

(86)

(58)

(61)

(53)

(71)

8

1 Includes lending activities of the Investment Bank.    2 Interest includes forward points on foreign exchange swaps used to manage short-term interest rate risk on foreign currency loans and deposits.  
3 Includes interest income on impaired loans and advances of CHF 95 million for 2009, CHF 99 million for 2008 and CHF 110 million for 2007.

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Note 3  Net interest and trading income (continued)

Net trading income 1

CHF million

Investment Bank equities

Investment Bank fixed income, currencies and commodities

Other business divisions

Net trading income

of which: net gains / (losses) from financial assets designated at fair value
of which: net gains / (losses) from financial liabilities designated at fair value 2

For the year ended

31.12.09

31.12.08

2,462

(5,455)

2,668

(324)

678

(6,741)

4,694

(35,040)

4,525

(25,820)

(974)

44,284

31.12.07

9,048

(21,424)

4,023

(8,353)

(30)

(3,779)

% change from

31.12.08

(48)

84

(41)

99

1 Refer to the table Net interest and trading income on the previous page for the Net income from trading businesses (for an explanation, read the corresponding introductory comment).    2 Financial 
 liabilities designated at fair value are to a large extent economically hedged with derivatives and other instruments whose change in fair value is also reported in Net trading income. Refer to Note 27 for 
further information.

Significant impacts on net trading income

Net trading income in 2009 includes a loss of CHF 0.8 billion 
from  credit  valuation  adjustments  for  monoline  credit  pro-
tection (CHF 8.2 billion loss in 2008); refer to the “Risk man-
agement and control” section of this report for more infor-
mation on exposure to monolines. Additional losses of CHF 
23.7  billion  related  to  positions  previously  considered  risk 
concentrations were included in 2008.

The SNB transaction resulted in gains of CHF 0.1 billion from 
the  valuation  of  UBS’s  option  to  acquire  the  SNB  StabFund’s 
equity and losses of CHF 0.2 billion due to price adjustments 
for positions transferred to the fund (losses of CHF 5.2 billion 
in 2008).

A gain of CHF 0.3 billion (CHF 4.6 billion gain in 2008) was 
recorded on the valuation of the embedded derivative of the 
MCNs issued in 2008.

Note 4  Net fee and commission income

CHF million

Equity underwriting fees

Debt underwriting fees

Total underwriting fees

M&A and corporate finance fees
Brokerage fees 1
Investment fund fees
Portfolio management and advisory fees 2
Insurance-related and other fees

Total securities trading and investment activity fees

Credit-related fees and commissions

Commission income from other services

Total fee and commission income
Brokerage fees paid 1
Other

Total fee and commission expense

Net fee and commission income

of which: net brokerage fees

For the year ended

% change from

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.08

1,590

796

2,386

881

6,217

4,000

5,863

264

19,611

339

878

20,827

1,748

1,368

3,116

17,712

4,469

1,138

818

1,957

1,662

8,209

5,583

7,667

317

25,394

273

1,010

26,677

1,763

1,984

3,748

22,929

6,445

2,564

1,178

3,742

2,768

10,211

7,422

9,454

423

34,020

279

1,017

35,316

2,540

2,142

4,682

30,634

7,671

40

(3)

22

(47)

(24)

(28)

(24)

(17)

(23)

24

(13)

(22)

(1)

(31)

(17)

(23)

(31)

1 In 2009, UBS restated the amounts presented in previous periods on the lines Brokerage fees and Brokerage fees paid. Amounts previously disclosed for both lines have been decreased by CHF 146 mil-
lion for the year ended 31 December 2008 and by CHF 70 million for the year ended 31 December 2007. Net fee and commission income is not affected.    2 Includes fiduciary and  custodian fees, which 
were presented as separate lines in previous reports.

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Note 5  Other income

CHF million

Associates and subsidiaries
Net gains from disposals of consolidated subsidiaries 1
Net gains from disposals of investments in associates

Share of net profits of associates

Total

Financial investments available-for-sale

Net gains from disposals

Impairment charges

Total
Net income from investments in property 5
Net gains from investment properties 6
Other income from Industrial Holdings

Other

Total other income

For the year ended

% change from

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.08

96

(1)

37

133

110
(349) 4
(239)

72

(39)

0
672 7
599

(184)

199

(6)

9

615 2
(202)

413

88

0

0

183

692

(70)

28

145

103

3,338 3
(71)

3,267

108

31

689

143

4,341

(82)

(73)

(18)

267

(13)

1 Includes foreign exchange amounts reclassified from equity upon disposal or deconsolidation of subsidiaries. 2009 includes a loss of CHF 498 million on sale of UBS Pactual.    2 Includes a gain of 
 approximately CHF 360 million for the disposal of UBS’s equity stake in Bank of China.    3 Includes a pre-tax gain of CHF 1,950 million from UBS’s sale of its 20.7% stake in Julius Baer.    4 Includes 
impairments for a global real estate fund of CHF 155 million, Asian debt instruments of CHF 86 million and private equity investments of CHF 55 million.    5 Includes net rent received from third parties 
and net operating expenses.    6 Includes unrealized and realized gains from investment properties at fair value and foreclosed assets.    7 Includes a gain of CHF 304 million from the public tender offer 
for four subordinated bonds of UBS.

Note 6  Personnel expenses

CHF million

Salaries and variable compensation

Contractors

Insurance and social security contributions

Contribution to retirement plans

Other personnel expenses

Total personnel expenses

of which: share-based personnel expense

Note 7  General and administrative expenses

CHF million

Occupancy

Rent and maintenance of IT and other equipment

Telecommunications and postage

Administration

Marketing and public relations

Travel and entertainment

Professional fees

Outsourcing of IT and other services

Other

Total general and administrative expenses

31.12.09

12,801

275

851

941

1,675

16,543

913

For the year ended

31.12.08

12,207

423

706

926

2,000

16,262

(94)

% change from

31.12.08

5

(35)

21

2

(16)

2

31.12.07

20,715

630

1,290

922

1,958

25,515

3,173

For the year ended

31.12.09

1,420

31.12.08

1,516

31.12.07

1,569

623

697

695

225

412

830

836

512

6,248

669

888

926

408

728

1,085

1,029
3,249 1
10,498

701

948

991

585

1,029

1,106

1,233

267

8,429

% change from

31.12.08

(6)

(7)

(22)

(25)

(45)

(43)

(24)

(19)

(84)

(40)

1 Includes an amount of CHF 1,464 million for the expected costs associated with the repurchase of auction rate securities from clients and CHF 917 million in connection with UBS’s US cross-border case.

290

Note 8  Earnings per share (EPS) and shares outstanding

As of or for the year ended

% change from

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.08

Basic earnings (CHF million)

Net profit attributable to UBS shareholders

from continuing operations

from discontinued operations

Diluted earnings (CHF million)

Net profit attributable to UBS shareholders

Less: (profit) / loss on equity derivative contracts

Net profit attributable to UBS shareholders for diluted EPS

from continuing operations

from discontinued operations

Weighted average shares outstanding

Weighted average shares outstanding for basic EPS

Potentially dilutive ordinary shares resulting from unvested exchangeable shares, 
in-the-money options and warrants outstanding 1
Weighted average shares outstanding for diluted EPS

Potential ordinary shares from unexercised employee shares and in-the-money 
options not considered due to the anti-dilutive effect

Earnings per share (CHF)

Basic

from continuing operations

from discontinued operations

Diluted

from continuing operations

from discontinued operations

Shares outstanding

Ordinary shares issued

Treasury shares

Shares outstanding
Retrospective adjustments for stock dividend 3
Retrospective adjustments for rights issue 2
Retrospective adjustment for capital increase 4
Mandatory convertible notes and exchangeable shares 5
Shares outstanding for EPS

(2,736)

(2,719)

(17)

(2,736)

(5)

(2,741)

(2,724)

(17)

(21,292)

(21,442)

150

(21,292)

(28)

(21,320)

(21,470)

150

(5,247)

(5,650)

403

(5,247)

(16)

(5,263)

(5,666)

403

3,661,086,266

2,792,023,098

2,182,836,078

754,948

1,151,556

3,661,841,214

2,793,174,654

1,467,326 2
2,184,303,404

20,166,373

27,909,964

53,668,047

(0.75)

(0.74)

0.00

(0.75)

(0.74)

0.00

(7.63)

(7.68)

0.05

(7.63)

(7.69)

0.05

(2.40)

(2.59)

0.18

(2.41)

(2.59)

0.18

3,558,112,753

2,932,580,549

2,073,547,344

37,553,872

61,903,121

158,105,524

3,520,558,881

2,870,677,428

1,915,441,820

23,252,487

273,264,461

605,547,748

95,772,091

141,850,917

17,439,825

518,711

3,793,823,342

3,499,477,663

2,171,023,364

87

87

87

82

87

87

31

(34)

31

(28)

90

90

(100)

90

90

(100)

21

(39)

23

(55)

8

1 Total equivalent shares outstanding on out-of-the-money options that were not dilutive for the respective periods but could potentially dilute earnings per share in the future were 288,915,585; 
283,263,330 and 119,309,645 for the years ended 31 December 2009, 31 December 2008 and 31 December 2007 respectively. An additional 100 million ordinary shares (“contingent share issue”) 
related to the SNB transaction were not dilutive for the years ended 31 December 2009 and 31 December 2008 but could potentially dilute earnings per share in the future.    2 Shares outstanding and 
potentially dilutive ordinary shares are increased by 7.053% due to the rights issue carried out in 2008.    3 Shares outstanding are increased by 5% to reflect the 1:20 ratio of the stock dividend dis-
tributed in 2008 for the financial year 2007.    4 Shares outstanding increased by 0.81% due to the capital increase in 2009.    5 31 December 2009 and 31 December 2008 include 272,651,005 shares 
for the mandatory convertible notes issued to two investors in March 2008. 31 December 2008 includes 332,225,913 shares for the mandatory convertible notes issued to the Swiss Confederation in 
December 2008. Remaining amounts related to exchangeable shares. All adjusted for the dilution effect of the stock dividend, the rights issue and the capital increase where applicable.

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Balance sheet notes: assets

Note 9a  Due from banks and loans (held at amortized cost)

CHF million

By type of exposure

Banks, gross

Allowance for credit losses

Net due from banks

Loans, gross

Residential mortgages

Commercial mortgages
Other loans 1
Securities 2

Subtotal

Allowance for credit losses

of which: related to securities

Net loans

Net due from banks and loans (held at amortized cost)

By geographical region (based on the location of the borrower)

Switzerland

United Kingdom

Rest of Europe

United States

Asia Pacific

Rest of the world

Subtotal

Allowance for credit losses
Net due from banks, loans (held at amortized cost) and loans designated at fair value 3

By type of collateral

Secured by real estate

Collateralized by securities

Guarantees and other collateral

Unsecured

Subtotal

Allowance for credit losses
Net due from banks, loans (held at amortized cost) and loans designated at fair value 3

31.12.09

31.12.08

46,606

(32)

46,574

121,031

19,970

141,237

27,237

309,475

(2,648)

(179)

306,828

353,402

163,397

24,038

35,482

85,411

19,531

32,231

360,090

(2,680)

357,410

142,617

56,783

75,589

85,101

360,090

(2,680)

357,410

64,473

(22)

64,451

121,811

21,270

173,812

26,320

343,213

(2,905)

(126)

340,308

404,759

166,798

30,540

47,724

105,907

23,279

38,590

412,838

(2,927)

409,911

145,491

56,312

113,032

98,003

412,838

(2,927)

409,911

1 Includes current accounts, loans and cash collateral for derivatives.    2 On 31 December 2009, includes reclassified US student loan auction rate securities (ARS) of CHF 7.8 billion (CHF 8.4 billion on 
31  December  2008),  other  reclassified  securities  of  CHF  11.5  billion  (CHF  13.4  billion  on  31  December  2008)  and  CHF  8.0  billion ARS  acquired  from  clients  (CHF  4.5  billion  on  31  December  2008).   
3 Includes loans designated at fair value of CHF 4.0 billion on 31 December 2009 and CHF 5.2 billion on 31 December 2008. For further details refer to “Note 12 Financial assets designated at fair value”.

292

Note 9b  Allowances and provisions for credit losses

CHF million

Balance at the beginning of the year

Write-offs

Recoveries

Increase / (decrease) in credit loss allowances and  
provisions recognized in the income statement

Disposals

Foreign currency translation and other adjustments

Balance at the end of the year

CHF million

As a reduction of due from banks
As a reduction of loans 1
As a reduction of securities borrowed

Subtotal

Included in other liabilities related to provisions for contingent claims

Total allowances and provisions for credit losses

Specific 
allowances and 
provisions

Collective loan 
loss allowances 
and provisions

Total 31.12.09

Total 31.12.08

3,047

(2,046)

52

1,806

(51)

(37)
2,771 1

23

0

0

26

0

0

49

3,070

(2,046)

52

1,832

(51)

(37)

2,820

1,164

(868)

44

2,996

(223)

(43)

3,070

Specific 
allowances and 
provisions

Collective loan 
loss allowances 
and provisions

Total 31.12.09

Total 31.12.08

32

2,598

51

2,681

90

2,771

0

49

0

49

0

49

32

2,648

51

2,730

90

2,820

22

2,905

112

3,039

31

3,070

1 CHF 1,192 million are related to reclassified assets on 31 December 2009 and CHF 1,331 million on 31 December 2008.

Note 10  Cash collateral on securities borrowed and lent, repurchase and reverse repurchase agreements

The Group enters into collateralized reverse repurchase and 
repurchase agreements and securities borrowing and securi-
ties lending transactions that may result in credit exposure in 
the event that the counterparty to the transaction is unable 
to fulfill its contractual obligations. The Group controls  credit 

risk associated with these activities by monitoring counter-
party  credit  exposure  and  collateral  values  on  a  daily  basis 
and  requiring  additional  collateral  to  be  deposited  with  or 
returned to the Group when deemed necessary.

Balance sheet assets

CHF million

By counterparty

Banks

Customers

Total

Balance sheet liabilities

CHF million

By counterparty

Banks

Customers

Total

Cash collateral on 
securities borrowed
31.12.09

Reverse repurchase 
agreements
31.12.09

Cash collateral on 
securities borrowed
31.12.08

Reverse repurchase 
agreements
31.12.08

17,143

46,364

63,507

71,051

45,638

116,689

17,523

105,374

122,897

Cash collateral on 
securities lent
31.12.09

Repurchase 
agreements
31.12.09

Cash collateral on 
securities lent
31.12.08

7,268

727

7,995

26,167

38,008

64,175

12,181

1,881

14,063

110,254

114,393

224,648

Repurchase 
agreements
31.12.08

36,088

66,473

102,561

293

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Note 11  Trading portfolio

The  Group  trades  in  debt  instruments  (including  money 
 market papers and tradeable loans), equity instruments, pre-
cious  metals,  other  commodities  and  derivatives  to  meet 
the  financial  needs  of  its  clients  and  to  generate  revenue. 
Non-derivative traded instruments are included in the table 

below. For derivative instruments, refer to “Note 23 Deriva-
tive instruments and hedge accounting”. The table below 
represents  an  IFRS  accounting  view.  It  does  not  reflect  
hedges and other risk mitigating  factors, and the amounts 
therefore may not be reflective for risk exposures.

CHF million

Trading portfolio assets

Debt instruments

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Total

31.12.09

31.12.08

Government and government agencies

59,731

21,656

742

of which: Switzerland

of which: United States

of which: Japan

Banks

Corporates and other

Total debt instruments

of which: pledged as collateral

of which: pledged as collateral and can be repledged or resold 
by counterparty

Equity instruments

of which: pledged as collateral

of which: pledged as collateral and can be repledged or resold 
by counterparty

Subtotal

Precious metals and other commodities

Total trading portfolio assets

Trading portfolio liabilities

Debt instruments

Government and government agencies

of which: Switzerland

of which: United States

of which: Japan

Banks

Corporates and other

Total debt instruments

Equity instruments

Total trading portfolio liabilities

578

3,293

63,601

13,768

28,123

63,546

678

10,462

11,882

61,788

14,317

258

125,389

77,864

12,141

20,389

5,917

0

753

298

21,441

12,014

33,454

2,617

4,989

13,523

70

13,593

102

161

262

160

422

82,129

155

22,498

25,795

15,024

41,878

139,030

46,348

30,622

76,364

18,400

13,599

215,393

16,864

232,258

26,306

85

10,351

3,384

3,472

5,447

35,226

12,243

47,469

115,696

121

31,366

46,049

23,175

85,991

224,862

62,153

30,903

77,258

15,849

9,312

302,120

9,934

312,054

34,043

129

18,914

2,344

4,354

10,945

49,342

13,089

62,431

294

Note 12  Financial assets designated at fair value

CHF million

Loans

Structured loans

Reverse repurchase and securities borrowing agreements

Banks

Customers

Other financial assets

Total financial assets designated at fair value

31.12.09

3,052

957

3,712

1,662

840

10,223

31.12.08

4,500

653

4,321

2,329

1,079

12,882

The  maximum  exposure  to  credit  loss  of  all  items  in  the 
above table except for Other financial assets is equal to the 
fair value (CHF 9,383 million at 31 December 2009 and CHF 
11,803 million at 31 December 2008). Other financial assets 
are generally comprised of equity investments and are not 
directly  exposed  to  credit  risk.  The  maximum  exposure  to 

credit loss at 31 December 2009 and 31 December 2008 is 
mitigated by collateral of CHF 4,845 million and CHF 6,335 
million, respectively.

The amount by which credit derivatives or similar instru-
ments mitigate the maximum exposure to credit loss of loans 
and structured loans designated at fair value is as follows:

CHF million

Notional amount of loans and structured loans

Credit derivatives related to loans and structured loans – notional 
amounts 1
Credit derivatives related to loans and structured loans – fair value 1

Additional Information

31.12.09

4,224

2,699

90

31.12.08

6,186

4,314

547

For the year ended

Cumulative from inception  
until the year ended

CHF million

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.09

31.12.08

Change in fair value of loans and structured loans designated at 
fair value, attributable to changes in credit risk 2
Change in fair value of credit derivatives and similar instruments 
which mitigate the maximum exposure to credit loss of loans and 
structured loans designated at fair value 2

530

(435)

(668)

486

(128)

90

(659)

547

1 Credit derivatives contracts include credit default swaps, total return swaps, and similar instruments. These are generally used to manage credit risk when UBS has a direct credit exposure to the 
counterparty, which has not otherwise been collateralized.    2 Current and cumulative changes in the fair value of loans attributable to changes in their credit risk are only calculated for those loans 
outstanding at balance sheet date. Current and cumulative changes in the fair value of credit derivatives hedging such loans include all the derivatives which have been used to mitigate credit risk of 
these loans since designation at fair value. For loans reported under the fair value option, changes in fair value due to changes in the credit standing of the borrower are calculated using counterparty 
credit information obtained from independent market sources. 

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Note 13  Financial investments available-for-sale

CHF million

Debt instruments

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Total

31.12.09

31.12.08

Government and government agencies

72,510

3,591

41

of which: Switzerland

of which: United States

of which: Germany

of which: France

of which: United Kingdom

of which: Japan

Banks

Corporates and other
Total debt instruments 1
Equity instruments

Total financial investments available-for-sale

Net unrealized gains (losses) – before tax

Net unrealized gains (losses) – after tax

1,748

14

74,271

35

74,307

1,981

95

5,667

405

6,073

4

422

467

910

1,378

76,142

232

46,906

7,958

7,936

4,774

3,950

3,732

531

80,406

1,351

81,757

500

391

2,349

3

281

0

0

2,014

0

180

1,038

3,567

1,681

5,248

403

349

1 The increase in 2009 is mainly related to UBS’s strategic decision to rebalance its liquidity reserve which led to a shift from reverse repurchase agreements and trading portfolio assets into debt instru-
ments available-for-sale. These instruments include high quality liquid short-term securities issued by governments and government-controlled institutions in various currencies, mainly US dollar and euro.

Note 14  Investments in associates

CHF million

Carrying amount at the beginning of the year

Additions

Disposals

Transfers

Income

Impairments

Dividends paid

Foreign currency translation

Carrying amount at the end of the year

31.12.09

31.12.08

892

14

(38)

(1)

42

(4)

(30)

(5)

870

1,979

807

(1,307)

(422)

12

(18)

(34)

(125)

892

Significant associated companies of the Group had the following balance sheet and income statement totals on an aggre-
gated basis, not adjusted for the Group’s proportionate interest. Refer to “Note 34 Significant subsidiaries and associates”.

31.12.09

31.12.08

5,155

3,248

1,468

319

4,272

3,448

1,211

198

CHF million

Assets

Liabilities

Revenues

Net profit

296

Note 15  Property and equipment

At historical cost less accumulated depreciation

CHF million

Historical cost

Own-used 
properties

Leasehold 
improve-
ments

IT, software 
and com-
munication

Other 
machines and 
equipment

Projects in 
progress

Balance at the beginning of the year

9,289

3,393

4,086

Additions

Additions from acquired companies
Disposals / write-offs 1
Reclassifications

Foreign currency translation

Balance at the end of the year

Accumulated depreciation

Balance at the beginning of the year
Depreciation 2
Disposals / write-offs 1
Reclassifications

Foreign currency translation

Balance at the end of the year
Net book value at the end of the year 3

259

0

(15)

(78)

13

9,468

77

0

(309)

76

(10)

3,227

5,272

2,031

247

(13)

(94)

6

5,417

4,051

358

(263)

3

(20)

2,109

1,118

265

0

(346)

132

12

4,150

3,612

371

(325)

2

9

3,669

481

867

24

0

(65)

(34)

(7)

784

546

72

(42)

(14)

(7)

555

229

317

229

0

0

(323)

(6)

217

0

0

0

0

0

0

217

31.12.09

31.12.08

17,952

854

0

(736)

(227)

2

18,723

1,181

7

(792)

(222)

(945)

17,846

17,952

11,461

1,048

(644)

(104)

(12)

11,750

6,096

11,679

1,241

(697)

(164)

(598)

11,461

6,491

1 Includes write-offs of fully depreciated assets.    2 In 2009, amounts include CHF 26 million impairments of own-used property, CHF 30 million impairments of leasehold improvements and CHF 2 million  
impairments of IT, software and communication.    3 Fire insurance value of property and equipment is CHF 13,800 million (2008: CHF 14,166 million).

Investment properties at fair value

CHF million

Balance at the beginning of the year

Additions

Sales

Revaluations

Foreign currency translation

Balance at the end of the year

31.12.09

215

0

(60)

(37)

(2)

116

31.12.08

189

37

0

(6)

(5)

215

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Note 16  Goodwill and intangible assets

Introduction
At 31 December 2009, the following four segments carried 
goodwill: Wealth Management & Swiss Bank (CHF 1.5 bil-
lion), Wealth Management Americas (CHF 3.7 billion), Glob-
al Asset Management (CHF 1.6 billion), and Investment Bank 
(CHF 3.3 billion). For the purpose of testing goodwill for im-
pairment, UBS considers each of these segments as separate 
cash-generating  units,  and  determines  the  recoverable 
amount of a segment on the basis of value in use.

At 31 December 2009, equity attributable to UBS share-
holders stood at CHF 41 billion, up from CHF 33 billion at 
31  December  2008.  UBS’s  market  capitalization,  excluding 
the  shares  to  be  issued  upon  conversion  of  the  MCNs, 
amounted to CHF 57 billion at 31 December 2009 compared 
with CHF 44 billion at 31 December 2008. On the basis of 
the impairment testing methodology described below, UBS 
concluded that the year-end 2009 balances of goodwill al-
located to its segments remain recoverable.

Methodology for goodwill impairment testing
The  recoverable  amount  is  determined  using  a  proprietary 
model  based  on  discounted  cash  flows,  which  has  been 
adapted to give effect to the special features of the banking 
business  and  its  regulatory  environment.  The  recoverable 
amount  is  determined  by  estimating  streams  of  earnings 
available to shareholders in the next five years, discounted to 
their present values. The terminal value reflecting all periods 
beyond the fifth year is calculated on the basis of the fore-
cast of fifth-year profit, the cost of equity and the long-term 
growth rate. During the year 2009, the discount rates used 
to calculate the present values were reduced to reflect the 

improved capital basis and the realized de-risking of the bal-
ance sheet, and the long-term growth rate was also margin-
ally  reduced.  The  recoverable  amount  of  a  segment  is  the 
sum of earnings available to shareholders from the first five 
individually forecast years and the terminal value. 

The carrying amount for each segment is determined by 
a roll-forward of historic carrying amounts based on the eq-
uity  attributed  to  UBS  shareholders,  as  full  balance  sheets 
are  not  available  for  the  segments.  For  each  segment  the 
beginning-of-the-period balance of equity is rolled forward 
by accounting for the items that affect a segment’s carrying 
amount, e.g. allocation of transactions with shareholders at 
Group level, to arrive at the end-of-the-period balance.

Assumptions
The  model  to  determine  the  recoverable  amount  is  most 
sensitive  to  changes  in  the  forecast  earnings  available  to 
shareholders  in  years  one  to  five,  the  cost  of  equity  and 
changes  in  the  long-term  growth  rate.  The  applied  long-
term growth rate is based on real growth rates and expect-
ed inflation. Earnings available to shareholders are estimat-
ed  based  on  forecast  results,  which  take  into  account 
business initiatives and planned capital investments, and re-
turns to shareholders, which take into account amounts of 
capital  that  could  be  distributed  or  used  for  share  buy-
backs.  Valuation  parameters  used  in  the  Group’s  impair-
ment test model are linked to external market information, 
where  applicable.  Management  believes  that  reasonable 
changes in key assumptions used to determine the recover-
able  amounts  of  all  segments  will  not  result  in  an  impair-
ment situation.

Discount and growth rates

In %

Wealth Management & Swiss Bank

Wealth Management Americas

Global Asset Management

Investment Bank

Discount rates

Growth rates

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.09

31.12.08

9.0

9.0

9.0

11.0

9.5

11.5

11.0

13.0

1.2

2.4

2.4

2.4

1.3

2.6

2.6

2.6

298

Note 16  Goodwill and intangible assets (continued)

Investment Bank / Wealth Management Americas
On 31 December 2009, the assessment of the goodwill of 
the  Investment  Bank  and  Wealth  Management  Americas 
continued to be a key focus. Goodwill allocated to the In-
vestment Bank amounted to CHF 3.3 billion at 31 December 
2009 (CHF 4.3 billion at 31 December 2008). The reduction 
is due to the derecognition of CHF 0.9 billion goodwill re-
lated to UBS Pactual, of which CHF 749 million was subject 
to an impairment (refer to Note 38 for details). Goodwill al-
located to Wealth Management Americas amounted to CHF 
3.7 billion at 31 December 2009 (CHF 3.8 billion at 31 De-
cember 2008). In 2009, CHF 40 million goodwill related to 
UBS Pactual was derecognized, of which CHF 34 million was 
subject to an impairment (refer to Note 38 for details). 

In its review of the year-end 2009 goodwill balance, UBS 
considered the performance outlook of its Investment Bank 
and  Wealth  Management  Americas  business  divisions  and 
the  underlying  business  operations  to  resolve  whether  the 
recoverable  amounts  for  these  units  covers  their  carrying 
amounts,  based  on  the  methodology  described  above.  On 
this basis, UBS concluded that goodwill allocated to the In-
vestment Bank and Wealth Management Americas remained 

recoverable  at  31  December  2009.  The  conclusion  was 
reached based on the current forecast results and the under-
lying assumption that the economic environment will gradu-
ally improve over the next three years and reach an average 
growth  level  thereafter.  The  fair  value  obtained  from  the 
model calculation was subject to a stress test by decreasing 
forecast  cash  flows  by  one-third  and  at  the  same  time  in-
creasing  the  discount  rate  by  3.5  percentage  points.  The 
stress values so obtained covered the book values of the In-
vestment Bank and Wealth Management Americas. Howev-
er, if the regulatory pressure on the banking industry intensi-
fies and conditions in the financial markets turn out to be 
worse than anticipated in UBS’s performance forecasts, the 
goodwill  carried  in  the  Investment  Bank  and  Wealth  Man-
agement Americas business divisions might need to be im-
paired in future quarters.

Recognition of any impairment of goodwill would reduce 
IFRS Equity attributable to UBS shareholders and net profit 
but it would not impact cash flows, as well as the BIS tier 1 
capital, BIS total capital, and capital ratios of the UBS Group, 
as  goodwill  is  required  to  be  deducted  from  capital  under 
the Basel II capital framework.

Goodwill

Total

Infrastructure

Intangible assets

Customer 
relationships, 
contractual 
rights and other

Total

31.12.09

31.12.08

CHF million

Historical cost

Balance at the beginning of the year

Additions and reallocations

Disposals
Write-offs 1
Foreign currency translation

Balance at the end of the year

Accumulated amortization and impairment

Balance at the beginning of the year

Amortization

Impairment of goodwill and intangible assets

Disposals
Write-offs 1
Foreign currency translation

Balance at the end of the year

Net book value at the end of the year

11,585

32

(1,631)

0

128

10,115

0

0
1,123 2
(1,199)

0

76

0

10,115

824

0

(13)

0

(24)

787

337

42

0

(6)

0

(12)

361

425

1,308

38

(546)

0

95

894

444

102

57

(211)

0

34

426

468

1 Represents write-offs of fully amortized intangible assets.    2 Represents goodwill impairment related to UBS Pactual.

2,131

38

(559)

0

71

13,716

70

(2,190)

0

199

1,680

11,795

781

144

57

(217)

0

23

787

893

781

144

1,180

(1,416)

0

99

787

15,324

585

(33)

(472)

(1,688)

13,716

786

193

361

(7)

(472)

(80)

781

11,008

12,935

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Note 16  Goodwill and intangible assets (continued)

The following table presents goodwill and intangible assets by business unit for the year ended 31 December 2009.

CHF million

Goodwill

Wealth Management & Swiss Bank

Weath Management Americas

Global Asset Management

Investment Bank

UBS

Intangible assets

Wealth Management & Swiss Bank

Weath Management Americas

Global Asset Management

Investment Bank

UBS

Balance at 
the beginning 
of the year

Additions 
and 
reallocations

Disposals Amortization

Impairment

Foreign 
currency 
translation

Balance at 
the end of 
the year

1,523 1
3,803 1
1,982

4,277

11,585

203 1
674 1
186

286

1,350

(2)

(1)

4

31

32

0

0

0

38

38

0

(14)

(130)

(287)

(432)

0

(83)

(160)

(99)

(342)

0

(34)

(340)

(749)

(1,123)

(56)

(1)

0

0

(57)

(11)

(100)

94

68

52

1

(4)

36

15

48

1,510

3,655

1,610

3,341

10,115

137

526

49

182

893

(11)

(61)

(13)

(59)

(144)

1 Goodwill of CHF 125 million and intangible assets of CHF 48 million have been reallocated from Wealth Management & Swiss Bank to Wealth Management Americas due to the restructuring announced 
in February 2009. 

Intangible assets

105

103

97

89

82

417

893

31.12.09

31.12.08

915

209

3,053

568

2,590

7,336

1,203

330

2,922

981

4,495

9,931

The estimated, aggregated amortization expenses for intangible assets are as follows:

CHF million

Estimated, aggregated amortization expenses for:

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015 and thereafter

Total

Note 17  Other assets

CHF million

Settlement and clearing accounts

VAT and other tax receivables

Prepaid pension costs

Properties held for sale

Other receivables

Total other assets

300

Balance sheet notes: liabilities

Note 18  Due to banks and customers

CHF million

Due to banks

Due to customers in savings and investment accounts

Other amounts due to customers

Total due to customers

Total due to banks and customers

Note 19  Financial liabilities designated at fair value and debt issued

Financial liabilities designated at fair value

CHF million

Bonds and compound debt instruments issued

Equity linked

Credit linked

Rates linked

Other

Total

Compound debt instruments – OTC
Loan commitments 2
Total

31.12.09

65,166

101,573

308,903

410,475

475,641

31.12.08

125,628

91,614

374,127

465,741

591,369

31.12.09

31.12.08

54,856

25,663

16,367

2,286

99,173

13,306

174

112,653

92,446 1
7,468

1,632

101,546

1 Breakdown by product type has been implemented with the 2009 disclosure.    2 Loan commitments recognized as Financial liabilities designated at fair value, until drawn down by counterparty and 
recognized as loans. See Note 1a) 8) for additional information.

At 31 December 2009, the contractual redemption amount 
at  maturity  of  Financial  liabilities  designated  at  fair  value 
through  profit  or  loss  was  CHF  7.6  billion  higher  than  the 
carrying  value.  At  31  December  2008,  the  contractual  re-

demption  amount  at  maturity  of  such  liabilities  was  CHF 
12.2  billion  higher  than  the  carrying  value.  Refer  to  Note  
1a) 8) for details.

Debt issued (held at amortized cost)

CHF million

Money market papers

Debt:

Senior bonds

Subordinated bonds

Bonds issued by the central bond institutions of the Swiss regional or cantonal banks

Medium-term notes

Total

31.12.09

51,579

57,653

11,244

7,909

2,967

131,352

31.12.08

111,619

67,298

12,769

2,418

3,150

197,254

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements 

Note 19  Financial liabilities designated at fair value and debt issued (continued)

The Group uses interest rate and foreign exchange deriva-
tives to manage the risks inherent in certain debt issues (held 
at amortized cost). In certain cases, the Group applies hedge 
accounting for interest rate risk as discussed in Note 1a) 15) 
and  “Note  23  Derivative  Instruments  and  Hedge  Account-
ing”.  As  a  result  of  applying  hedge  accounting,  at  31  De-
cember 2009 and 31 December 2008, the carrying value of 
debt issued was CHF 600 million higher and CHF 904 million 
higher,  respectively,  reflecting  changes  in  fair   value  due  to 
interest rate movements.

The  Group  issues  both  CHF  and  non-CHF  denominated 

fixed-rate and floating-rate debt.

Subordinated debt securities are unsecured obligations of 
the Group that are subordinated in right of payment to all 
present  and  future  senior  indebtedness  and  certain  other 
obligations of the Group. At 31 December 2009 and 31 De-
cember 2008, the Group had CHF 11,244 million and CHF 

12,769 million, respectively, in subordinated debt. Subordi-
nated  debt  usually  pays  fixed  interest  annually  or  floating 
rate interest based on three-month or six-month London In-
terbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and provides for single princi-
pal payments upon maturity.

At 31 December 2009 and 31 December 2008, the Group 
had CHF 167,702 million and CHF 165,312 million, respec-
tively, in unsubordinated debt (excluding money market pa-
per, compound debt instruments – OTC and loan commit-
ments designated at fair value).

The  following  table  shows  the  split  between  fixed-rate 
and floating-rate debt issues based on the contractual terms. 
However,  it  should  be  noted  that  the  Group  uses  interest 
rate  swaps  to  hedge  many  of  the  fixed-rate  debt  issues, 
which  changes  their  repricing  characteristics  into  those  of 
floating-rate debt.

Contractual maturity dates

CHF million, except where indicated

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015 – 2019

Thereafter

Total 
31.12.09

Total 
31.12.08

UBS AG (Parent Bank)

Senior debt

Fixed rate
Interest rates (range in %) 1
Floating rate

Subordinated debt

Fixed rate

Interest rates (range in %)

Floating rate

Subtotal

Subsidiaries

Senior debt

Fixed rate
Interest rates (range in %) 1
Floating rate

Subordinated debt

Fixed rate

Interest rates (range in %)

Floating rate

Subtotal

Total

66,450

13,600

0 – 10.46

0 – 10.00

16,341

11,154

7,839

0 – 7.0

10,463

10,609

0 – 9.44

5,653

8,132

0 – 8.84

4,368

17,517

0 – 9.5

8,631

6,209

0 – 8.0

11,765

130,356

103,579

68,375

81,000

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

397

3.34

0

82,792

24,754

18,303

16,262

12,897

5,488

1,282

7,167

8,875

2.38 – 7.38

6.38 – 8.75

3,578

35,214

499

4,077

3,820

19,754

209,975

197,274

8,335

0 – 9.0

1,160

1,012

308

0 – 9.49

0 – 7.74

1,451

1,354

340

0 – 9.0

1,108

180

0 – 7.63

713

944

0 – 5.54

4,650

8,375

0 – 12.0

4,102

19,494

83,003

14,537

18,449

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

74

0

9,495

2,463

1,661

1,448

893

92,287

27,217

19,964

17,710

13,789

5,594

40,808

12,476

32,230

34,030

244,005

101,526

298,800

1 The contractual interest rates on some minor positions of structured products were not considered in the interest rate ranges. The interest rate of these products is up to 69.5%.

The table above indicates fixed interest rate coupons on the 
Group’s bonds. The high or low coupons generally relate to 
structured debt issues prior to the separation of embedded 
derivatives. As a result, the stated interest rate on such debt 

issues  generally  does  not  reflect  the  effective  interest  rate 
the Group is paying to service its debt after the embedded 
derivative has been separated and, where applicable, the ap-
plication of hedge accounting.

302

Note 20  Other liabilities

CHF million

Provisions

Provisions for contingent claims

Current tax liabilities

Deferred tax liabilities

VAT and other tax payables

Settlement and clearing accounts

Amounts due under unit-linked investment contracts
Other payables 1
Total other liabilities

Note

31.12.09

31.12.08

21

9b

22

2,311

90

1,082

142

612

1,430

21,740

6,579

33,986

2,727

31

1,192

1,470

1,022

3,089

22,084

11,384

42,998

1 Includes third-party interest of consolidated limited partnerships of CHF 1.6 billion (2008 CHF 3.1 billion) and liabilities from cash settled employee compensation plans of CHF 2.5 billion (2008 
CHF 3.6 billion). Contingent payments (net present value as of 31 December 2008 CHF 1.4 billion) for the acquisition of Pactual in 2006 were finally derecognized in 2009 due to the sale of UBS Pac-
tual in September 2009.

Note 21  Provisions and litigation

CHF million

Balance at the beginning of the year

Additions from acquired companies

Increase in provisions recognized in the income statement

Release of provisions recognized in the income statement

Provisions used in conformity with designated purpose

Capitalized reinstatement costs

Disposal of subsidiaries

Reclassifications

Foreign currency translation

Balance at the end of the year

Operational 1
270

Litigation 2 Restructuring
183

1,418

0

293

(94)

(352)

0

(32)

0

(3)

82

0

265

(22)

(516)

0

(3)

0

(113)

1,028

0

649

(6)

(415)

0

0

92

(14)

488

Other 4
856

0

139

(187)

(92)

3

0

(1)

(5)

713

Total
31.12.09

2,727

0

1,346

(309)

(1,375)

3

(35)

90

(135)

2,311

Total
31.12.08 3
1,716

1

4,002

(528)

(1,381)

(21)

0

(979)

(83)

2,727

1 Includes provisions for litigation resulting from security risks and transaction processing risks.    2 Includes litigation resulting from legal, liability and compliance risks.    3 In 2008 Global Wealth 
Management & Business Banking made a provision of CHF 1,464 million (USD 1,363 million) for the expected costs of the repurchase of auction rate securities (ARS), including fines. In fourth quarter 
2008, after the provision was partially applied for repurchases of ARS, an amount of CHF 968 million (USD 908 million), excluding fines, was reclassified to Negative replacement values. In addition, a 
provision of CHF 917 million (USD 780 million) was made in connection with UBS’s US cross-border case.    4 Includes reinstatement costs for leasehold improvement which amounted to CHF 161 million 
on 31 December 2009 (CHF 167 million on 31 December 2008), provisions for onerous lease contracts, provisions for employee benefits (service anniversaries and sabbatical leave) and other items.

Litigation
The  UBS  Group  operates  in  a  legal  and  regulatory  environ-
ment that exposes it to significant litigation risks. As a result, 
UBS is involved in various disputes and legal proceedings, in-
cluding litigation, arbitration, and regulatory and criminal in-
vestigations.  Such  cases  are  subject  to  many  uncertainties, 
and their outcome is often difficult to predict, including the 
impact on operations or on the financial statements, particu-
larly in the earlier stages of a case. In certain circumstances, to 
avoid the expense and distraction of legal proceedings, UBS 
may, based on a cost-benefit analysis, enter into a settlement 
even though UBS denies any wrongdoing. The Group makes 
provisions for cases brought against it when, in the opinion of 
management after seeking legal advice, it is probable that a 
liability exists, and the amount can be reasonably estimated. 
Certain  potentially  significant  legal  proceedings  as  of  

31 December 2009 are described below:
a)  Municipal Bonds: In November 2006, UBS and others re-
ceived subpoenas from the US Department of Justice, An-

(SEC)  seeking 

titrust Division, and the US Securities and Exchange Com-
information  relating  to  the 
mission 
investment of proceeds of municipal bond issuances and 
associated derivative transactions. Both investigations are 
ongoing,  and  UBS  is  cooperating.  In  addition,  various 
state  Attorneys  General  have  issued  subpoenas  seeking 
similar information. In the SEC investigation, on 4 Febru-
ary 2008, UBS received a “Wells notice” advising that the 
SEC staff is considering recommending that the SEC bring 
a  civil  action  against  UBS  AG  in  connection  with  the 
 bidding  of  various  financial  instruments  associated  with 
municipal securities. The discussions with the SEC are on-
going.

b)  Auction Rate Securities: UBS was the subject of an SEC 
investigation and state regulatory actions relating to the 
marketing  and  sale  of  auction  rate  securities  (ARSs)  to 
clients,  and  to  UBS’s  role  and  participation  in  ARS  auc-
tions and underwriting of ARSs. UBS was also named in 
several putative class actions and individual civil suits and 

303

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Note 21  Provisions and litigation (continued)

arbitrations.  The  regulatory  actions  and  investigations 
and the civil proceedings followed the disruption in the 
markets  for  these  securities  and  related  auction  failures 
since  mid-February  2008.  At  the  end  of  2008  UBS  en-
tered into settlements with the SEC, the New York Attor-
ney General (NYAG) and the Massachusetts Securities Di-
vision  whereby  UBS  agreed  to  offer  to  buy  back  ARSs 
from  eligible  customers  within  certain  time  periods,  the 
last of which begins on 30 June 2010, and to pay penal-
ties of USD 150 million (USD 75 million to the NYAG, USD 
75 million to the other states). UBS’s settlement is largely 
in line with similar industry regulatory settlements. UBS is 
continuing to finalize agreements with other state regu-
lators. The SEC continues to investigate individuals affili-
ated with UBS who traded in ARSs or who had responsi-
bility for disclosures. 

c)  US Cross-Border: UBS AG has been the subject of a num-
ber of governmental inquiries and investigations relating 
to its cross-border private banking services to US private 
clients  during  the  years  2000 – 2007.  On  18  February 
2009, UBS AG announced that it had entered into a De-
ferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with the US Depart-
ment of Justice Tax Division (DOJ) and the United States 
Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, and 
a Consent Order with the SEC relating to these investiga-
tions. As part of the settlement agreements UBS agreed 
to, among other things, (i) pay a total of USD 780 million 
to the United States, (ii) complete the exit of the US cross-
border  business  out  of  non-SEC  registered  entities,  and 
(iii) implement and maintain an effective program of in-
ternal controls with respect to compliance with its obliga-
tions  under  the  Qualified  Intermediary  (QI)  Agreement 
with  the  US  Internal  Revenue  Service  (IRS),  as  well  as  a 
revised legal and compliance governance structure in or-
der to strengthen independent legal and compliance con-
trols. Pursuant to the DPA, the DOJ agreed that any fur-
ther prosecution of UBS will be deferred for a period of at 
least  18  months,  subject  to  extension  under  certain  cir-
cumstances such as UBS needing more time to complete 
the implementation of the exit of its US cross-border busi-
ness. If UBS satisfies all of its obligations under the DPA, 
the DOJ will refrain permanently from pursuing charges 
against UBS relating to the investigation of its US cross-
border business. As part of the resolution of an SEC claim 
that UBS acted as an unregulated broker dealer and in-
vestment advisor in connection with its US cross-border 
business,  UBS  consented  to  a  settlement  that  provides, 
among other things, that: (i) UBS will pay USD 200 million 
to the SEC (included in the USD 780 million payment de-
scribed above); and (ii) UBS will complete its exit of the US 
cross-border  business  and  will  be  permanently  enjoined 
from violating certain SEC registration requirements.

304

  The agreements with the DOJ and SEC did not resolve the 
“John  Doe”  summons  which  the  IRS  served  on  UBS  in 
July 2008. In this regard, on 19 February 2009, the Civil 
Tax Division of the DOJ filed a civil petition for enforce-
ment of this summons in the US Federal District Court for 
the Southern District of Florida, through which it sought 
an order directing UBS to produce information located in 
Switzerland  regarding  US  clients  who  have  maintained 
accounts  with  UBS  in  Switzerland  without  providing  a 
Form W-9. 

  On  19  August  2009,  UBS  executed  a  settlement  agree-
ment  with  the  IRS  and  the  DOJ,  to  resolve  the  “John 
Doe”  summons  litigation  (UBS-US  Settlement  Agree-
ment). At the same time, the United States and Switzer-
land  entered  into  a  separate  but  related  agreement 
(Swiss-US Agreement). Among other things, these agree-
ments provide that: (i) UBS and the IRS would promptly 
file a stipulation dismissing the “John Doe” summons en-
forcement action then pending in federal court in Miami, 
which occurred the same day; (ii) the IRS would submit a 
request for information regarding accounts of US clients 
maintained at UBS in Switzerland, on the basis that such 
clients  appear  to  have  committed  tax  fraud  or  the  like 
within the meaning of the existing 1996 Swiss-US Double 
Taxation  Treaty,  to  the  Swiss  Federal  Tax  Administration 
(SFTA), which it did on 31 August 2009; (iii) UBS would 
send  a  notice  to  US  accountholders  that  appear  to  be 
within the scope of the treaty request and produce to the 
SFTA information on the corresponding accounts both in 
accordance  with  a  specified  schedule,  which  UBS  has 
done in compliance with an order issued by the SFTA on 
1 September 2009; and (iv) UBS and the IRS would agree 
to amend UBS’s QI Agreement, whereupon the IRS would 
withdraw  the  previously  disclosed  QI  Notice  of  Default 
dated 15 May 2008. The UBS-US Settlement Agreement 
does not call for any monetary payment by UBS. 

  Because UBS has complied with all of its obligations set 
forth in the UBS-US Settlement Agreement required to be 
completed by 31 December 2009, the IRS has withdrawn 
the summons with prejudice as to all accounts not cov-
ered by the treaty request. 

  Subject to UBS’s compliance with its further notification 
and  information  processing  obligations  set  forth  in  the 
UBS-US Settlement Agreement, the IRS will withdraw the 
“John Doe” summons with prejudice as to the remaining 
accounts  –  i.e.  those  subject  to  the  treaty  request  –  no 
later than 24 August 2010 upon the actual or anticipated 
delivery  to  the  IRS  of  information  relating  to  accounts 
covered by the treaty request that does not differ signifi-
cantly from the expected results. Alternatively, the sum-
mons will be withdrawn with prejudice as to the remain-
ing accounts if at any time on or after 1 January 2010 the 

Note 21  Provisions and litigation (continued)

IRS has received information from any source relating to 
at  least  10,000  accounts  of  US  persons  maintained  at 
UBS in Switzerland.

  On  21  January  2010,  the  Swiss  Federal  Administrative 
Court ruled that the SFTA did not have a proper legal ba-
sis to grant the IRS request for information with respect to 
accounts of US persons who had failed to report substan-
tial amounts of income over an extended period, but had 
not engaged in fraudulent activity within the meaning of 
Swiss  law.  The  decision  does  not  invalidate  the  UBS-US 
Settlement Agreement or the Swiss-US Agreement and it 
does  not  affect  the  treaty  request  to  the  extent  it  is  di-
rected  at  accounts  in  relation  to  which  such  fraudulent 
activity  occurred.  Following  consultations  with  the  US 
Government about measures to ensure the further imple-
mentation  of  the  Swiss-US  Settlement  Agreement,  the 
Swiss Government decided on 24 February 2010 that it 
will seek to amend the Swiss-US Agreement and submit it 
to Parliament for approval.

  UBS continues, as in the past, to fulfill all of its obligations 
under  the  settlements,  including,  among  other  things, 
the exit of the US cross-border business out of non-SEC 
registered entities and the provision of relevant account 
information to the SFTA under the treaty process.

d)  Inquiries Regarding Non-US Cross-Border Businesses: Fol-
lowing  the  disclosure  of  the  US  cross-border  matter  and 
the settlements with the DOJ and the SEC, tax and regula-
tory authorities in a number of countries have requested 
information  relating  to  the  cross-border  wealth  manage-
ment services provided by UBS and other financial institu-
tions. In particular, the revenue services of Canada, the UK 
and Australia have served requests upon, or made inquiries 
of,  UBS  and  other  Swiss  and  non-Swiss  financial  institu-
tions providing cross-border wealth management services 
for information relating to such services that is located in 
their respective jurisdictions. UBS is cooperating with these 
requests strictly within the limits of financial privacy obliga-
tions under Swiss and other applicable laws. It is premature 
to speculate on the outcome of any such inquiries.

e)  Matters Related to the Credit Crisis: UBS is responding to 
a  number  of  governmental  inquiries  and  investigations, 
and is involved in a number of litigations, arbitrations and 
disputes, related to the credit crisis and in particular mort-
gage-related securities and other structured transactions 
and  derivatives.  These  matters  concern,  among  other 
things,  UBS’s  valuations,  accounting  classifications,  dis-
closures, writedowns, and contractual obligations, as well 
as its role as underwriter in securities offerings for other 
issuers. In particular, UBS has communicated with and has 
responded to inquiries by FINMA, its home country con-
solidated regulator, as well as the SEC, the Financial In-
dustry Regulatory Authority and the United States Attor-

ney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, regarding 
some of these issues and others, including the role of in-
ternal  control  units,  governance  and  processes  around 
risk  control  and  valuation  of  mortgage-related  instru-
ments,  compliance  with  public  disclosure  rules,  and  the 
business  rationales  for  the  launching  and  the  reintegra-
tion of Dillon Read Capital Management. FINMA conclud-
ed its investigation in October 2008. 

f)  Claims Related to UBS Disclosure: A putative consolidated 
class action has been filed against UBS and a number of 
current  and  former  directors  and  senior  officers  in  the 
Southern District of New York alleging securities fraud in 
connection with the firm’s disclosures relating to its losses 
in the subprime mortgage markets, its losses and positions 
in auction rate securities, and its US cross-border business. 
Defendants have moved to dismiss the complaint for lack 
of jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim. UBS and a 
number  of  senior  officers  and  directors  have  also  been 
sued  in  a  putative  consolidated  class  action  brought  on 
behalf of holders of UBS Employee Retirement Income Se-
curity  Act  (ERISA)  retirement  plans  in  which  there  were 
purchases  of  UBS  stock.  UBS  has  moved  to  dismiss  the 
ERISA complaint for failure to state a claim.

g)  Madoff: In relation to the Madoff investment fraud, UBS, 
UBS (Luxembourg) SA and certain other UBS subsidiaries 
have been subject to inquiries by a number of regulators, 
including  FINMA  and  the  Luxembourg  Commission  de 
Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF). Those inquiries 
concerned two third-party funds established under Lux-
embourg law substantially all assets of which were with 
Bernard  L.  Madoff  Investment  Securities  LLC  (BMIS),  as 
well as certain funds established under offshore jurisdic-
tions  with  either  direct  or  indirect  exposure  to  BMIS. 
These funds now face severe losses. The last reported net 
asset value of the two Luxembourg funds before the rev-
elation  of  the  Madoff  scheme  was  approximately  USD 
1.7  billion in the  aggregate.  The documentation  estab-
lishing both funds identifies UBS entities in various roles 
including custodian,  administrator,  manager, distributor 
and promoter, and indicates that UBS employees serve as 
board members. On 25 February 2009, the CSSF issued a 
communiqué with respect to the larger of the two funds, 
stating that UBS (Luxembourg) SA had failed to comply 
with its due diligence responsibilities as custodian bank. 
The CSSF ordered UBS (Luxembourg) SA to review its in-
frastructure  and  procedures  relating  to  its  supervisory 
obligations  as  custodian  bank,  but  did  not  order  it  to 
compensate  investors.  On  25  May  2009,  UBS  (Luxem-
bourg) SA submitted a comprehensive final report to the 
CSSF, which resulted in the CSSF publishing a new com-
muniqué saying that UBS (Luxembourg) SA has provided 
evidence demonstrating that it has the infrastructure and 

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Note 21  Provisions and litigation (continued)

internal organization in place in accordance with profes-
sional standards appli cable to custodian banks in Luxem-
bourg. In addition, on 17 December 2009, a claim in the 
amount  of  EUR  890  million  was  filed  on  behalf  of  the 
larger of the two Luxembourg funds by the liquidators of 
that fund against 15 defendants, including UBS entities, 
Access  Management  Luxembourg  SA,  Ernst  &  Young, 
the CSSF and various individuals. A large number of al-
leged beneficiaries have filed claims against UBS entities 
(and  non-UBS  entities)  for  purported  losses  relating  to 
the  Madoff  scheme.  Further,  certain  clients  of  UBS  in 
Germany  are  exposed  to  Madoff-managed  positions 
through  third-party  funds  and  funds  administered  by 
UBS entities in Germany.

h)  City of Milan Transactions: In January 2009, the City of 
Milan  filed  civil  proceedings  against  UBS  Limited,  UBS 
Italia  SIM  Spa  and  three  other  international  banks  in 
relation to a 2005 bond issue and associated derivatives 
transactions  entered  into  with  the  City  of  Milan  be-
tween 2005 and 2007. The claim is to recover alleged 
damages  in  an  amount  which  will  compensate  for 
terms of the related derivatives which the City claims to 

be  objectionable.  In  the  alternative,  the  City  seeks  to 
recover  alleged  hidden  profits  alleged  to  have  been 
made by the banks in the amount of EUR 88 million (of 
which UBS Limited is alleged to have received EUR 16 
million) together with further damages of not less than 
EUR 150 million. The claims are made against all of the 
banks on a joint and several basis. UBS is vigorously de-
fending the claim. In addition, a criminal investigation 
by a Prosecutor in Milan has been ongoing in relation to 
the same transactions. In November 2009, the Prosecu-
tor filed a request for committal for trial of two current 
UBS employees and one former UBS employee, togeth-
er with employees from other banking institutions. The 
request alleges that  the banks’ employees engaged  in 
criminal conduct in order to allow the banks to earn al-
legedly concealed profits on the June 2005 bond issue 
and related derivative transactions. The Prosecutor also 
requested  committal  for  trial  of  UBS  Limited  and  the 
other banks in relation to the administrative charge of 
failing to have in place a business organization model 
to prevent crime. Preliminary court hearings are taking 
place through March 2010.

306

Note 22  Income taxes

CHF million

Tax expense from continuing operations

Domestic

Current

Deferred

Foreign

Current

Deferred

Total income tax expense from continuing operations

Tax expense from discontinued operations

Domestic

Total income tax expense from discontinued operations

Total income tax expense

For the year ended

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

55

23

462

(983)

(443)

0

0

(336)

(7,282)

519

262

(6,837)

1

1

(443)

(6,836)

409

(25)

1,061

(76)

1,369

(258)

(258)

1,111

The deferred tax benefit reflects the recognition of addition-
al deferred tax assets in respect of tax losses and temporary 
differences in a number of locations including the US (CHF 
373  million)  and  Japan  (CHF  127  million),  taking  into  ac-
count updated forecast profit assumptions over the five-year 
horizon used for recognition purposes. In addition, it reflects 
the release of a deferred tax liability of CHF 243 million relat-
ing to UBS Pactual prior to its sale during the year. The cur-
rent tax charge mainly relates to tax expenses in respect of 
entities with taxable profits.

The  current  tax  expense  for  2009  includes  tax  costs  re-
lated to prior years of CHF 50 million. In addition, there was 

a tax benefit of CHF 116 million relating to prior years in re-
spect of the release of a net deferred tax liability. The net tax 
benefits relating to prior years were therefore CHF 65 mil-
lion.

The Group made net corporate income tax payments, in-
cluding domestic and foreign taxes, of CHF 505 million, CHF 
887 million and CHF 3,663 million in 2009, 2008 and 2007 
respectively.

The components of operating profit before tax, and the 
differences between income tax expense reflected in the fi-
nancial statements and the amounts calculated at the Swiss 
statutory rate, are as follows:

CHF million

Operating profit from continuing operations before tax

Domestic

Foreign

Income taxes at Swiss statutory rate of 21.5% for 2009, 22% for 2008 and 2007

Increase / (decrease) resulting from:

Applicable tax rates differing from Swiss statutory rate

Tax effects of losses not recognized

Previously unrecorded tax losses now utilized

Non-taxable and lower taxed income

Non-deductible goodwill and intangible asset amortization

Non-deductible expenses

Adjustments related to prior years

Change in deferred tax valuation allowance

Other items

Income tax expense from continuing operations

31.12.09

(2,561)

4,871

(7,433)

(551)

(1,636)

1,188

(79)

(932)

7

1,005

(65)

552

69

(443)

For the year ended

31.12.08

(27,758)

3,269

(31,027)

(6,107)

(7,056)

7,412

(10)

(773)

160

737

(490)

(692)

(17)

31.12.07

(3,742)

10,337

(14,079)

(823)

(3,054)

6,327

(257)

(1,587)

15

227

(72)

279

314

(6,837)

1,369

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Note 22  Income taxes (continued)

Significant components of the Group’s deferred income tax assets and liabilities are as follows:

CHF million

Deferred tax assets

Compensation and benefits

Tax loss carry-forwards

Trading assets

Other

Total deferred tax assets

Deferred tax liabilities

Compensation and benefits

Property and equipment

Financial investments and associates

Trading assets

Goodwill and intangible assets

Other

Total deferred tax liabilities

31.12.09

Valuation 
allowance Recognized

(1,561)

(24,259)

(403)

(2,215)

221

8,246

158

243

Gross

1,782

32,505

561

2,458

31.12.08

Valuation 
allowance

(1,213)

(24,708)

(365)

(69)

Gross

1,534

32,834

608

258

37,305

(28,437)

8,868

35,234

(26,354)

5

1

60

0

61

15

142

Recognized

321

8,126

243

190

8,880

111

29

206

244

289

591

1,470

The change in the net of deferred tax assets and  liabilities 
in 2009 and 2008 does not equal the deferred tax benefit 
in  those  years.  This  is  because  certain  deferred  tax  asset 
and liability movements are recognized directly in the state-
ment of changes in equity and also because of the effects 
of  exchange  rate  changes  on  tax  assets  and  liabilities  de-
nominated in currencies other than Swiss francs.

During the year, deferred tax liabilities of CHF 0.7 billion 
were  offset  against  deferred  tax  assets  in  accordance  with 
IAS 12.

In  the  table  above,  the  valuation  allowance  represents 
amounts  that  are  not  expected  to  provide  future  benefits 
due to insufficiency of future taxable income (and at 31 De-
cember 2008, also amounts offset against potential tax ad-
justments).

UBS AG Switzerland and certain overseas branches and 
subsidiaries of the Group have deferred tax assets related to 
tax loss carry-forwards and other items. For entities that in-
curred  losses  in  either  the  current  or  preceding  year,  an 
amount of CHF 8,773 million is recognized as deferred tax 

assets at 31 December 2009 (CHF 8,463 million at 31 De-
cember  2008).  These  deferred  tax  assets  mainly  relate  to 
Swiss tax losses (primarily due to the write-down of invest-
ments  in  US  subsidiaries  in  2007  and  2008)  and  US  tax 
 losses.  Swiss  tax  losses  can  be  carried  forward  for  seven 
years and US federal tax losses for 20 years.

The deferred tax assets recognized at 31 December 2009 
in respect of tax losses have been based on profitability as-
sumptions  over  a  five-year  horizon.  The  expected  future 
profitability  is  based  on  business  plan  assumptions,  as  ad-
justed to take into account the recognition criteria of IAS 12. 
If the business plan earnings and assumptions in following 
quarters substantially deviate from the current assumptions, 
the amount of deferred tax assets may need to be adjusted 
in the future.

At  31  December  2009,  tax  losses  totaling  CHF  72,313 
million which are not recognized as deferred tax assets are 
available  to  be  offset  against  potential  tax  adjustments  or 
future taxable income.

The tax losses expire as follows:

CHF million

Within 1 year

From 2 to 4 years

After 4 years

Total

31.12.09

1

4

72,308

72,313

The Group provides for deferred income taxes on undistributed earnings of subsidiaries except to the extent that those earn-
ings are indefinitely invested. At 31 December 2009, no such earnings were treated as indefinitely invested.

308

Note 23  Derivative instruments and hedge accounting

A derivative is a financial instrument, the value of which is 
derived  from  the  value  of  another  (“underlying”)  financial 
instrument,  an  index  or  some  other  variable.  Typically,  the 
underlying  is  a  share,  commodity  or  bond  price,  an  index 
value or an exchange or interest rate.

The majority of derivative contracts are negotiated as to 
amount (“notional”), tenor, price and how the trade is to be 
settled  in  the  future  between  UBS  and  its  counterparties, 
which  may  be  other  professionals  or  customers  (over-the-
counter (OTC) contracts).

OTC contracts are usually traded under an International 
Swaps  and  Derivatives  Association  (ISDA)  master  trading 
agreement (MTA) between UBS and its counterparties. Oth-
er  derivative  contracts  are  standardized  in  terms  of  their 
amounts and settlement dates and are bought and sold on 
organized  exchanges  (exchange-traded  contracts  (ETD)). 
With ETDs, the exchange also acts as a central counterparty. 
The notional amount of a derivative is generally the quantity 
of  the  underlying  instrument  on  which  the  derivative  con-
tract  is  based  and  is  the  basis  upon  which  changes  in  the 
value of the contract are measured. It provides an indication 
of  the  underlying  volume  of  business  transacted  by  the 
Group but does not provide necessarily any measure of risk.
Derivative  instruments  are  carried  at  fair  value  (refer  to 
Note  27  for  fair  value  measurement  of  derivative  instru-
ments),  shown  in  the  balance  sheet  as  Separate  totals  of 
Positive  replacement  values  (assets)  and  Negative  replace-
ment values (liabilities), except for futures, 100% daily mar-
gined exchange traded options and interest rate swaps with 
the  London  Clearing  house  (LCH)  with  daily  margining, 
which  are  presented  on  the  balance  sheet  as  Due  from 
banks, Loans and Due to banks and customers.

Positive  replacement  values  represent  the  cost  to  the 
Group  of  replacing  all  transactions  with  a  fair  value  in  the 
Group’s  favor,  assuming  transactions  could  be  replaced  in-
stantaneously.  Negative  replacement  values  represent  the 
cost to the Group’s counterparties of replacing all their trans-
actions with the Group with a fair value in their favor. Posi-
tive  and  Negative  replacement  values  on  different  transac-
tions are only netted if the transactions are with the same 
counterparty with a legally enforceable right to set off. Posi-
tive  and  Negative  replacement  values  are  denominated  in 
the  same  currency,  and  the  cash  flows  are  intended  to  be 
settled on a net basis. Changes in replacement values of de-
rivative instruments are recognized in the income statement 
unless  they  meet  the  criteria  for  certain  hedge  accounting 
relationships, as explained in Note 1a) 15) Derivative instru-
ments and hedge accounting.

Types of derivative instruments
The  Group  uses  the  following  derivative  financial  instru-
ments for both trading and hedging purposes.

Forwards and futures are contractual obligations to buy 
or sell financial instruments or commodities on a future date 
at a specified price. Forward contracts are tailor-made agree-
ments  that  are  transacted  between  counterparties  on  the 
OTC  market,  whereas  futures  are  standardized  contracts 
transacted on regulated exchanges.

Swaps  are  transactions  in  which  two  parties  exchange 
cash  flows  on  a  specified  notional  amount  for  a  predeter-
mined period. Most swaps are traded OTC. The major types 
of  swap  transactions  undertaken  by  the  Group  are  as  fol-
lows:
–  Interest rate swap contracts generally entail the contrac-
tual exchange of fixed-rate and floating-rate interest pay-
ments in a single currency, based on a notional amount 
and a reference interest rate, e.g. LIBOR.

–  Cross-currency  swaps  involve  the  exchange  of  interest 
payments based on two different currency principal bal-
ances and reference interest rates and generally also en-
tail  exchange  of  principal  amounts  at  the  start  and / or 
end of the contract.

–  Credit default swaps (CDSs) are the most common form 
of a credit derivative, under which the party buying pro-
tection makes one or more payments to the party selling 
protection in exchange for an undertaking by the seller to 
make a payment to the buyer following a credit event (as 
defined in the contract) with respect to a third-party cred-
it entity (as defined in the contract). Settlement following 
a credit event may be a net cash amount or cash in return 
for  physical  delivery  of  one  or  more  obligations  of  the 
credit entity and is made regardless of whether the pro-
tection  buyer  has  actually  suffered  a  loss.  After  a  credit 
event  and  settlement,  the  contract  is  terminated.  An 
elaboration of credit derivatives is included in a separate 
section below.

–  Total  rate  of  return  swaps  give  the  total  return  receiver 
exposure to all of the cash flows and economic benefits 
and risks of an underlying asset, without having to own 
the  asset,  in  exchange  for  a  series  of  payments,  often 
based on a reference interest rate, e.g. LIBOR. The total 
return payer has an equal and opposite position.

–  Metal  swaps  (precious  metal  swaps  and  base  metal 
swaps) involve the purchase and sale of specific metals. A 
precious metal swap involves the purchase and sale of a 
specified  metal  with  fixed  notional  amount  and  fixed 
price but different settlement dates. A base metal swap is 
the simultaneous purchase and sale of a specified metal 
with same settlement dates but different pricing terms.
Options and warrants are contractual agreements under 
which, typically, the seller (writer) grants the purchaser the 
right, but not the obligation, either to buy (call option) or to 
sell (put option) by or at a set date, a specified quantity of a 
financial instrument or commodity at a predetermined price. 

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements 

Note 23  Derivative instruments and hedge accounting (continued)

The  purchaser  pays  a  premium  to  the  seller  for  this  right. 
 Options involving more complex payment structures are also 
transacted.  Options  may  be  traded  OTC  or  on  a  regulated 
exchange  and  may  be  traded  in  the  form  of  a  security 
 (warrant).

Credit derivatives
UBS’s  credit  derivative  portfolio  consists  of  credit  default 
swaps, total return swaps and options and warrants. As of 
31  December  2009,  the  total  notional  value  of  protection 
bought was CHF 1,288 billion (CHF 56 billion and CHF 23 
billion  Positive  replacement  values  and  Negative  replace-
ment  values,  respectively)  and  the  total  notional  value  of 
protection  sold  was  CHF  1,187  billion  (CHF  23  billion  and 
CHF 47 billion Positive replacement values and Negative re-
placement values, respectively), in 2009. UBS’s credit deriva-
tives  are  usually  traded  as  OTC  contracts.  During  2009  a 
number  of  initiatives  were  launched  in  both  the  US  and 
 Europe  to  establish  centralized  clearing  solutions  for  OTC 
CDS contracts (exchange cleared derivatives), with the aim 
of reducing counterparty risk. UBS, along with other dealer 
members, has been an active participant in these initiatives.
A significant portion of UBS’s credit derivatives are traded 
under an ISDA MTA between UBS and its counterparty. UBS’s 
CDS  trades  are  also  documented  using  industry  standard 
forms  of  documentation  published  by  ISDA  or  equivalent 
terms  documented  in  a  bespoke  (i.e.  tailored)  agreement. 
Those  forms  and  agreements  use  standardized  terms  that 
form the basis for market conventions related to the types of 
credit events that would trigger performance (i.e. payment) 
under a CDS.

The types of credit events that would require UBS to per-
form  under  a  CDS  contract  are  subject  to  agreement  be-
tween the parties at the time of the transaction. However, 
nearly all transactions are traded using credit events that are 
applicable under certain market conventions based on the 
type  of  reference  entity  to  which  the  transaction  relates. 
 Applicable  credit  events  by  market  conventions  include 
“bankruptcy”, “failure to pay”, “restructuring”, “obligation 
acceleration” and “repudiation / moratorium”.

Recourse provisions
UBS  uses  standardized  agreements  and  forms  as  the  basis 
for  its  credit  derivative  contracts.  Those  agreements  and 
forms do not contain recourse provisions that would enable 
UBS to recover from third parties any amounts paid out by 
UBS (i.e. this is the case where a credit event occurs and UBS 
is required to make payment under a CDS).

Economic hedges and strategy
UBS actively utilizes CDS to economically hedge specific coun-
terparty credit risks in its banking book loans portfolio (includ-

ing loan commitments) with the aim of reducing concentra-
tions  in  individual  names,  sectors  or  specific  portfolios.  In 
addition, UBS actively utilizes CDS to economically hedge spe-
cific counterparty credit risks in its OTC derivative port folios.

UBS is an active dealer in fixed income instruments and 
CDS and related products with respect to a large number of 
securities issuers. The primary purpose of these activities is 
for  the  benefit  of  UBS’s  clients  (market  making)  and  to  a 
lesser extent creating new credit exposures taken for UBS’s 
own trading purposes (proprietary trading).

Market making activity consists of buying and selling sin-
gle-name CDS, index CDS, loan CDS and related referenced 
cash instruments to facilitate client trading activity. Proprie-
tary  trading  consists  of  trading  in  single-name  CDS,  index 
CDS and loan CDS to capitalize on pricing discrepancies be-
tween various credit instruments (bonds, loans and equities) 
across investment grade, high-yield and emerging markets.

As  a  general  matter,  risk  to  the  relevant  issuers  arising 
from  fixed  income  instruments,  CDS  and  related  products 
are reviewed and risk-managed on a net exposure basis (i.e. 
taking into account all exposures to a particular issuer aris-
ing from fixed income instruments, CDS and related prod-
ucts)  across  market  making  and  proprietary  trading  activi-
ties.

UBS’s  strategy  with  respect  to  CDS  trading  was  the  re-
duction  in  scope  and  scale  of  the  firm’s  structured  credit, 
proprietary  credit  and  asset  securitization  (including  syn-
thetic securitization) activities during 2009 and 2008.

Contingent features of derivative liabilities
Based on UBS’s credit ratings as of 31 December 2009, ad-
ditional collateral or termination payments pursuant to bi-
lateral agreements with certain counterparties of approxi-
mately CHF 1.2 billion and CHF 2.8 billion would have been 
required in the event of a one-notch and two-notch reduc-
tion, respectively, in UBS’s long-term credit ratings. In eval-
uating  UBS’s  liquidity  requirements,  UBS  considers  addi-
tional  collateral  or  termination  payments  that  would  be 
required  in  the  event  of  a  reduction  in  UBS’s  long-term 
credit ratings.

Derivatives transacted for trading purposes
Most  of  the  Group’s  derivative  transactions  relate  to  sales 
and trading activities. Sales activities include the structuring 
and  marketing  of  derivative  products  to  customers  to  en-
able them to take, transfer, modify or reduce current or ex-
pected risks. Trading activities include market making, posi-
tioning  and  arbitrage  activities.  Market  making  involves 
quoting  bid  and  offer  prices  to  other  market  participants 
with the intention of generating revenues based on spread 
and volume. Positioning means managing market risk posi-
tions with the expectation of profiting from favorable move-

310

Note 23  Derivative instruments and hedge accounting (continued)

ments in prices, rates or indices. Arbitrage activities involve 
identifying  and  profiting  from  price  differentials  between 
the same product in different markets or the same econom-
ic factor in different products.

The Group has also used equity futures, options and, to a 
lesser extent, swaps for economically hedging in a variety of 
equities  trading  strategies  to  offset  underlying  equity  and 
equity volatility exposure.

Derivatives transacted for hedging purposes
The  Group  enters  into  derivative  transactions  for  the  pur-
poses  of  hedging  assets,  liabilities,  forecast  transactions, 
cash flows and credit exposures. The accounting treatment 
of hedge transactions varies according to the nature of the 
instrument hedged and whether the hedge qualifies as such 
for accounting purposes.

Derivative transactions may qualify as hedges for account-
ing purposes. These are described under the corresponding 
headings  in  this  note.  The  Group’s  accounting  policies  for 
derivatives designated and accounted for as hedging instru-
ments are explained in Note 1a) 15) Derivative instruments 
and hedge accounting, where terms used in the following 
sections are explained.

The Group has also entered into interest rate swaps and 
other  interest  rate  derivatives  (e.g.  futures)  for  day-to-day 
economic interest rate risk management purposes, but with-
out applying hedge accounting.

Fair value hedges of interest rate risk

CHF million

Gains / (losses) on hedging instruments

Gains / (losses) on hedged items attributable to the hedged risk

Net gains / (losses) representing ineffective portions of fair value hedges

The Group has also entered into CDS’s that provide eco-
nomic  hedges  for  credit  risk  exposures  (refer  to  the  credit 
derivatives section).

Fair value changes of derivatives that are part of econom-
ic  relationships,  but  do  not  qualify  for  hedge  accounting 
treatment, are booked to Net trading income.

Fair value hedges
The Group’s fair value hedges principally consist of interest 
rate swaps that are used to protect against changes in the 
fair value of fixed-rate instruments (e.g. long-term-fixed rate 
debt issues) due to movements in market interest rates. The 
fair values of outstanding interest rate derivatives designated 
as fair value hedges were CHF 526 million and CHF 71 mil-
lion  Positive  replacement  values  and  Negative  replacement 
values, respectively, at 31 December 2009 and a CHF 883 mil-
lion net Positive replacement values at 31 December 2008.

For the year ended

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

(171)

182

11

778

(796)

(18)

15

(11)

4

Fair value hedges of portfolio interest rate risk
The Group also applies fair value hedge accounting of port-
folio interest rate risk. The change in fair value of the hedged 
items  is  recorded  separately  from  the  hedged  item  and  is 
included in Other assets on the balance sheet. The fair value 
of derivatives designated for this hedge method at 31 De-
cember  2009  was  CHF  956  million  Negative  replacement 

value, 31 December 2008 was a CHF 765 million net Nega-
tive replacement value.

During 2008, UBS expanded the use of Fair Value hedge 
accounting  for  portfolio  interest  rate  risk  to  include  other 
Swiss  mortgage  loan  portfolios.  In  2009  no  further  scope 
expansion was made.

Fair value hedge of portfolio of interest rate risk1

CHF million

Gains / (losses) on hedging instruments

Gains / (losses) on hedged items attributable to the hedged risk

Net gains / (losses) representing ineffective portions of fair value hedges

1 Hedge effectiveness is calculated on a cumulative basis.

For the year ended

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

(48)

11

(37)

(644)

688

44

(37)

30

(7)

311

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements 

Note 23  Derivative instruments and hedge accounting (continued)

Cash flow hedges of forecasted transactions
The  Group  is  exposed  to  variability  in  future  interest  cash 
flows on non-trading assets and liabilities that bear interest 
at variable rates or are expected to be refunded or reinvested 
in the future. The amounts and timing of future cash flows, 
representing both principal and interest flows, are projected 
for each portfolio of financial assets and liabilities, based on 
contractual terms and other relevant factors including esti-

mates of prepayments and defaults. The aggregate principal 
balances  and  interest  cash  flows  across  all  portfolios  over 
time form the basis for identifying the non-trading interest 
rate  risk  of  the  Group,  which  is  hedged  with  interest  rate 
swaps, the maximum maturity of which is 19 years.

The  schedule  of  forecasted  principal  balances  on  which 
the   expected  interest  cash  flows  arise  as  of  31  December 
2009 is shown below.

Forecasted cash flows

CHF billion

Cash inflows (assets)

Cash outflows (liabilities)

Net cash flows

< 1 year

1–3 years

3–5 years

5–10 years

over 10 years

205

69

136

352

136

216

202

96

106

141

78

63

20

4

16

Gains  and  losses  on  the  effective  portions  of  derivatives 
 designated as cash flow hedges of forecasted transactions 
are initially recorded in Equity as  Net income recognized 
directly  in  equity  and  are  transferred  to  current  period 
earnings when the forecasted cash flows affect net profit 
or  loss.  The  gains  and  losses  on  ineffective  portions  of 
such derivatives are recognized immediately in the income 
statement. A CHF 183 million loss, a CHF 108 million loss 
and a CHF 443 million gain was recognized in 2009, 2008 
and 2007, respectively, due to hedge ineffectiveness.

As of 31 December 2009, the fair values of outstanding 
derivatives  designated  as  cash  flow  hedges  of  forecasted 
transactions were CHF 5,180 million and CHF 2,736 million 
Positive  replacement  values  and  Negative  replacement  val-
ues, respectively, and as of 31 December 2008 the amount 
was CHF 2,539 million net Positive replacement values.

At the end of 2009 and 2008, gains of CHF 46 million 
and CHF 86 million associated with de-designated inter-
est rate swaps were deferred in Equity. They will be re-
moved  from  Equity  when  the  previously  hedged  fore-
casted cash flows have an impact on net profit or loss, or 
when the forecasted cash flows are no longer expected 
to occur. Amounts reclassified from Equity to  Net inter-
est income of de-designated swaps were CHF 40 million 
net  gain  in  2009,  CHF  49  million  net  gain  in  2008  and 
CHF 79 million net gain in 2007.

In 2008, due to reductions in the volume of short-term 
financial instruments, some of the forecasted cash flows 
previously included in the hedge relationships were deter-
mined to no longer be expected to occur.

Hedges of net investments in foreign operations
The  Group  applies  hedge  accounting  for  certain  consoli-
dated net investments in USD-denominated operations. At 
31 December 2009 the fair values of the financial liabilities 
(predominantly structured products issued by UBS) designat-
ed  as  hedging  instruments  in  net  investment  hedges  was 
CHF 2.5 billion. Gains or losses on the translation of these 
hedging  instruments  are  transferred  directly  to  Equity  to 
 offset any gains or losses on translation of the net invest-
ments  in  the  subsidiaries,  which  are  also  recognized  in 
 Equity. No ineffectiveness from hedges of net investments in 
foreign operations was recognized in the income statements 
during 2009.

Contractual maturities of derivatives designated as hedging 
instruments in hedge accounting relationships
The  contractual  maturities  of  derivatives  designated  as 
hedging instruments in hedge accounting relationships are 
considered “essential” for an understanding of the timing 
of their cash flows.

Derivatives designated in hedge accounting relationships (undiscounted cash flows)

CHF billion
Interest rate swaps 1
Cash outflows

Cash inflows

Total 31.12.09

On demand

Due within 
1 month

Due between 
1 and 3 months

Due between 
3 and 12 months

Due between 
1 and 5 years

Due after 
5 years

0

0

0

0

0

0

(0)

0

(0)

(1)

0

(1)

(3)

2

(1)

(15)

18

3

Total

(19)

20

1

1 Interest rate swaps are gross settled. The table includes all cash inflows and outflows of interest rate swaps with Positive and Negative replacement values.

312

Note 23  Derivative instruments and hedge accounting (continued)

Risks of derivative instruments
Derivative instruments are transacted in many trading port-
folios, which generally include several types of instruments, 
not just derivatives. The market risk of derivatives is predom-
inantly  managed  and  controlled  as  an  integral  part  of  the 
market  risk  of  these  portfolios.  The  Group’s  approach  to 
market risk is described in the audited “Market risk” section 
of this report.

Derivative  instruments  are  transacted  with  many  differ-
ent  counterparties,  most  of  whom  are  also  counterparties 
for other types of business. The credit risk of derivatives is 
managed and controlled in the context of the Group’s over-
all  credit  exposure  to  each  counterparty.  The  Group’s  ap-
proach to credit risk is described in the audited “Credit risk” 
section of this report. It should be noted that, although the 
Positive replacement values shown on the balance sheet can 
be an important component of the Group’s credit exposure, 
the Positive replacement values for a counterparty are rarely 
an adequate reflection of the Group’s credit exposure on its 
derivatives business with that counterparty. This is, for ex-

ample, because on the one hand,  replacement values can 
increase over time (“potential future exposure”), while on 
the other hand,  exposure may be mitigated by entering into 
master netting agreements and bilateral collateral arrange-
ments  with  counterparties.  Both  the  exposure  measures 
used by the Group internally to control credit risk and the 
capital requirements imposed by regulators reflect these ad-
ditional factors.

The replacement values presented on UBS’s balance sheet 
and in the tables on the next two pages include netting in 
accordance  with  IFRS  requirements  (refer  to  Note  1a)  34), 
which  is  more  restrictive  than  netting  in  accordance  with 
Swiss  Federal Banking law. The main difference of Swiss Fed-
eral  Banking  law  to  IFRS  is  that  Swiss  Federal  Banking  law 
netting is generally based on close-out netting arrangements 
which are enforceable in case of insolvency. The Positive and 
Negative replacement values based on netting in accordance 
with Swiss Federal Banking law (factoring in cash collateral) 
are presented on the bottom of the tables on the next two 
pages.

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313

 
Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements 

Note 23  Derivative instruments and hedge accounting 1 (continued)

As of 31 December 2009

Term to maturity

Within 3 months

3–12 months

1–5 years

over 5 years

CHF billion

PRV 2

NRV 3

PRV

NRV

PRV

NRV

PRV

NRV

Notional 
values 
related to 
PRVs

Total 
PRV

 Notional 
values 
related to 
NRVs

Total 
NRV

Other 
notional 
values 4

Interest rate contracts

Over-the-counter (OTC) contracts

Forward contracts

Swaps

Options

Exchange-traded contracts 5

Futures

Options

Total

Credit derivative contracts

Over-the-counter (OTC) contracts

Credit default swaps

Total rate of return swaps

Options and warrants

Total

Foreign exchange contracts

Over-the-counter (OTC) contracts

Forward contracts

Interest and currency swaps

Options

Exchange-traded contracts 5

Futures

Options

Total

Equity / index contracts

Over-the-counter (OTC) contracts

Forward contracts

Options

Exchange-traded contracts 5

Futures

Options

Total

Commodities contracts

Over-the-counter (OTC) contracts

Forward contracts

Options

Exchange-traded contracts 5

Futures

Options

Total

Total derivative  instruments, 
based on IFRS netting

Replacement value netting, 
based on capital adequacy rules

Cash collateral netting

Total derivative  instruments, 
based on capital adequacy 
netting 6

1.8

8.2

1.0

1.6

6.8

1.1

0.7

18.7

3.5

0.8

16.9

3.0

0.1

89.7

10.1

0.1

82.6

11.9

0.0

69.5

11.3

0.0

65.0

13.5

2.5

186.2

25.9

1,343.7

7,110.7

543.2

2.5

1,286.5

0.0

171.4

6,802.7

15,949.2

29.4

611.8

0.0

0.1

11.1

0.1

9.6

0.2

23.1

0.2

0.2

20.8

100.0

0.2

94.8

0.0

80.8

0.0

78.6

0.5

3.9

0.4

3.5

271.9

0.0

215.1

9,001.5

203.7

8,704.5 16,221.2

0.1

0.1

0.0

0.2

0.3

0.1

0.0

0.4

0.9

0.0

0.0

1.0

0.9

0.0

0.0

0.9

33.1

32.1

42.9

36.4

77.1

1,254.7

69.7

1,208.9

1.0

0.0

0.3

0.0

0.4

0.0

0.4

0.0

1.5

0.0

5.7

9.3

0.9

0.0

5.4

6.6

34.1

32.4

43.3

36.9

78.6

1,269.6

70.6

1,220.9

7.5

31.2

1.8

6.3

30.3

1.7

2.4

13.1

2.1

2.6

15.3

2.0

0.8

18.9

1.2

0.6

23.5

1.2

0.0

17.3

0.9

0.0

16.8

0.8

10.6

80.5

5.9

453.2

2,279.8

609.7

9.5

85.8

5.7

403.7

2,209.6

560.2

0.0

40.4

0.0

38.3

0.0

17.6

0.0

20.0

0.0

20.9

0.0

25.2

0.0

18.2

0.0

17.6

0.1

1.5

0.1

0.1

97.1

3,344.2

101.1

3,173.5

0.9

0.4

4.9

6.2

0.6

0.3

0.4

1.3

0.8

0.9

4.6

6.3

0.6

0.2

0.4

1.2

1.1

2.1

4.7

8.0

0.7

0.7

0.7

2.0

1.2

2.7

4.9

8.8

0.6

0.6

0.7

1.9

0.5

2.4

0.8

4.1

5.2

8.1

5.8

10.7

0.7

0.9

0.8

2.4

0.7

0.9

0.8

2.4

0.4

2.1

0.2

2.7

0.1

0.1

0.0

0.2

0.9

1.7

0.1

2.8

0.1

0.2

0.0

0.4

2.9

7.0

56.6

60.9

3.7

9.5

46.9

73.7

15.1

25.1

30.5

148.0

15.5

28.7

36.2

156.8

2.0

1.9

1.9

5.9

20.6

21.7

0.6

42.9

2.0

1.9

1.9

5.8

15.0

23.6

2.0

40.7

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

1.5

0.0

1.5

0.0

0.0

6.8

0.0

6.8

0.0

0.0

2.7

0.0

2.7

59.3

55.9

51.7

52.4

165.5

165.5

145.2

136.2

421.7 13,806.2

409.9 13,296.5 16,232.2

(313.2)

(37.2)

(313.2)

(32.7)

71.3

64.1

1 Bifurcated embedded derivatives are presented in the same balance sheet line as the host contract and are excluded from the table. Payables and receivables resulting from the valuation of regular way 
purchases and sales of financial assets between trade and settlement date are recognized as replacement values and therefore included in the table. PRVs and NRVs are categorized in different time 
bands on the basis of the maximal duration of the derivative contract.    2 PRV: Positive replacement value.    3 NRV: Negative replacement value.    4 Receivables resulting from derivatives are recognized 
on UBS’s balance sheet under Due from banks and Loans: CHF 1.6 billion. Payables resulting from these derivatives are recognized on UBS’s balance sheet under Due to banks and Due to customers: 
CHF 1.6 billion.    5 Notional values of exchange-traded products include own account trades only.    6 Includes the impact of netting agreements (including cash collateral) in accordance with Swiss 
Federal Banking Law, based on the IFRS scope of consolidation.

314

Note 23  Derivative instruments and hedge accounting 1 (continued)

As of 31 December 2008

Term to maturity

Within 3 months

3–12 months

1–5 years

over 5 years

CHF billion

PRV 2

NRV 3

PRV

NRV

PRV

NRV

PRV

NRV

Notional 
values 
related to 
PRVs

Total 
PRV

Notional 
values 
related to 
NRVs

Total 
NRV

Other 
notional 
values 4

2.1

9.5

4.0

2.2

9.9

3.7

3.8

23.6

6.6

4.1

24.3

7.0

0.3

0.4

0.0

0.0

152.1

140.5

144.8

142.9

14.3

15.7

12.6

16.5

6.2

330.0

37.4

1,544.9

8,543.3

498.4

6.7

1,584.5

0.0

317.6

8,260.0

15,002.0

43.0

595.5

0.0

0.8

16.4

0.8

16.6

0.5

34.5

0.5

0.1

0.1

0.0

0.0

1.4

6.4

1.4

8.7

527.5

0.0

36.0

166.8

156.7

157.4

159.5

375.1 10,593.1

368.7 10,448.7 15,529.6

0.5

3.4

0.3

0.4

3.4

0.2

3.5

0.1

95.4

3.1

91.2

0.5

89.8

1.6

88.2

0.5

189.1

1,856.1

183.3

1,754.0

8.3

31.2

1.5

12.6

Total

3.9

0.7

3.6

3.6

98.4

91.7

91.4

88.8

197.4

1,887.2

184.8

1,766.7

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

1.7

0.0

1.7

0.0

0.0

33.5

0.0

33.5

0.0

0.0

14.1

0.0

14.1

21.0

72.1

7.5

22.8

74.5

7.6

8.4

36.2

10.0

10.6

33.8

9.1

1.6

34.9

2.1

1.1

39.2

1.8

0.1

27.1

0.0

0.1

26.5

0.0

31.2

468.1

34.5

485.6

170.3

2,047.4

173.9

1,868.4

19.7

610.1

18.6

524.8

0.2

0.3

101.0

105.2

0.0

54.6

0.0

53.5

0.0

38.7

0.0

42.1

0.0

27.2

0.0

26.6

0.2

12.8

0.3

6.1

221.5

3,138.3

227.3

2,884.8

1.9

1.7

1.6

3.2

2.0

4.8

1.8

7.4

2.2

4.7

2.0

8.5

5.0

8.6

5.2

10.0

5.3

12.1

6.7

16.0

4.8

11.7

5.6

16.1

3.0

0.8

2.1

5.8

2.4

1.0

4.3

2.6

3.7

2.5

2.2

5.6

3.8

10.7

3.9

10.1

1.9

2.6

2.7

7.1

1.6

2.3

2.7

6.6

0.2

1.7

0.9

2.9

0.9

0.3

0.0

1.2

0.3

4.0

1.2

5.5

1.1

0.2

0.0

1.4

6.4

12.9

68.5

108.9

5.7

23.0

40.1

106.1

16.1

35.3

97.9

275.2

18.7

47.4

110.5

256.7

10.0

6.3

39.1

36.3

8.7

6.1

33.1

42.4

8.6

24.9

74.7

150.1

8.7

23.6

95.6

171.1

135.7

138.1

115.5

119.2

322.8

313.1

280.0

281.6

854.1 16,043.9

851.9 15,528.0 15,578.9

(651.7)

(41.3)

(651.7)

(52.8)

161.1

147.4

Interest rate contracts

Over-the-counter (OTC) contracts

Forward contracts

Swaps

Options

Exchange-traded contracts 5

Futures

Options

Total

Credit derivative contracts

Over-the-counter (OTC) contracts

Credit default swaps

Total rate of return swaps

Options and warrants

Foreign exchange contracts

Over-the-counter (OTC) contracts

Forward contracts

Interest and currency swaps

Options

Exchange-traded contracts 5

Futures

Options

Total

Equity / index contracts

Over-the-counter (OTC) contracts

Forward contracts

Options

Exchange-traded contracts 5

Futures

Options

Total

Commodities contracts

Over-the-counter (OTC) contracts

Forward contracts

Options

Exchange-traded contracts 5

Futures

Options

Total

Total derivative  instruments, 
based on IFRS netting

Replacement value netting, 
based on capital adequacy rules

Cash collateral netting

Total derivative  instruments, 
based on capital adequacy 
netting 6

1 Bifurcated embedded derivatives are presented in the same balance sheet line as the host contract and are excluded from the table. Payables and receivables resulting from the valuation of regular way 
purchases and sales of financial assets between trade and settlement date are recognized as replacement values and therefore included in the table. PRVs and NRVs are categorized in different time 
bands on the basis of the maximal duration of the derivative contract.    2 PRV: Positive replacement value.    3 NRV: Negative replacement value.    4 Receivables resulting from derivatives are recognized 
on UBS’s balance sheet under Due from banks and Loans: CHF 0.2 billion. Payables resulting from these derivatives are recognized on UBS’s balance sheet under Due to banks and Due to customers: 
CHF 0.1 billion.    5 Notional values of exchange-traded products include own account trades only.    6 Includes the impact of netting agreements (including cash collateral) in accordance with Swiss 
Federal Banking Law, based on the IFRS scope of consolidation.

315

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements 

Off-balance-sheet information

Note 24  Pledgeable off-balance-sheet securities

The Group obtains securities which are not recorded on the balance sheet with the right to sell or repledge them as shown 
in the table below.

CHF million

Fair value of securities received which can be sold or repledged

under reverse repurchase, securities borrowing and lending arrangements,  
derivative transactions and other transactions

in unsecured borrowings

thereof sold or repledged

in connection with financing activities

to satisfy commitments under short sale transactions

in connection with derivative and other transactions

31.12.09

528,856

515,314

13,542

398,883

335,371

47,469

16,043

31.12.08

651,380

621,981

29,399

430,670

343,252

62,431

24,987

Note 25  Operating lease commitments

At 31 December 2009, UBS was obligated under a number 
of non-cancellable operating leases for premises and equip-
ment  used  primarily  for  banking  purposes.  The  significant 
premises leases usually include renewal options and escala-
tion clauses in line with general office rental market condi-
tions  as  well  as  rent  adjustments  based  on  price  indices. 
However,  the  lease  agreements  do  not  contain  contingent 

rent payment clauses and purchase options, nor do they im-
pose  any  restrictions  on  UBS’s  ability  to  pay  dividends,  en-
gage  in  debt  financing  transactions  or  enter  into  further 
lease agreements.

The minimum commitments for non-cancellable leases of 

premises and equipment are presented as follows:

CHF million

Operating leases due

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015 and thereafter

Subtotal commitments for minimum payments under operating leases

Less: Sublease rentals under non-cancellable leases

Net commitments for minimum payments under operating leases

31.12.09

989

870

786

658

555

2,113

5,971

690

5,281

316

Note 25  Operating lease commitments (continued)

CHF million

Gross operating lease expense

from continuing operations

from discontinued operations

Sublease rental income from continuing operations

Net operating lease expense

from continuing operations

from discontinued operations

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

1,191

1,191

0

57

1,134

1,134

0

1,215

1,215

0

50

1,165

1,165

0

1,251

1,233

18

54

1,197

1,179

18

Operating lease contracts include non-cancellable long-term 
leases of office buildings in most UBS locations. At 31 De-
cember 2009, the minimum lease commitments for each of 

11 office locations exceeded CHF 100 million and non-can-
cellable minimum lease commitments for the office location 
in New York exceeded CHF 500 million.

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements 

Additional information

Note 26  Capital increases and mandatory convertible notes

June 2009 share capital increase

On 25 June 2009, UBS increased its share capital by issuing 
293,258,050 new registered shares with a par value of CHF 
0.10 each. The shares were placed with a small number of 
large institutional investors at a price of CHF 13.00 per share. 
Net proceeds from the capital increase were CHF 3.8 billion. 
The  shares  were  issued  upon  decision  by  the  Board  of  Di­
rectors out of authorized capital which had been approved 
at the annual general meeting of shareholders on 15 April 
2009.

Conversion of the mandatory convertible notes 
(MCNs) issued to the Swiss Confederation

On  19  August  2009,  the  Swiss  Confederation  announced 
the conversion of its UBS CHF 6 billion mandatory convert­

ible  notes  (MCNs).  Upon  conversion  on  25  August  2009, 
UBS issued 332,225,913 new shares with a nominal value of 
CHF 0.10 each from  existing conditional capital. The liability 
and  the  Negative   replacement  value  recorded  on  the  bal­
ance sheet for the principal amount and the embedded de­
rivative component of the MCNs were reclassified to equity. 
The conversion of the MCNs resulted in an overall increase in 
equity of CHF 6,718 million for 2009, reflecting an increase 
in share capital of CHF 33 million and an increase in share 
premium of CHF 6,685 million. Prior to the conversion of the 
MCNs,  the  embedded  derivative  component  was  re­mea­
sured to fair value resulting in a gain of CHF 341 million for 
2009. In addition, the Swiss Confederation waived its right 
to receive future coupon payments on the converted MCNs 
for  a  cash  amount  of  approximately  CHF  1.8  billion.  The 
 impact on UBS’s income statement resulting from this waiver 
was not material.

Note 27  Fair value of financial instruments

a) Valuation principles

Fair  value  is  the  amount  for  which  an  asset  could  be  ex­
changed,  or  a  liability  settled,  between  knowledgeable, 
willing parties in an arm’s length transaction. Financial in­
struments classified as held for trading or designated at fair 
value through profit or loss and financial assets classified as 
available for sale are recognized in the financial statements 
at fair value. All derivatives are measured at fair value.

Fair  values  are  determined  from  quoted  prices  in  active 
markets  for  identical  financial  assets  or  financial  liabilities 
where these are available. Fair value of a financial asset or 
financial liability in an active market is the current bid or of­
fer price times the number of units of the instrument held. 
Where a trading portfolio contains both financial assets and 
financial  liabilities  with  offsetting  market  risks,  fair  value  is 
determined by valuing the gross long and short positions at 
current mid­market prices, with an adjustment at portfolio 
level  to  the  net  open  long  or  short  position  to  amend  the 
valuation to bid or offer as appropriate.

Where the market for a financial instrument is not active, 
fair value is established using a valuation technique or pric­
ing model. These valuation techniques and models involve a 
degree of estimation, the extent of which depends on the 

instrument’s complexity and the availability of market­based 
data. Valuation adjustments may be made to allow for ad­
ditional factors including model risks, liquidity risk and credit 
risk.  Based  on  the  established  fair  value  and  model  gover­
nance policies and related controls and procedures applied, 
the management believes that these valuation adjustments 
are  necessary  and  appropriate  to  fairly  state  the  values  of 
 financial  instruments  carried  at  fair  value  on  the  balance 
sheet.

When entering into a transaction where model inputs are 
not  market  observable,  the  financial  instrument  is  initially 
recognized  at  the  transaction  price,  which  is  generally  the 
best  indicator  of  fair  value.  This  may  differ  from  the  value 
obtained from the valuation model (“Deferred day 1 profit 
or loss”). The timing of the recognition in profit and loss of 
this initial difference in fair value depends on the individual 
facts and circumstances of each transaction but is never later 
than when the market data become observable.

Pricing models and valuation techniques
The  most  frequently  applied  pricing  models  and  valuation 
techniques  include  discounted  cash  flow  models,  relative 

318

Note 27  Fair value of financial instruments (continued)

a) Valuation principles (continued)

value  models  and  option  pricing  models.  Discounted  cash 
flows determine the value by estimating the expected future 
cash flows from assets or liabilities discounted to their pres­
ent value. Relative value models determine the value based 
on  the  market  prices  of  similar  assets  or  liabilities.  Option 
pricing  models  are  complex  present  value  models,  such  as 
binomial options pricing models.

UBS  uses  widely  recognized  valuation  models  for  deter­
mining fair values of financial instruments of lower complex­
ity, such as interest rate and currency swaps. For more com­
plex  instruments,  UBS  uses  internally  developed  models, 
which  are  usually  based  on  valuation  methods  and  tech­
niques generally recognized as standard within the industry. 
Such valuation models are used primarily to value derivatives 
transacted  in  the  over­the­counter  (OTC)  market,  unlisted 
equity and debt securities (including those with embedded 
derivatives), and other fair valued debt instruments for which 
markets  were  illiquid  in  2009.  Market­observable  assump­
tions and inputs are used where available, and derived from 
similar  assets  in  similar  and  active  markets,  from  recent 
trans action  prices  for  comparable  items  or  from  other  ob­
servable market data. Little, if any, weight is placed on trans­
action  prices  when  calculating  the  fair  value  if  there  is  no 
active market and the transactions are not orderly (i.e. dis­
tressed or forced). For positions where observable reference 
data are not available for some or all parameters, UBS cali­
brates  the  non­market­observable  inputs  used  in  its  valua­
tion models based on a combination of judgment, historical 
experience and knowledge of current market conditions. As­
sumptions  and  inputs  used  in  valuation  techniques  and 
models include benchmark interest rates, credit spreads and 
other  premia  used  in  estimating  discount  rates,  bond  and 
equity prices, equity index prices, foreign exchange rates and 
volatilities and correlations.

The output of a model is always an estimate or approxi­
mation  of  a  value  that  cannot  be  determined  with  cer­
tainty,  and  valuation  techniques  employed  may  not  fully 
reflect all factors relevant to the positions UBS holds. Valu­
ations are therefore adjusted, where appropriate, to bring 
the fair value derived from the model towards the appro­
priate  bid / offer  price  and  cover  close  out  costs,  credit 
 exposure  and  model  uncertainty.  The  values  derived  from 
applying these techniques are significantly affected by the 
choice of valuation model and the underlying assumptions 
made concerning factors such as the amounts and timing 
of  future  cash  flows,  discount  rates,  volatility  and  credit 
risk. Accrued interest is recognized as part of the fair value 
of financial instruments accounted for at fair value. Lock­
up  periods  for  equity  investments  are  considered  when 
 determining fair value.

Interest rate curves
UBS uses various interest rate curves for valuing its financial 
instruments. Financial liabilities designated at fair value are 
measured  using  UBS’s  senior  debt  curve.  Financial  assets 
 designated at fair value are valued consistent with the curve 
used  for  the  particular  business.  Uncollateralized  credit 
 exposure  is  reserved  through  normal  credit  rating  and  re­
serving methods. For the valuation of derivative instruments, 
UBS generally employs a LIBOR flat curve. If the derivatives 
are only partially collateralized, or uncollateralized, the  credit 
exposure is adjusted through a credit valuation adjustment 
(CVA) or a debit valuation adjustment (DVA). For the valua­
tion of overnight interest­rate swaps, the overnight interest­
rate swap curve is applied.

Counterparty credit risk in the valuation of OTC derivative 
instruments, derivatives embedded in funded assets 
designated at fair value and derivatives embedded in traded 
debt instruments
In order to arrive at fair value, credit valuation adjustments 
(CVA) are necessary to reflect the credit risk of the counter­
party  inherent  in  over­the­counter  (OTC)  derivatives  trans­
actions, derivatives embedded in funded assets designated 
at fair value and derivatives embedded in traded debt instru­
ments. This amount represents the estimated market value 
of  protection  required  to  hedge  against  credit  risk  from 
counterparties  in  these  instruments.  CVA  depends  on  ex­
pected  future  exposures,  default  probability  and  recovery 
rate. The calculation takes into account whether collateral or 
netting arrangements or break clauses are in place. The most 
significant component of the overall CVA is the portion re­
lated to monoline credit protection, discussed further below.

UBS’s own credit risk in the valuations of derivative financial 
liabilities (Negative replacement values)
In 2009, the Group revised its methodology for estimating 
debit valuation adjustments (DVA) to incorporate own credit 
in the valuation of derivatives, predominantly to align it with 
the CVA methodology described above. Under the pre vious 
approach, the Libor flat valuation of uncollateralized deriva­
tive  liabilities after consideration of any netting agreement 
was revalued using UBS’s senior debt curve. The difference 
between the valuation at Libor flat and the valuation at the 
senior  debt  curve  provided  the  life­to­date  DVA,  and  the 
change  in  the  life­to­date  DVA  between  periods  provided 
the own credit gain or loss in each period. Under the new 
approach, the Group applies a methodology consistent with 
that  used  to  calculate  CVA.  The  calculation  takes  into  ac­
count negative expected exposure profiles for the derivative 
portfolio,  collaterals,  netting  agreements,  expected  future 

319

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements 

Note 27  Fair value of financial instruments (continued)

a) Valuation principles (continued)

mark­to­market  movements,  and  UBS’s  credit  default 
spreads  to  determine  the  UBS  counterparty  exposure  from 
the perspective of holders of UBS debt. The debit valuation 
adjustments  (DVA)  so  calculated  represent  the  theoretical 
costs to counterparties of hedging their UBS credit exposure 
or the credit risk reserve that a counterparty could reason­
ably be expected to hold against their credit risk exposure to 

UBS, if they applied the same methodology as used to calcu­
late UBS’s CVA. The impact of this methodology change is 
included in the financial impact of the valuation changes for 
derivative liabilities and financial liabilities designated at fair 
value described below.

As of 31 December 2009, the CVA and DVA for derivative 

financial instruments (replacement values) were as follows:

CHF billion

Life-to-date

of which: CVA on monoline credit protection – negative basis trades

of which: CVA on monoline credit protection – other

of which: CVA on other instruments

Year-to-date 2

of which: CVA on monoline credit protection – negative basis trades

of which: CVA on monoline credit protection – other

of which: CVA on other instruments

1 Amounts do not include reserves against defaulted counterparties.    2 CVA amounts do not include commutations.

31.12.09

DVA

0.4

N/A

N/A

N/A

(1.9)

N/A

N/A

N/A

CVA 1
(4.3)

(2.9)

(0.2)

(1.2)

0.6

(0.8)

0.4

1.1

UBS’s own credit risk in the valuations of financial liabilities 
designated at fair value
The  Group’s  own  credit  changes  are  reflected  in  valuations 
for those financial liabilities designated at fair value, where 
the Group’s own credit risk would be considered by market 
participants. They are discounted for fully collateralized trans­
actions and other instruments for which it is established mar­
ket practice not to include an entity­specific adjustment for 
own credit. Own credit changes were calculated based on a 
senior debt curve generated from observed external pricing 

for  funding  associated  with  new  senior  debt  issued  by  the 
Group,  or  relevant  secondary  market  transactions  in  senior 
long­term UBS debt. The senior debt curve is considered to 
be representative of the credit risk which reflects the premi­
um (or discount) that market participants require to  acquire 
UBS debt. In the absence of an observable senior debt curve, 
credit default swap spreads would be considered as well.

The own credit results for Financial liabilities designated 
at fair value (predominantly issued structured products) were 
as follows:

Own credit on financial liabilities designated at fair value

CHF million

Total gain / (loss) for the year ended

of which: credit spread related only

Life-to-date gain

31.12.09 1
(2,023)

(1,958)

890

As of or for the year ended

31.12.08

31.12.07

2,032

3,993

2,953

659

659

663

1 Includes the following impacts from valuation changes as of 1 January 2009: increase in own credit of CHF 823 million on a year-to-date and life-to-date basis; increase of CHF 441 million in own 
credit related to credit spread only.

320

Note 27  Fair value of financial instruments (continued)

a) Valuation principles (continued)

The  year­to­date  amounts  represent  the  portion  of  the 
change in fair value of the financial liabilities designated at 
fair  value  that  is  related  to  own  credit.  The  life­to­date 
amount reflects the gain related to own credit by which the 
fair value of financial liabilities designated at fair value has 
changed  since  inception.  Included  in  these  amounts  is  the 
quantification of changes in fair value attributable to chang­
es in UBS’s credit spread during the periods. In addition, the 
total own credit changes include the credit effect of “volume 
changes”, i.e. the credit effect of period changes in fair val­
ues attributable to factors other than credit spreads, such as 
redemptions, effects from time decay, changes in the value 
of referenced instruments issued by third parties, or, in the 
case of the life­to­date amount, changes in the foreign ex­
change rates.

Changes to the valuation of derivative financial instruments 
and financial instruments designated at fair value
In  2009,  UBS  reviewed  its  approach  to  calculating  and 
booking  own  credit  of  derivative  liabilities  and  financial 
 liabilities  designated at fair value. The following paragraph 
describes  the  impacts  of  the  changes  on  UBS’s  2009  re­
sults and balance sheet as of the transition date 1 January 
2009.

UBS’s 2009 net profit and net trading income increased 
by CHF 143 million, made up of a charge of CHF 222 million 
to the Corporate Center and a CHF 365 million credit to the 
Investment  Bank.  The  net  impact  on  the  Investment  Bank 
comprises a credit of CHF 823 million related to own credit 
and a debit of CHF 458 million to the fixed income, curren­
cies and commodities business.  Financial liabilities designat-
ed  at  fair  value  decreased  by  CHF  1,080  million,  Financial 
assets designated at fair value increased by CHF 198 million, 
Negative  replacement  values   increased  by  CHF  1,119  mil­
lion, and Positive replacement values decreased by CHF 16 
million.

Reflection of market liquidity risk in  
fair value determinations
Fair value estimates incorporate the effects of market liquid­
ity risk in the relevant markets. Market liquidity risk is the risk 
that a loss is incurred in neutralizing the exposures within a 
position  or  portfolio  by  either  liquidating  the  position  or 
 establishing an offsetting position. A liquidity adjustment is 
therefore made to provide against the expected cost of cov­
ering open market risk positions within a portfolio or posi­
tion. Bid / Offer adjustments are taken where a net open risk 
position is retained and the model on which it is valued is 
calibrated  to  mid  market.  Valuations  based  on  models  in­
corporate liquidity or risk premiums either implicitly (e.g. by 

 calibrating to market prices that incorporate such premiums) 
or explicitly.

Reflection of model uncertainty in fair value determinations
Uncertainties associated with the use of model­based valua­
tions are predominantly addressed through the use of model 
reserves.  These  reserves  reflect  the  amounts  that  UBS  esti­
mates  are  appropriate  to  deduct  from  the  valuations  pro­
duced directly by the models to reflect uncertainties in the 
relevant modeling assumptions and inputs used. In arriving 
at these estimates, UBS considers the range of market prac­
tice  and  how  it  believes  other  market  participants  would 
 assess these uncertainties. Model reserves are periodically re­
assessed  in  light  of  information  from  market  transactions, 
pricing utilities, and other relevant sources.

Valuation processes
UBS’s  fair  value  and  model  governance  structure  includes 
numerous  controls  and  procedural  safeguards  that  are  in­
tended to maximize the quality of fair value measurements 
reported in the financial statements. New products need to 
be reviewed and approved by all stakeholders relevant to risk 
and  financial  control.  Responsibility  for  the  ongoing  mea­
surement of financial instruments at fair value resides with 
the business but is independently validated by risk and finan­
cial control functions. In carrying out their valuation respon­
sibilities,  the  businesses  are  required  to  consider  the  avail­
ability and quality of available external market information 
and to provide justification and rationale for their fair value 
estimates. Independent price verification of financial instru­
ments measured at fair value is undertaken by the product 
control function which is independent from the risk taking 
businesses. The objective of the independent price verifica­
tion  process  is  to  independently  corroborate  the  business’ 
estimates of fair value against available market information. 
By benchmarking the business’ fair value estimates with ob­
servable market prices or other independent sources, the de­
gree of valuation uncertainty embedded in these measure­
ments  can  be  assessed  and  managed  as  required  in  the 
governance framework. A critical aspect of the independent 
price verification process is evaluation of the appropriateness 
of modeling approaches and input assumptions which yield 
fair value estimates derived from valuation models. An inde­
pendent model review group reviews UBS’s valuation models 
on a regular basis or if specific triggers occur and approves 
them for valuing specific products. As a result of the valua­
tion controls employed, valuation adjustments may be made 
to  the  business’  estimate  of  fair  value  to  either  align  with 
independent  market  information  or  financial  accounting 
standards.

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements 

Note 27  Fair value of financial instruments (continued)

b) Fair value hierarchy

All  financial  instruments  at  fair  value  are  categorized  into 
one  of  three  fair  value  hierarchy  levels  at  year­end,  based 
upon the lowest level input that is significant to the prod­
uct’s fair value measurement in its entirety:
–  Level 1 – quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for 

–  Level  2  –  valuation  techniques  for  which  all  significant 
inputs are market observable, either directly or indirectly; 
and

–  Level 3 – valuation techniques which include significant 
inputs that are not based on observable market data.

identical assets and liabilities

Determination of fair values from quoted market prices or valuation techniques

CHF billion

Trading portfolio assets

Trading portfolio assets pledged as collateral

Positive replacement values

of which:

Interest rate contracts

Credit derivative contracts

Foreign exchange contracts

Equity / index contracts

Commodities contracts

Financial assets designated at fair value

Financial investments available-for-sale

Total assets

Trading portfolio liabilities

Negative replacement values

of which:

Interest rate contracts

Credit derivative contracts

Foreign exchange contracts

Equity / index contracts

Commodities contracts

Financial liabilities designated at fair value

Total liabilities

Level 1

110.9

31.3

4.0

0.8

0.0

0.3

2.9

0.0

0.8

74.3

221.4

33.5

3.7

0.7

0.0

0.3

2.8

0.0

0.0

37.2

31.12.09

Level 2

Level 3

65.5

12.3

393.8

213.7

58.0

95.9

20.5

5.8

9.2

6.1

487.0

13.6

389.2

203.1

55.8

99.4

25.0

5.8

102.4

505.2

11.6

0.6

23.8

0.6

20.5

0.9

1.7

0.1

0.3

1.4

37.6

0.4

17.0

0.0

14.7

1.4

1.0

0.0

10.3

27.7

31.12.08

Total

188.0

44.2

421.7

215.1

78.6

97.1

25.1

5.9

10.2

81.8

745.9

47.5

409.9

203.7

70.6

101.1

28.7

5.8

112.7

570.1

Level 1

128.1

25.4

5.1

0.1

0.0

0.4

4.6

0.0

1.1

2.4

162.1

33.9

4.9

0.0

0.0

0.3

4.5

0.0

0.0

38.8

Level 2

128.4

13.2

811.2

372.0

166.7

221.0

26.7

24.8

11.2

1.2

965.2

27.5

812.0

366.9

153.7

227.0

40.7

23.6

91.2

930.7

Level 3

15.3

1.6

37.8

3.0

30.7

0.0

4.1

0.0

0.6

1.6

57.0

1.0

35.0

1.8

31.0

0.0

2.1

0.0

10.3

46.3

Total

271.8

40.2

854.1

375.1

197.4

221.5

35.3

24.8

12.9

5.2

1,184.3

62.4

851.9

368.7

184.8

227.3

47.4

23.6

101.5

1,015.8

Detailed breakdowns of UBS’s trading portfolio and financial investments available­for­sale by fair value hierarchy levels are 
shown in Note 11 and 13, respectively.

322

Note 27  Fair value of financial instruments (continued)

b) Fair value hierarchy (continued)

Transfers between level 1 and level 2 of  
the fair value hierarchy
Trading assets of approximately CHF 9 billion, of which CHF 
5 billion are debt instruments, and trading liabilities of ap­
proximately  CHF  4  billion,  of  which  almost  all  are  debt  in­
struments,  were  transferred  from  level  2  to  level  1  due  to 
increased trading activities and volumes, respectively.

Trading  assets  and  liabilities  with  amounts  of  approxi­
mately CHF 8 billion and approximately CHF 3 billion were 
transferred from level 1 to level 2. The assets largely related 
to government bonds (CHF 3 billion) and equity instruments 
(CHF 3 billion). The trading liabilities transferred from level 1 

to level 2 consisted equally of short sold debt and equity in­
struments. These assets and liabilities transferred from level 
1 to level 2 no longer met the average market activity UBS 
considers  necessary  when  determining  whether  an  instru­
ment is traded in an active market.

Movements of level 3 instruments
The  table  below  includes  a  roll­forward  of  the  balance 
sheet amounts of the significant classes of financial instru­
ments classified within level 3.

Movements of level 3 instruments and gains / losses for level 3 instruments held at the end of the reporting period

CHF billion

Balance at 31 December 2008

Total gains / losses included in the income statement

Net trading income

Other

Purchases, sales, issuances and settlements

Purchases

Sales

Issuances

Settlements

Transfers into and/or out of level 3

Transfers into level 3

Transfers out of level 3

Foreign currency translation

Balance at 31 December 2009

Total gains / losses for the period included in the income statement for 
level 3 instruments held at the end of the reporting period

Net trading income

Other

Trading portfolio assets  
(including those pledged 
as collateral) 1
16.9

Derivative instruments  
(net replacement 
values) 1
2.8

Financial liabilities 
designated at fair value 1
10.3

(3.9)

(3.7)

(0.2)

(6.3)

5.6

(11.9)

0.0

0.0

5.4

12.5

(7.1)

0.1

12.2

(0.5)

(1.0)

0.5

2.4

2.2

0.2

(1.0)

0.0

0.0

2.0

(3.0)

2.8

3.3

(0.5)

(0.2)

6.8

(0.6)

(0.6)

0.0

(1.7)

(1.1)

(0.6)

(4.6)

0.0

0.0

2.7

(7.3)

5.3

8.0

(2.7)

1.0

10.3

(0.7)

(0.7)

0.0

1 Where financial instruments moved into or out of level 3 level during 2009, this change is reflected as if the financial instrument had been in the new level as of the beginning of the quarter in which 
the  movement took place.

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements 

Note 27  Fair value of financial instruments (continued)

b) Fair value hierarchy (continued)

Material changes in level 3 instruments 
As  of  31  December  2009,  financial  instruments  measured 
with  valuation  techniques  using  significant  non­market 
 observable  inputs  (level  3)  mainly  included  the  following 
 instruments:
–  structured  rates  and  credit  trades,  including  bespoke 

 collateralized debt obligations (CDOs),

–  instruments linked to the US residential and US commer­

cial real estate markets,

–  non­US reference­linked notes, and
–  equity­linked notes issued by UBS.

Trading portfolio assets
Trading  portfolio  assets  transferred  into  and  out  of  level  3 
amounted to CHF 12.5 billion and CHF 7.1 billion, respec­
tively. On a net basis, approximately CHF 3 billion of transfers 
into level 3 were related to certain non­US reference­linked 
notes  held  in  Asia  as  price  determining  factors  for  these 
 instruments,  such  as  prices  of  the  underlying  asset­backed 
securities,  including  residential  and  commercial  real­estate 
securities,  became  unobservable.  Other  credit  positions 
(largely puttable bonds) of approximately CHF 2 billion were 
transferred  into  level  3  since  the  embedded  options  could 
not  be  price  tested.  In  addition,  leverage  finance  instru­
ments, asset­backed securities and other instruments of ap­
proximately CHF 1 billion in total, were transferred into level 
3 due to prices becoming unobservable. Transfers out of lev­
el 3, on a net basis, largely comprised structured rates and 
credit  trades  of  approximately  CHF  1  billion,  since  liquidity 
had returned to the underlying markets, as well as corporate 
bonds  of  approximately  CHF  1  billion,  for  which  indepen­
dent pricing sources became observable.

Level 3 trading assets purchased in 2009 largely  include 
leverage  finance  products  of  approximately  CHF  2  billion 
and other credit instruments of approximately CHF 1 billion.
Due  to  sales  and  settlements,  level  3  instruments  de­
creased by approximately CHF 12 billion. The following in­
struments were affected: structured rates and credit trades 
by approximately CHF 1 billion, bespoke CDOs by approxi­
mately  CHF  2  billion,  instruments  linked  to  the  US  sub­
prime residential and US commercial real estate markets by 
approximately CHF 3 billion, instruments linked to the non­
US real estate market by approximately CHF 2 billion, and 
leverage finance instruments, reference­linked notes, non­
real estate asset­backed securities, and other credit instru­
ments  by  approximately  CHF  1  billion  for  each  of  these 
 categories.

Derivative instruments
Net  replacement  values  transferred  into  and  out  of  level  3 
amounted  to  approximately  CHF  3  billion  and  approximately 
CHF  1  billion,  respectively.  Transfers  into  level  3  instruments 
 included Positive replacement values of CHF 26 billion and neg­
ative replacement values of CHF 23 billion. Transfers out of lev­
el 3 instruments included Positive replacement values of CHF 
20 billion and negative replacement values of CHF 19 billion.

Transfers into level 3 of replacement values mainly includ­
ed  bespoke  CDOs,  whose  correlation  was  not  observable 
through models or through reference data, single­name cor­
porate  credit  default  swaps  (CDS),  for  which  credit  curves 
were  not  available  from  pricing  sources,  and  home  equity 
loans CDSs and other instruments linked to the US residen­
tial real estate market, whose recovery values became unob­
servable due to the illiquidity of the underlying positions. In 
addition,  certain  structured  rates  and  credit  trades  whose 
loan and credit curves were unobservable have been trans­
ferred to level 3.

Transfers  of  replacement  values  out  of  level  3  consisted 
mainly of structured rates and credit trades, for which inde­
pendent  pricing  sources  (e.g.  reliable  quotes  from  pricing 
services) became available, and other credit instruments for 
which recovery rates and credit spreads could be observed in 
the market. 

Financial liabilities designated at fair value
Level 3 financial liabilities designated at fair value reclassified 
into level 3 in 2009 of CHF 8 billion predominantly related to 
hybrid  financial  liabilities,  including  equity­linked  notes  is­
sued by UBS, and funded credit derivatives. The main driver 
for the reclassification was the lack of market data for un­
derlying credit default swap curves. 

Level 3 sensitivity information
Financial instruments carried at fair value on UBS’s balance 
sheet include a subset of instruments for which fair value is 
measured in full or in part using valuation techniques based 
on  assumptions  that  are  not  supported  by  market  observ­
able prices or rates. 

There  may  be  uncertainty  about  a  valuation,  resulting 
from the choice of the valuation technique or model used, 
the assumptions embedded in those models, the extent to 
which  inputs  are  not  market  observable,  or  as  a  result  of 
other elements affecting the valuation technique or model. 
At 31 December 2009, UBS performed a sensitivity analy­
sis to assess the range of reasonably possible alternative val­

324

Note 27  Fair value of financial instruments (continued)

b) Fair value hierarchy (continued)

uations for level 3 instruments. In undertaking this analysis, 
UBS  evaluated  these  instruments  by  classifying  them  into 
low,  medium  and  high  categories  of  valuation  uncertainty 
based on the assessment of instrument level characteristics 
and  available  market  information.  Instrument  level  charac­
teristics include the model from which the valuation was de­
rived,  the  degree  of  impact  on  fair  value  by  unobservable 
parameters, reserves and valuation adjustments. Market in­
formation includes any data that supports the classification 
such as reference to similar instruments and observable pa­

rameter information. Based on the valuation uncertainty as­
signed to an instrument, the market value was adjusted up­
ward and downward and summed across the level 3 financial 
assets and liabilities to arrive at the estimated range of rea­
sonably possible alternative valuations, as shown in the table 
below: Favorable valuation changes for assets would be off­
set to a significant degree by unfavorable changes in liabili­
ties and vice versa as a consistent use of different assump­
tions and estimates would prevent a simultaneous favorable 
or unfavorable valuation change of assets and liabilities.

As of 31 December 2009, CHF billion
Financial assets 1

of which: trading portfolio assets (including those pledged as collateral)

of which: positive replacement values

Financial liabilities

of which: financial liabilities designated at fair value

of which: negative replacement values

1 Includes level 3 sensitivity for financial instruments accounted for at fair value through profit or loss.

c) Valuation techniques by product and market risk sensitivity

Favorable changes

Unfavorable changes

4.1

1.0

3.1

(3.3)

(1.6)

(1.7)

(4.1)

(1.0)

(3.1)

3.3

1.6

1.7

This section includes a description of the valuation of certain 
significant  product  categories  and  related  valuation  tech­
niques  and  models.  In  addition,  sensitivity  information  for 
certain  significant  instrument  categories  that  are  excluded 
from Management Value­at­Risk as disclosed in the Risk and 
treasury management section of this report is provided.

Credit valuation adjustments on monoline credit protection
UBS  previously  entered  into  negative  basis  trades  with 
mono lines, whereby they provided credit default swap pro­
tection  against  UBS­held  underlyings,  including  residential 
mortgage­backed  securities  collateralized  debt  obligations 
(RMBS CDO), transactions with collateralized loan obligation 
(CLO) and asset­backed securities collateralized debt obliga­
tions  (ABS  CDO).  Since  the  start  of  the  financial  crisis,  the 
credit valuation adjustments (CVA) relating to these mono­
line exposures have been a source of valuation uncertainty, 
given market illiquidity and the terms of these exposures rel­
ative to other monoline­related instruments.

CVA  amounts  related  to  monoline  credit  protection  are 
based on a methodology that uses credit default swap (CDS) 
spreads on the monolines as a key input in determining an 
implied level of expected loss. Where a monoline has no ob­
servable CDS spread, a judgment is made on the most com­
parable monoline or combination of monolines and the cor­
responding spreads are used instead. For RMBS CDO, CMBS 

CDO,  and  CLO  asset  categories,  cash  flow  projections  are 
used in conjunction with current fair values of the underlying 
assets to provide estimates of expected future exposure lev­
els. For other asset categories, future exposure is based on 
current exposure.

To assess the sensitivity of the monoline CVA calculation to 
alternative assumptions, the impact of a 10% increase in mon­
oline credit default swap spreads (e.g. from 2,000 basis points 
to 2,200 basis points for a specific monoline) was considered. 
At 31 December 2009, such an increase would have resulted 
in an increase in the monoline credit valuation adjustment of 
approximately USD 77 million (CHF 80 million; 31 December 
2008: USD 206 million or CHF 220 million). The sensitivity of 
the monoline credit valuation adjustment to a decrease of one 
percentage point in the monoline recovery rate assumptions 
(e.g. from 20% to 19% for a specific monoline, conditional on 
default  occurring)  is  estimated  to  result  in  an  increase  of 
 approximately  USD  26  million  (CHF  27  million)  in  the  CVA 
(31 December 2008: USD 58 million or CHF 62 million). The 
sensitivity to recovery rates is substantially linear.

Instruments linked to US residential real estate market
As of 31 December 2009, instruments linked to the US resi­
dential real estate market (e.g., US RMBS CDO) are present­
ed  as  Positive  or  Negative  replacement  values,  or  trading 
portfolio  assets.  The  Group  applies  a  fundamental  model, 

325

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements 

Note 27  Fair value of financial instruments (continued)

c) Valuation techniques by product and market risk sensitivity (continued)

based  on  contractual  cash  flows  of  the  underlying  bonds 
due to the absence of liquidity, and therefore pricing infor­
mation. The contractual cash flows are adjusted for the ex­
pected rate of underlying defaults. Losses in the underlying 
mortgage  pools  are  derived  from  the  development  of  de­
fault and prepayment curves to which loss severity and inter­
est curves are applied. The projected lifetime losses are ad­
ditionally  calibrated  to  ABX  market  indices.  The  default 
adjusted  mortgage  bond  cash  flows  are  then  aggregated 
across all bond positions in the CDO, to arrive at the overall 
expected cash flows from the mortgage pool, used for the 
discounting process. The principles of this model are applied 
to both cash and synthetic instruments.

Commitments to acquire auction rate securities (ARSs)
Following  the  settlement  agreements  reached  regarding 
ARS, UBS has fair valued its commitment to repurchase eli­
gible ARS from customers at par. The commitment is treated 
as  a  derivative  and  fair  valued  through  profit  or  loss.  The 
value of the derivative has three main variables: (1) forward 
fair market value of the ARS underlying the remaining out­
standing commitments, (2) client put behavior, and (3) fore­
casted  issuer  redemptions  at  par.  The  model  to  value  the 
commitment  considers  the  cash  flows  of  the  trusts  them­
selves, and where the predicted cash flows are expected to 
create a surplus, the trust is assumed to redeem at par, be­
cause  its  choices  of  alternative  actions,  primarily  to  issue 
new loans or redeem, are severely restricted. UBS assumes 
that all clients will put their eligible ARS back to UBS at par 
on the first eligible day pursuant to the agreement with the 
US authorities. The discount rates in this model embed risk 
premiums  that  are  calibrated  to  observed  market  trans­
actions. UBS estimates that a 50% increase or decrease in 
the  risk  premiums  would  result  in  a  loss  of  approximately 
USD 287 million (CHF 297 million) or gain of approximately 
USD 303 million (CHF 314 million). As of 31 December 2008 
a similar model was applied, however, at the beginning of 
2009  revisions  were  made  to  better  reflect  assumptions 
about  when  the  clients  are  expected  to  exercise  their  put 
 options.

US reference-linked notes (US RLNs)
The US reference­linked notes (US RLNs) consist of a series of 
transactions whereby UBS purchased credit protection, pre­
dominantly in note form, on a notional portfolio of fixed in­
come  assets.  The  referenced  assets  are  comprised  of  USD 
Asset-Backed  Securities  (ABSs)  (primarily  commercial  mort­
gage­backed securities and sub­prime residential mortgage­
backed securities) and / or corporate bonds and loans across 
all rating categories. The credit protection embodied in the 

RLNs is fair valued using a market standard approach to the 
valuation  of  portfolio  credit  protection  (Gaussian  copula). 
This approach effectively is intended to simulate correlated 
defaults within the portfolio, where the expected losses and 
defaults of the individual assets are closely linked to the ob­
served market prices (spread levels) of those assets. Key as­
sumptions  of  the  model  include  correlations  and  recovery 
rates. UBS applies fair value adjustments related to potential 
uncertainty in each of these parameters, which are only part­
ly observable. In addition, UBS applies fair value adjustments 
for uncertainties associated with the use of observed spread 
levels as the primary inputs. These fair value adjustments are 
calculated  by  applying  shocks  to  the  relevant  parameters 
and revaluing the credit protection. These shocks for correla­
tion, recovery and spreads are set to various levels depend­
ing on the asset type and / or region and may vary over time 
depending on the best judgment of the relevant trading and 
control personnel. Correlation and recovery shocks are gen­
erally in the reasonably possible range of 5 to 15 percentage 
points.  Spread  shocks  vary  more  widely  and  depend  on 
whether the underlying protection is funded or unfunded to 
reflect  cash  or  synthetic  basis  effects.  As  of  31  December 
2009,  the  fair  value  of  the  US  RLN  credit  protection  (pre­ 
reserve) is approximately USD 1,502 million (CHF 1,555 mil­
lion; 31 December 2008: USD 3,284 million or CHF 3,502 
million).  The  fair  value  adjustments  calculated  by  applying 
the shocks described above are approximately USD 71 mil­
lion (CHF 74 million; 31 December 2008: USD 299 million or 
CHF 319 million) as of 31 December 2009. This adjustment 
may also be considered a measurement of sensitivity.

Non-US reference-linked notes (Non-US RLNs)
The same valuation model and the same approach to calcu­
lation  of  fair  value  adjustments  are  applied  to  the  non­US 
reference­linked  note  (non­US  RLN)  credit  protection  as  to 
the  US  RLN  credit  protection  described  above,  except  that 
the  spread  is  shocked  by  10%  for  European  corporate 
names. As of 31 December 2009, the fair value of the non­ 
US RLN credit protection is approximately USD 1,155 million 
(CHF 1,196 million; 31 December 2008: USD 1,971 million 
or  CHF  2,102  million).  The  fair  value  adjustments  (up  and 
down)  calculated  by  applying  the  shocks  described  above 
are approximately USD 105 million (CHF 109 million; 31 De­
cember  2008:  USD  155  million  or  CHF  165  million).  This 
 adjustment may also be considered a measurement of sen­
sitivity.

Option to acquire equity of the SNB StabFund
Under  IFRS,  UBS’s  option  to  purchase  the  SNB  StabFund’s 
equity is recognized on the balance sheet as a derivative at 

326

Note 27  Fair value of financial instruments (continued)

c) Valuation techniques by product and market risk sensitivity (continued)

fair value (Positive replacement values) with changes to fair 
value recognized in profit and loss. As of 31 December 2009, 
the fair value (after adjustments) of UBS’s call option was ap­
proximately  USD  1,174  million  (CHF  1,216  million;  31  De­
cember 2008: CHF 1,100 million).

The model adopted in 2009 incorporates cash flow pro­
jections for all assets within the fund across various scenarios 
and is calibrated to market levels by setting the spread above 
one­month  Libor  rates  used  to  discount  future  cash  flows 
such that the model­generated price of the underlying asset 
pool equals UBS’s assessed fair value of the asset pool. The 
model incorporates a model reserve (fair value adjustment) 
to  address  potential  uncertainty  in  this  calibration.  For 
31  December  2009,  this  adjustment  was  USD  262  million 
(CHF 271 million; 30 September 2009: USD 229 million or 
CHF  237  million).  As  of  31  December  2009,  a  100  basis 
points  increase  in  the  discount  rate  would  have  decreased 
the  option  value  by  approximately  USD  126  million  (CHF 
130 million) and a 100 basis points decrease would have in­
creased the option value by approximately USD 143 million 
(CHF 148 million).

Bespoke collateralized debt obligations (CDOs)
Significant positions of bespoke CDOs are classified as level 3 
instruments (31 December 2009: Positive replacement value 
of CHF 6,067 million and Negative replacement value of CHF 
6,208 million; 31 December 2008: Positive replacement value 
of  CHF  15,118  million  and  Negative  replacement  value  of 
CHF 16,137 million). The instruments represent customized 
collateralized  debt  obligations.  These  products  are  sold  in 
‘tranches’  whereby  the  tranche’s  seniority  and  attachment 
points reflect the size of the risk being taken. One of the main 

risks that the investor is exposed to is the correlation behavior 
of the names in the tranche.

The primary market inputs to the valuation approach are 
observed  in  the  vanilla  credit  markets,  being  the  vanilla 
credit indices and single name credit curves. A widely­used 
modeling  approach  is  applied,  which  first  constructs  the 
correlation from the index information and then values the 
transaction by comparing it to the index.

Equity-linked notes issued by UBS
As of 31 December 2009, equity­linked notes issued by UBS 
of CHF 3,398 million (31 December 2008: CHF 3,316 mil­
lion)  accounted  for  as  financial  liabilities  designated  at  fair 
value were classified as level 3.

The valuation models used for these types of notes are a 
market standard Black­Scholes model for the more standard 
vanilla  type  returns  and  a  “Local  Volatility  Monte  Carlo” 
based approach for more complex instruments.

While some of the parameter inputs to these models will be 
observable, for example equity and FX spot prices and interest 
rates, others will be based on valuation techniques or will re­
quire the extrapolation of observable data, which may result in 
an instrument being required to be classified in level 3.

The main parameters which may not be directly observ­
able  are  equity  volatilities  and  dividend  assumptions  for 
 longer­dated  trades  which  will  normally  be  extrapolated 
from  observable  shorter­term  market  information.  Correla­
tion  inputs,  required  for  instruments  where  the  value  is 
based  upon  multiple  underlyings,  will  be  calculated  by  a 
modeling  technique  which  uses  historic  data  to  estimate 
 future  correlation  levels,  the  model  output  being  bench­
marked against available information.

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements 

Note 27  Fair value of financial instruments (continued)

d) Deferred day 1 profit or loss

The table reflects financial instruments for which fair value 
is determined using valuation models where not all signifi­
cant  inputs  are  market  observable.  Such  financial  instru­
ments  are  initially  recognized  at  their  transaction  price  al­
though  the  values  obtained  from  the  relevant  valuation 

model on day 1 may differ. The table shows the aggregate 
difference yet to be recognized in profit or loss at the begin­
ning and end of the period and a reconciliation of changes 
in  the  balance  of  this  difference  (movement  of  deferred 
day 1 profit or loss).

Deferred day 1 profit or loss

CHF million

Balance at the beginning of the year

Deferred profit / (loss) on new transactions

Recognized (profit) / loss in the income statement

Foreign currency translation

Balance at the end of the year

For the year ended

31.12.09

31.12.08

627

231

(240)

(19)

599

550

588

(459)

(52)

627

On 31 December 2009, deferred day 1 profit or loss of ap­
proximately  CHF  0.3  billion  (31  December  2008:  approxi­
mately CHF 0.4 billion) pertains to multi­name credit default 
swaps  (largely  structured  rates  and  credit  trades,  including 

bespoke  CDOs),  and  of  approximately  CHF  0.3  billion 
(31 December 2008: approximately CHF 0.2 billion) to over­
the­counter (OTC) equity options. Both instruments are pre­
sented as replacement values on UBS’s balance sheet.

e) Financial instruments accounted for at amortized cost

The  following  table  reflects  the  estimated  fair  values  for 
UBS’s instruments accounted for at amortized cost. Refer to 
Note  29  for  an  overview  of  financial  assets  classified  as 

“loans  and  receivables”  and  financial  liabilities  accounted 
for at amortized cost.

CHF billion

Assets

Due from banks

Loans

Cash collateral on securities borrowed

Reverse repurchase agreements

Accrued income and prepaid expenses, other assets

Liabilities

Due to banks

Due to customers

Cash collateral on securities lent

Repurchase agreements

Debt issued

Accrued expenses and deferred income, other liabilities

Off-balance-sheet financial instruments
Loan commitments 1
Guarantees and similar instruments 2

31.12.09

31.12.08

Carrying value

Fair value

Carrying value

Fair value

46.6

305.1

63.5

116.7

5.1

65.2

410.5

8.0

64.2

134.5

15.9

0.3

0.1

46.6

306.0

63.5

116.7

5.1

65.1

410.5

8.0

64.2

133.6

15.9

0.4

(0.1)

64.5

338.5

122.9

224.6

9.1

125.6

465.7

14.1

102.5

201.2

22.8

64.5

338.1

122.9

224.8

9.1

125.6

465.7

14.1

102.5

199.7

22.8

1 Loan commitments include derivative loan commitments, loan commitments accounted for as financial liabilities designated at fair value and other loan commitments not recognized on balance sheet, 
unless a provision is required.    2 The fair value of financial guarantees is positive as the present value of the expected fees exceeds the present value of the expected outflows.

328

Note 27  Fair value of financial instruments (continued)

e) Financial instruments accounted for at amortized cost (continued)

The fair values included in the table above were calcu lated 
for  disclosure  purposes  only.  The  valuation  techniques  and 
assumptions described below provide a measurement of fair 
value of UBS’s financial instruments accounted for at amor­
tized cost. However, because other institutions may use dif­
ferent  methods  and  assumptions  for  their  fair  value  esti­
mation,  such  fair  value  disclosures  cannot  necessarily  be 
compared from one financial institution to another. UBS ap­
plies  significant  judgments  and  assumptions  to  arrive  at 
these fair values, which are more holistic and less sophisti­
cated  than  UBS’s  established  fair  value  and  model  gover­
nance  policies  and  processes  applied  for  financial  instru­
ments accounted for at fair value, whose fair values impact 
UBS’s balance sheet and net profit. The following principles 
were  applied  when  determining  fair  value  estimates  for 
 financial instruments accounted for at amortized cost:
–  For financial instruments with remaining maturities  greater 
than  three  months,  the  fair  value  was  determined  from 
quoted market prices, where available. 

–  Where quoted market prices were not available, the fair 
values  were  estimated  by  discounting  contractual  cash 
flows using current market interest rates or appropriate 
yield  curves  for  instruments  with  similar  credit  risk  and 
maturity.  These  estimates  generally  include  adjustments 
for counterparty credit or UBS’s own credit.

have remaining maturities of three months or less: 99% 
of  loans  due  from  banks;  55%  of  loans  due  from  cus­
tomers; 100% of cash collateral on securities borrowed; 
100%  of  reverse  repurchase  agreements;  96%  of 
amounts due to banks; 100% of amount due to custom­
ers; 100% of cash collateral on securities lent; 100% of 
repurchase agreements; and 49% of debt issued.

–  The fair value of variable­interest bearing financial instru­
ments accounted for at amortized cost is assumed to be 
approximated by their carrying amounts, which are net of 
credit  loss  allowances,  and  does  not  reflect  fair  value 
changes  in  the  credit  quality  of  counterparties  or  UBS’s 
own credit movements. 

–  The fair value estimates for repurchase and reverse repur­
chase agreements with variable and fixed interest rates, 
for all maturities, include the valuation of the interest rate 
component of these instruments. Credit and debit valua­
tion adjustments have not been included in the valuation 
due to the short­term nature of these instruments.

–  Loans include Wealth Management assets, mainly mort­
gage loans, where fair values exceed related carrying val­
ues by CHF 3.3 billion, and Investment Bank assets where 
fair values fall below related carrying values by CHF 2.4 
billion,  of  which  CHF  0.9  billion  relate  to  reclassified  fi­
nancial assets.

–  For short­term financial instruments with remaining ma­
turities  of  three  months  or  less,  the  carrying  amount, 
which is net of credit loss allowances, is generally consid­
ered  a  reasonable  estimate  of  fair  value.  The  following 
financial  instruments  accounted  for  at  amortized  cost 

–  The  estimated  fair  values  of  off­balance  sheet  financial 
instruments are based on market prices for similar facili­
ties and guarantees. Where this information is not avail­
able,  fair  value  is  estimated  using  discounted  cash  flow 
analysis.

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329

 
Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements 

Note 28  Pledged assets and transferred financial assets which do not qualify for derecognition

Financial  assets  are  mainly  pledged  in  securities  borrowing 
and  lending  transactions,  in  repurchase  and  reverse  repur­
chase transactions, under collateralized credit lines with cen­
tral banks, against loans from mortgage institutions, in con­

nection with derivative transactions, as security deposits for 
stock exchanges and clearinghouse memberships, or trans­
ferred for security purpose in connection with the issuance 
of covered bonds.

Assets pledged

CHF million

Financial assets held for trading pledged to third parties for liabilities with and without the right of rehypothecation

of which: pledged to third parties with right of rehypothecation

Mortgage loans 1
Other 2
Total

Carrying amount

31.12.09

31.12.08

64,748

44,221

21,741

65,775

152,264

78,002

40,216

3,699

21,040

102,741

1 Book value includes mortgage loans transferred for security purpose in preparation of upcoming covered bond issuances.    2 Includes financial investments available-for-sale of CHF 53 billion (2008: 
CHF 0 billion) and reclassified financial assets of CHF 10 billion (2008: CHF 16 billion).

The following table presents details of financial assets which 
have been sold or otherwise transferred, but which do not 

qualify for derecognition. Criteria for derecognition are dis­
cussed in Note 1a) 5).

Transfer of financial assets which do not qualify for derecognition

CHF billion

Nature of transaction

Securities lending agreements

Repurchase agreements

Other financial asset transfers

Total

Continued asset recognition in full – Total assets

31.12.09

31.12.08

17.1

24.6

110.9

152.6

22.0

13.1

46.6

81.7

The  transactions  are  mostly  conducted  under  standard 
agreements employed by financial market participants and 
are undertaken with counterparties subject to UBS’s normal 
credit risk control processes. The resulting credit exposures 
are  controlled  by  daily  monitoring  and  collateralization  of 
the positions. The financial assets which continue to be rec­
ognized are typically transferred in exchange for cash or oth­
er financial assets. The associated liabilities can therefore be 
assumed  to  be  approximately  the  carrying  amount  of  the 
transferred  financial  assets  except  for  certain  positions 
pledged with central banks.

UBS retains substantially all risks and rewards of the trans­
ferred  assets  in  each  situation  of  continued  recognition  in 

full.  These  include  credit  risk,  settlement  risk,  country  risk 
and market risk.

Repurchase  agreements  and  securities  lending  agree­
ments are discussed in Notes 1a) 13) and 1a) 14). Other fi­
nancial asset transfers include sales of financial assets while 
concurrently entering into a total rate of return swap with 
the same counterparty and sales of financial assets involving 
guarantees.

Transferred  financial  assets  which  are  subject  to  partial 
continued  recognition  were  immaterial  in  2009  and  2008. 
The carrying amounts of the partially recognized transferred 
financial assets are included in the table.

330

Note 29  Measurement categories of financial assets and financial liabilities

a) Measurement categories of financial assets and financial liabilities

The following table provides information about the carrying 
amounts of individual classes of financial instruments within 
the measurement categories of financial assets and financial 
liabilities as defined in IAS 39. Only those assets and liabilities 
which are deemed to be financial instruments are included 

in the table below, which causes certain balances to differ 
from those presented on the balance sheet.

Refer to “Note 27 Fair value of financial instruments” for 
more information on how fair value of financial instruments 
is determined.

Financial assets 1
Held for trading

Trading portfolio assets

Trading portfolio assets pledged as collateral
Debt issued 2
Positive replacement values

Total

Fair value through profit or loss

Financial assets designated at fair value

Cash, loans and receivables

Cash and balances with central banks

Due from banks

Cash collateral on securities borrowed

Reverse repurchase agreements

Loans

Accrued income and prepaid expenses

Other assets

Total

Available-for-sale

Financial investments available-for-sale

Total financial assets

Financial liabilities

Held for trading

Trading portfolio liabilities
Debt issued 2
Negative replacement values

Total

Fair value through profit or loss, other

Financial liabilities designated at fair value

Amounts due under unit-linked contracts

Total

Financial liabilities at amortized cost

Due to banks

Cash collateral on securities lent

Repurchase agreements

Due to customers

Accrued expenses and deferred income

Debt issued

Other liabilities

Total

Total financial liabilities

31.12.09

31.12.08

171,173

44,221

3,109

421,694

640,197

261,904

40,216

4,152

854,100

1,160,372

10,223

12,882

20,899

46,574

63,507

116,689

305,061

1,465

3,594

557,789

32,744

64,451

122,897

224,648

338,520

3,238

5,901

792,399

81,757

1,289,966

5,248

1,970,901

47,469

8

409,943

457,420

112,653

21,740

134,393

65,166

7,995

64,175

410,475

8,522

134,453

7,415

698,201

62,431

185

851,864

914,480

101,546

22,084

123,630

125,628

14,063

102,561

465,741

10,012

201,221

12,765

931,991

1,290,014

1,970,101

1 CHF 138 billion of Loans, CHF 0 billion of Due from banks, CHF 8 billion of Financial investments available-for-sale and CHF 7 billion of Financial assets designated at fair value are expected to be 
 recovered or settled after twelve months.    2 Embedded derivatives presented on the balance sheet line Debt issued.

331

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements 

Note 29  Measurement categories of financial assets and financial liabilities (continued)

b) Reclassification of financial assets

The reclassification of financial assets reflected UBS’s change 
in  intent  and  ability  to  hold  these  financial  assets  for  the 
foreseeable future rather than for trading in the near term. 
The financial assets were reclassified using their fair value on 
the date of the reclassification, which became their new cost 
basis at that date.

In 2008 and first quarter 2009, financial assets with fair 
values  on  their  reclassification  dates  of  CHF  26  billion  and 
CHF 0.6 billion, respectively, were reclassified out of Trading 
portfolio assets to Loans.

The table below shows the carrying values and fair values 

of these financial assets. 

Trading portfolio assets reclassified to loans

CHF billion

Carrying value of trading portfolio assets reclassified

Fair value of trading portfolio assets reclassified

Pro-forma fair value gain / (loss)

31.12.09

31.12.08

19.9

19.0

(0.9)

24.2

20.8

(3.4)

In  2009,  carrying  values  decreased  by  approximately  CHF 
4.3 billion mainly due to sales of approximately CHF 2.6 bil­
lion. Redemptions, credit loss expenses of CHF 1 billion and 
the appreciation of the Swiss franc against the US dollar re­
sulted  in  a  decrease  of  approximately  CHF  3.3  billion.  The 
decrease was partially offset by financial assets of CHF 0.6 
billion reclassified in 2009, and the accretion of interest of 
approximately CHF 0.9 billion from the amortization of the 
discount between carrying values and the expected recover­
able amounts.

Fair values of reclassified financial assets decreased as well 
by approximately CHF 1.8 billion in 2009, which includes a 
fair value gain of approximately CHF 4.7 billion and financial 
assets  reclassified  in  2009  of  CHF  0.6  billion,  offset  by  de­
creases of approximately CHF 2.6 billion related to sales and  
decreases  of  approximately  CHF  4.5  billion  related  to  re­
demptions and the decline of the CHF/USD exchange rate.

The table below provides notional values, fair values, and 
carrying values by product category, as well as the ratio of 
carrying value to notional value.

Reclassified assets

31.12.09, CHF billion

US student loan and municipal auction rate securities
Monoline-protected assets 1
Leveraged finance

CMBS / CRE (excluding interest-only strips)

US reference-linked notes

Other assets

Total (excluding CMBS interest-only strips)

CMBS interest-only strips

Total reclassified assets

Notional value

Fair value

Carrying value

Ratio of carrying 
to notional value

9.3

7.5

2.6

2.0

1.1

1.1

23.6

23.6

8.0

6.1

0.9

1.5

0.9

0.9

18.2

0.8

19.0

8.2

6.5

0.8

1.6

1.0

1.0

19.0

0.9

19.9

88%

86%

30%

82%

86%

90%

80%

1 Includes CDOs (notional value of approximately CHF 0.45 billion; carrying value and fair value of approximately CHF 0.3 billion) which are no longer hedged by CDS with monoline insurers following 
the commutation of these CDS trades in prior periods.

Reclassified financial assets impacted UBS’s income statement as presented in the table below.

Contribution of the reclassified assets to the income statement

CHF billion

Net interest income

Credit loss (expense) / recovery

Other income

Impact on operating profit before tax

332

For the year ended

31.12.09

31.12.08

1.5

(1.0)

0.1

0.6

0.1

(1.3)

0.0

(1.2)

Note 29  Measurement categories of financial assets and financial liabilities (continued)

c) Maximum exposure to credit risk and credit quality information

The table below presents the Group’s maximum exposure to 
credit  risk  without  taking  account  of  any  collateral  held  or 
other credit enhancements. The amounts included in the table 
represent the carrying amounts of financial instruments sub­
ject to credit risk which were determined under the guidance 

of IFRS. Financial instruments have been netted only if and to 
the extent a) legally enforceable rights to offset exist, and b) 
UBS has the intention to settle the underlying transactions on 
a net basis. As such, the amounts disclosed in the table below 
should not necessarily be considered a “risk measure”.

Maximum exposure to credit risk 1

CHF million

Balances with central banks

Due from banks

Loans

Cash collateral on securities borrowed

WM&SB

WMA

8,589

2,651

0

1,074

194,410

21,492

0

0

31.12.09

IB

9,525

42,568

89,057

63,507

Other 2
0

282

101

0

Reverse repurchase agreements

1,107

4,302

109,896

1,384

116,689

UBS

WM&SB

WMA

18,114

46,574

17,628

5,499

0

1,096

31.12.08

IB

11,528

57,475

305,061

203,758

23,956

110,056

63,507

0

0

0

122,897

4,223

219,580

Other 2
0

381

750

0

844

UBS

29,156

64,451

338,520

122,897

224,648

Accrued income, other assets and debt under-
writing commitments subject to credit risk

Financial instruments measured at 
amortized cost on balance sheet

Positive replacement values

Trading portfolio assets (including pledged 
positions) – debt instruments

Financial assets designated at fair value – 
debt  instruments

Financial investments available-for-sale – 
debt  intruments

Financial instruments measured at 
fair value on balance sheet

Credit guarantees, performance guarantees, 
documentary credits and similar instruments 3
Undrawn irrevocable credit facilities

Irrevocable commitments to acquire ARS

Commitments

Total at the year-end

1,319

147

2,436

1,185

5,087

1,955

183

4,526

2,479

9,144

208,076

27,015

316,989

2,534

520

416,862

2,952

1,778

555,032

421,694

228,840

29,458

526,062

5,610

491

847,158

4,454

841

788,816

854,100

16,341

1,107

117,047

4,535

139,030

85

1,343

219,739

3,695

224,862

65

0

9,317

0

9,383

0

0

11,803

0

11,803

5,393

16,515

52,183

6,315

80,406

615

278

2,451

223

3,567

24,333

18,142

595,409

12,628

650,513

6,310

2,112 1,081,151

4,759

1,094,332

11,888

7,236

0

385

498

0

4,569

51,593

8,700

137

0

0

19,124

883

64,862

137

16,979

59,328

8,700

85,007

14,258

2,775

0

17,033

405

13

0

418

4,856

57,528

16,571

78,955

149

0

0

149

19,668

60,316

16,571

96,555

251,533

46,040

977,260

15,717 1,290,552

252,183

31,988 1,686,168

9,362

1,979,703

1 The exposures are considered the best representation of “maximum exposure to credit risk” as defined by IFRS, without taking into account additional netting potentials, collaterals and other credit 
risk mitigation measures.    2 Other includes Global Asset Management and the Corporate Center.    3 The related provision of CHF 90 million (CHF 31 million for 2008) has been deducted.

The table above does not include written credit protection, which is generally recognized on UBS’s balance sheet under 
Negative replacement values. It also excludes UBS’s obligations under the Swiss Deposit Insurance.

The maximum exposure to credit risk determined under IFRS 
guidance and disclosed in  the table above is actively man­
aged and subject to credit risk management such as collater­

alization and hedging. Collateral held and credit risk mitiga­
tion  is  described  in  the  section  “Risk  management  and 
control”.

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333

 
Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements 

Note 29  Measurement categories of financial assets and financial liabilities (continued)

c) Maximum exposure to credit risk and credit quality information (continued)

Financial assets subject to credit risk by rating category

CHF million

Rating category

Balances with central banks

Due from banks

Loans

Cash collateral on securities borrowed and reverse repur-
chase agreements

Positive replacement values

Trading portfolio assets (including pledged) – debt instruments

Financial investments available-for-sale – debt instruments

Other financial instruments
Commitments 1
Guarantees and similar instruments 2
Undrawn irrevocable credit facilities

Total

CHF million

Rating category

Balances with central banks

Due from banks

Loans

Cash collateral on securities borrowed and reverse 
 repurchase agreements

Positive replacement values

Trading portfolio assets (including pledged) – debt instruments

Financial investments available-for-sale – debt instruments

Other financial instruments
Commitments 1
Guarantees and similar instruments 2
Undrawn irrevocable credit facilities

Total

0–1

14,491

3,392

21,000

47,928

18,138

61,492

75,363

696

87

962

2–3

3,615

39,256

82,204

100,127

357,590

57,128

5,007

9,211

8,391

40,682

4–5

9

2,526

81,791

24,108

31,511

10,081

3

2,435

4,129

8,441

6–8

9–13

defaulted

1,108

98,611

7,444

10,316

4,523

25

945

2,931

3,357

186

18,544

537

2,682

5,090

8

559

1,475

5,463

106

2,910

52

1,456

716

624

56

422

31.12.09

Total

18,114

46,574

305,061

180,196

421,694

139,030

80,406

14,470

17,070

59,328

243,550

703,210

165,033

129,262

34,546

6,341

1,281,942

6–8

9–13

defaulted

0–1

23,619

5,697

26,210

95,379

46,805

98,836

3,271

1,253

2–3

5,534

43,075

97,300

218,644

602,505

89,508

131

13,085

4–5

3

13,847

82,431

19,841

172,865

20,780

110

2,846

36

238

9,496

33,820

4,944

15,285

1,418

108,076

327

20,204

12,528

24,333

7,103

35

2,048

3,654

2,840

711

5,081

8,031

16

890

1,497

7,719

31.12.08

Total

29,156

64,451

87

4,298

338,520

441

2,511

604

3

824

72

415

347,544

854,100

224,862

3,567

20,947

19,699

60,316

301,344

1,113,099

332,952

162,035

44,477

9,254

1,963,161

1 Excludes commitments to acquire ARS of CHF 8,700 million for 2009 (CHF 16,571 million 2008).    2 The provisions of CHF 90 million for 2009 (CHF 31 million 2008) are not deducted from  the 
 notional value of “guarantees and similar instruments”.

334

Note 30  Pension and other post-employment benefit plans

a) Defined benefit plans

UBS has established various pension plans inside and outside 
of Switzerland. The major plans are located in Switzerland, 
the UK, the US and Germany. Independent actuarial valua­
tions  are  performed  for  the  plans  in  these  locations.  The 
measurement date of these plans is 31 December for each 
year presented.

The overall investment policy and strategy for UBS’s de­
fined  benefit  pension  plans  is  guided  by  the  objective  of 
achieving  an  investment  return  which,  together  with  the 
contributions paid, is sufficient to maintain reasonable con­
trol over the various funding risks of the plans. The invest­
ment advisors appointed by plan fiduciaries are responsible 
for determining the mix of asset types and target allocations 
which are reviewed by the plan fiduciaries on a regular basis. 
Actual asset allocation is determined by a variety of current 
economic  and  market  conditions  and  in  consideration  of 
specific asset class risk.

The expected long­term rates of return on plan assets are 
based  on  long­term  expected  inflation,  interest  rates,  risk 
premiums  and  targeted  asset  class  allocations.  These  esti­
mates  take  into  consideration  historical  asset  class  returns 
and are determined together with the plans’ investment and 
actuarial advisors.

Swiss pension plan
The Swiss pension plan covers all UBS employees in Switzer­
land and exceeds the minimum benefit requirements under 
Swiss law. The Swiss plan allows employees a choice in the 
level  of  annual  contributions  paid  by  the  employee.  The 
 pension  plan  provides  benefits  which  are  based  on  annual 
contributions  as  a  percentage  of  salary  and  accrue  at  an 
 interest  rate  that  is  defined  annually  by  the  Pension  Foun­
dation Board.

Contributions to the pension plan are paid by employees 
and the employer. The employee contributions are calculat­
ed  as  a  percentage  of  covered  salary  and  are  deducted 
monthly. The percentages deducted from salary for the full 
standard level of benefit coverage depend on age and vary 
between 1% and 9% of covered base salary and 3% and 
8% of covered variable compensation. The employer pays a 
contribution that ranges between 100% and 375% of em­
ployees’ contributions for the standard level of benefit cov­
erage. The benefits covered include retirement benefits; dis­
ability,  death  and  survivor  pensions;  and  employment 
termination benefits.

The employer contributions expected to be made in 2010 

to the Swiss pension plan are CHF 560 million.

Foreign pension plans
The foreign locations of UBS operate various pension plans in 
accordance with local regulations and practices. The locations 
with defined benefit plans of a material nature are in the UK, 
the  US  and  Germany.  The  UK  and  the  US  defined  benefit 
plans are closed to new entrants who are covered by defined 
contribution plans. The amounts shown for foreign plans re­
flect the net funded positions of the material foreign plans.

The pension plans provide benefits in the event of retire­
ment,  death  or  disability.  The  level  of  benefits  provided  de­
pends on the defined rate of benefit accrual and level of com­
pensation. The plans are funded entirely by UBS. The employer 
contributions expected to be made in 2010 to these pension 
plans are CHF 107 million. The funding policy for these plans is 
consistent with local government and tax requirements.

The assumptions used in foreign plans take into account 

local economic conditions.

Refer also to Note 1a) 23).

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements 

Note 30  Pension and other post-employment benefit plans (continued)

a) Defined benefit plans (continued)

CHF million

For the year ended

Swiss

Foreign

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

Defined benefit obligation at the beginning of the year

(21,311)

(20,877)

(21,506)

(3,642)

(4,928)

(5,207)

Service cost

Interest cost

Plan participant contributions

Amendments

Actuarial gain / (loss)

Benefits paid

Termination benefits

Acquisitions

Foreign currency translation

Defined benefit obligation at the end of the year

Fair value of plan assets at the beginning of the year

Expected return on plan assets

Actuarial gain / (loss)

Employer contributions

Plan participant contributions

Benefits paid

Foreign currency translation

Fair value of plan assets at the end of the year

Funded status

Unrecognized net actuarial (gains) / losses

Unrecognized assets

(Accrued) / prepaid pension cost

Movement in the net (liability) or asset

(Accrued) / prepaid pension cost at the beginning of the year

Net periodic pension cost

Employer contributions

Acquisitions

Foreign currency translation

(432)

(672)

(195)

0

231

1,314

(54)

(21,119)

19,029

846

963

567

195

(336)

(710)

(233)

0

(288)

1,158

(25)

(21,311)

22,181

990

(3,820)

603

233

(1,314)

(1,158)

20,286

(833)

2,996

0

2,163

2,123

(527)

567

19,029

(2,282)

4,405

0

2,123

2,123

(603)

603

(367)

(633)

(236)

(414)

1,508

792

(21)

(20,877)

21,336

1,067

(250)

584

236

(792)

22,181

1,304

2,123

(1,304)

2,123

1,953

(414)

584

(Accrued) / prepaid pension cost

2,163

2,123

2,123

Amounts recognized in the balance sheet

Prepaid pension cost

Accrued pension liability

(Accrued) / prepaid pension cost

2,163

2,123

2,123

2,163

2,123

2,123

(41)

(230)

(471)

153

0

(122)

(4,353)

2,866

202

266

232

(153)

104

3,517

(836)

1,475

(63)

(251)

318

148

0

1,134

(3,642)

4,579

282

(1,027)

194

(148)

(1,014)

2,866

(776)

1,324

(88)

(264)

236

151

(54)

298

(4,928)

4,602

313

(97)

200

(151)

(288)

4,579

(349)

975

639

548

626

548

(167)

232

0

26

639

890

(251)

639

626

(69)

194

0

(203)

548

798

(250)

548

633

(97)

200

(54)

(56)

626

887

(261)

626

336

Note 30  Pension and other post-employment benefit plans (continued)

a) Defined benefit plans (continued)

CHF million

For the year ended

Components of net periodic pension cost

Service cost

Interest cost

Expected return on plan assets

Amortization of unrecognized net (gains) / losses

Immediate recognition of net actuarial (gains) / losses in current period

Immediate recognition of past service cost in current period

Special termination benefits

Limit of defined benefit asset

Net periodic pension cost

Funded and unfunded plans

CHF million

Defined benefit obligation from funded plans

Plan assets

Surplus / (deficit)

Experience gains / (losses) on plan liabilities

Experience gains / (losses) on plan assets

CHF million

Defined benefit obligation from funded plans

Defined benefit obligation from unfunded plans

Plan assets

Surplus / (deficit)

Experience gains / (losses) on plan liabilities

Experience gains / (losses) on plan assets

Swiss

Foreign

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

432

672

(846)

215

0

0

54

0

527

336

710

(990)

0

367

633

(1,067)

0

1,826

(1,258)

0

25

(1,304)

603

414

21

1,304

414

Swiss

41

230

(202)

98

63

251

(282)

37

88

264

(313)

58

167

69

97

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.06

31.12.05

(21,506)

21,336

(170)

(20,972)

20,229

(743)

(21,119)

20,286

(833)

214

963

(21,311)

19,029

(2,282)

0

(3,820)

(20,877)

22,181

1,304

0

(250)

Foreign

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.06

31.12.05

(4,078)

(275)

3,517

(836)

(12)

266

(3,402)

(240)

2,866

(776)

62

(1,027)

(4,654)

(274)

4,579

(349)

(32)

(97)

(5,002)

(205)

4,602

(605)

(4,635)

(385)

4,288

(732)

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337

 
Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements 

Note 30  Pension and other post-employment benefit plans (continued)

a) Defined benefit plans (continued)

Principal weighted average actuarial assumptions used (%)

Assumptions used to determine defined benefit obligations at the end of the year

Swiss

Foreign

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

Discount rate

Expected rate of salary increase

Rate of pension increase

Assumptions used to determine net periodic pension cost for the year ended

Discount rate

Expected rate of return on plan assets

Expected rate of salary increase

Rate of pension increase

Plan assets (weighted average)

Actual plan asset allocation (%)

Equity instruments

Debt instruments

Real estate

Other

Total

Long-term target plan asset allocation (%)

Equity instruments

Debt instruments

Real estate

Other

Actual return on plan assets (%)

Additional details to fair value of plan assets

UBS financial instruments and UBS bank accounts
UBS AG shares 1
Securities lent to UBS included in plan assets

Other assets used by UBS included in plan assets

3.3

2.5

0.5

3.3

4.5

2.5

0.5

35

51

13

1

100

18–44

41–65

9–17

0–5

9.7

205

66

0

218

5.7

5.0

2.5

6.0

6.6

4.5

1.9

46

35

3

16

100

6.0

4.5

1.9

5.8

7.1

4.8

2.4

46

35

3

16

100

5.8

4.8

2.4

5.2

7.0

4.6

2.1

50

38

4

8

100

42–45

37–44

3–7

11–12

15.5

45–48

37–38

3–7

10–12

(18.2)

49–52

38–44

4–6

1–3

4.8

3.3

2.5

0.5

3.5

4.5

2.5

0.8

26

55

13

6

100

20–48

37–63

10–20

0–5

(12.8)

782

55

0

148

3.5

2.5

0.8

3.0

5.0

2.5

0.8

38

47

11

4

100

33–51

31–50

10–19

0

3.9

336

128

9,379

111

1 The number of UBS AG shares was 4,095,850, 3,734,000 and 2,436,257 as of 31 December 2009, 31 December 2008 and 31 December 2007, respectively.

Mortality tables and life expectancies for major plans

Mortality table

BVG 2005

PA 2000 G, medium cohort with 
adjustment

Dr. K. Heubeck 2005 G

RP 2000 with projections

Mortality table

BVG 2005

PA 2000 G, medium cohort with 
adjustment

Dr. K. Heubeck 2005 G

RP 2000 with projections

Life expectancy at age 65 for a male member currently

31.12.09

aged 65

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.09

aged 45

31.12.08

31.12.07

17.9

22.8

19.1

18.4

17.8

22.7

19.0

18.4

17.8

21.9

18.9

18.3

17.9

25.7

21.9

18.4

17.8

25.6

21.8

18.4

17.8

23.0

21.6

18.3

Life expectancy at age 65 for a female member currently

31.12.09

aged 65

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.09

aged 45

31.12.08

31.12.07

21.0

24.6

23.3

20.6

21.1

24.5

23.1

20.6

21.1

24.8

23.0

20.5

21.0

26.5

25.8

20.6

21.1

26.4

25.7

20.6

21.1

25.8

25.6

20.5

Country

Switzerland

UK

Germany

US

Country

Switzerland

UK

Germany

US

338

Note 30  Pension and other post-employment benefit plans (continued)

b) Post-retirement medical and life plans

In the US and the UK, UBS offers retiree medical benefits that 
contribute to the health care coverage of employees and ben­
eficiaries after retirement. The UK plan is closed to new en­
trants. In addition to retiree medical benefits, UBS in the US 
also provides retiree life insurance benefits. The benefit obli­
gation in excess of the fair value of plan assets for these plans 
amounts to CHF 186 million as of 31 December 2009 (2008: 
CHF  159  million;  2007:  CHF  190  million)  and  the  total  ac­
crued post­retirement cost amounts to CHF 163 million as of 

31 December 2009 (2008: CHF 164 million; 2007: CHF 181 
million). The net periodic post­retirement costs for the years 
ended 31 December 2009, 31 December 2008, and 31 De­
cember  2007  were  CHF  9  million  (including  a  curtailment 
gain of CHF 8 million), CHF 9 million (including a curtailment 
gain of CHF 11 million), and CHF 26 million, respectively.

The  employer  contributions  expected  to  be  made  in 
2010 to the post­retirement medical and life plans are CHF 7 
million.

CHF million

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

Post-retirement benefit obligation at the beginning of the year

Service cost

Interest cost

Plan participant contributions

Actuarial gain / (loss)

Amendments

Benefits paid

Curtailments

Foreign currency translation

(159)

(7)

(10)

(2)

(31)

0

10

9

4

Post-retirement benefit obligation at the end of the year

(186)

(190)

(8)

(11)

(0)

14

0

7

9

20

(159)

0

6

1

(7)

0

(219)

(12)

(11)

(1)

39

(8)

8

0

14

(190)

0

7

1

(8)

0

0

8

2

(10)

0

Fair value of plan assets at the beginning of the year

Employer contributions

Plan participant contributions

Benefits paid

Fair value of plan assets at the end of the year

CHF million

Defined benefit obligation

Plan asset

Surplus / (deficit)

Experience gains / (losses) on plan liabilities

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.06

31.12.05

(186)

0

(186)

8

(159)

0

(159)

3

(190)

0

(190)

8

(219)

0

(219)

1

(216)

0

(216)

(3)

The assumed average health care cost trend rate used in de­
termining post­retirement benefit expense is assumed to be 
9% for 2009 and to decrease to an ultimate trend rate of 
5% in 2015. On a country­by­country basis, the same dis­
count rate is used for the calculation of the post­retirement 
benefit obligation from medical and life plans as for the de­
fined benefit obligations arising from pension plans.

Assumed average health care cost trend rates have a sig­
nificant  effect  on  the  amounts  reported  for  health  care 
plans. A one percentage point change in the assumed health 
care cost trend rates would change the US post­retirement 
benefit obligation and the service and interest cost compo­
nents  of  the  net  periodic  post­retirement  benefit  costs  as 
follows:

CHF million

Effect on total service and interest cost

Effect on the post-retirement benefit obligation

1% increase

1% decrease

4

26

(3)

(21)

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339

 
Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Note 30  Pension and other post-employment benefit plans (continued)

c) Defined contribution plans

UBS also sponsors a number of defined contribution plans 
in its foreign locations. The locations with defined contri­
bution plans of a material nature are in the UK and the US. 
Certain plans permit employees to make contributions and 
earn  matching  or  other  contributions  from  UBS.  The  em­

ployer contributions to these plans recognized as expense 
for  the  years  ended  31  December  2009,  31  December 
2008, and 31 December 2007 were CHF 246 million, CHF 
312 million, and CHF 285 million, respectively.

d) Related party disclosure

UBS  is  the  principal  bank  for  the  pension  fund  of  UBS  in 
Switzerland.  In  this  function,  UBS  is  engaged  to  execute 
most of the pension fund’s banking activities. These activities 
include, but are not limited to, trading and securities lending 
and borrowing. All transactions have been executed at arm’s 
length conditions.

The  foreign  UBS  pension  funds  do  not  have  a  similar 
banking relationship with UBS, but they may hold and trade 
UBS shares and / or securities.

In 2008, UBS sold to its Swiss pension fund certain bank­
occupied properties for proceeds of approximately CHF 186 
million and recognized a gain of approximately CHF 97 mil­
lion. UBS and its Swiss pension fund entered simultaneously 

into  lease­back  arrangements  for  some  of  the  properties 
with  25­year  lease  terms  and  two  renewal  options  for  ten 
years  each.  At  31  December  2008  the  minimum  commit­
ment  towards  the  Swiss  pension  fund  under  the  related 
 leases was approximately CHF 41 million.

During 2009, UBS renegotiated one of the lease contracts 
which  reduced  UBS’s  remaining  lease  commitment.  At 
31 December 2009 the minimum commitment towards the 
Swiss pension fund under the related leases is approximately 
CHF  27  million.  The  rent  paid  by  UBS  under  these  leases 
amounted to CHF 5 million in 2009.

The  following  fees  and  interest  have  been  received  or 

paid by UBS:

Related party disclosure

CHF million

Received by UBS

Fees

Paid by UBS

Interest

Dividends and capital repayments

The transaction volumes in UBS shares and other UBS securities are as follows:

Transaction volumes – related parties

Financial instruments bought by pension funds

UBS AG shares (in thousands of shares)

UBS financial instruments (nominal values in CHF million)

Financial instruments sold by pension funds or matured

UBS AG shares (in thousands of shares)

UBS financial instruments (nominal values in CHF million)

For the year ended

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

34

2

0

44

1

4

58

2

38

For the year ended

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

3,869

35

4,116

14

6,925

78

1,881

10

1,728

950

1,930

976

UBS  has  also  leased  buildings  from  its  pension  funds.  The 
rent  paid  by  UBS  under  these  leases  amounted  to  CHF  12 
million in 2009, CHF 7 million in 2008, and CHF 6 million in 
2007.

There were no financial instruments due from UBS pen­
sion plans outstanding as of 31 December 2009 (2008: CHF 
0  million;  2007:  CHF  0  million).  The  amounts  due  to  UBS 

defined benefit pension plans are included in the additional 
details to the fair value of plan assets. Furthermore, UBS de­
fined contribution plans hold 17,259,203 UBS shares with a 
market value of CHF 278 million as of 31 December 2009 
(2008: 17,866,949 shares with a market value of CHF 272 
million;  2007:  14,121,239  shares  with  a  market  value  of 
CHF 736 million).

340

Note 31  Equity participation and other compensation plans

a) Plans offered

UBS  has  established  several  equity  participation  and  other 
compensation plans to further align the interests of execu­
tives, managers and staff with the interests of shareholders. 
The plans are offered to eligible employees in approximately 
50  countries  and  are  designed  to  meet  the  complex  legal, 
tax  and  regulatory  requirements  of  each  country  in  which 
they are offered. UBS’s compensation plans are mandatory, 
discretionary or voluntary. The explanations below provide a 
general description of the terms of the most significant plans 
offered, however specific plan rules may vary by country. Re­
fer to Note 1a) 24) for a description of the accounting policy 
related  to  equity  participation  and  other  compensation 
plans.

Mandatory share­based compensation plans
Equity  Ownership  Plan  (EOP):  Certain  employees  receive  a 
portion of their annual performance­related compensation, 
which  exceeds  a  certain  threshold,  in  the  form  of  an  EOP 
award of UBS shares, notional UBS shares, or of alternative 
investment vehicles (AIVs)1 instead of cash, on a mandatory 
basis.  The  awards  granted  in  UBS  shares  or  notional  UBS 
shares are settled by delivering UBS shares, except in coun­
tries  where  this  is  not  permitted  for  legal  reasons.  Awards 
granted in the form of AIVs are settled in cash. The majority 
of  EOP  awards  continue  to  be  granted  in  UBS  shares  and 
notional UBS shares. EOP awards generally vest in one­third 
increments  over  a  three­year  vesting  period.  These  awards 
are generally forfeitable upon voluntary termination of em­
ployment with UBS. Compensation expense for these awards 
is generally recognized over the shorter of the legal vesting 
period and the period from grant to the date the employee 
satisfies certain retirement eligibility requirements. Compen­
sation expense is recognized in the performance year if the 
employee meets these retirement eligibility requirements at 
the date of grant.

During  2009,  UBS  only  granted  EOP  awards  to  certain 

employees for which it had a contractual commitment. 

During  2008,  UBS  granted  to  certain  employees  EOP 
awards with a nine­month vesting period. Compensation ex­
pense for these awards was fully recognized in 2007.

Senior  Executive  Equity  Ownership  Plan  (SEEOP):  Senior 
executives  receive  a  portion  of  their  performance­related 
compensation in UBS shares or notional UBS shares instead 
of cash, on a mandatory basis. The awards granted in UBS 
shares or notional UBS shares are settled by delivering UBS 
shares. SEEOP awards generally vest in one­fifth increments 
over a five­year vesting period. These awards are forfeitable 
if certain conditions are not met. Compensation expense for 

1 Selected employees are granted a contingent right to receive a cash payment, the value of which 
is based on the value of underlying investment funds, rather than the value of UBS’s equity.

all SEEOP awards is recognized during the performance year, 
which is generally the period prior to the grant date.

During 2009, UBS only granted SEEOP awards to certain 

employees for which it had a contractual commitment.

During  2008,  UBS  granted  to  certain  employees  SEEOP 
awards with a nine­month vesting period. Compensation ex­
pense for these awards was fully recognized in 2007.

Mandatory deferred cash compensation plans
Conditional Variable Compensation Plan (CVCP): CVCP was 
a one­time forward looking compensation plan under which 
awards were granted to certain employees on a mandatory 
basis in the second quarter of 2009. Under this plan, UBS 
awarded  a  contingent  right  to  receive  cash  payments  at 
vesting  subject  to  forfeiture  provisions.  These  awards  are 
generally forfeitable upon termination of employment with 
UBS  and  additionally  require  profitability  and  recapitaliza­
tion performance hurdles to be met in order for the awards 
not to forfeit. The awards vest in one­third increments over 
a three­year vesting period. Compensation expense is rec­
ognized over the shorter of the vesting period and the pe­
riod from the service inception date to the retirement eligi­
bility date of the employee. No further grants will be made 
under this plan.

WMUS Partner Plus Plan: Wealth Management Americas 
sponsors a compulsory deferred cash compensation plan for 
selected eligible employees in the US. Under this plan, UBS 
awards amounts based on a predefined formula during the 
performance year. Participants are also allowed to voluntarily 
contribute additional amounts earned during the year into 
the  plan  up  to  a  percentage  of  UBS’s  contributions.  The 
amounts  awarded  earn  an  above­market  rate  of  interest 
during the initial four­year period and a market rate of inter­
est thereafter. Partner Plus awards vest in 20% increments 6 
to 10 years after the grant date. The UBS contributions and 
all  interest  earned  are  forfeitable  in  certain  circumstances. 
Compensation expense is recognized over the shorter of the 
vesting period and the period from the performance year to 
the date that the employee is eligible to leave UBS and retain 
their award.

Cash Balance Plan (CBP): This plan applies to members of 
the Group Executive Board and allows for a maximum pay­
out of 60% of an executive’s variable cash incentive at the 
beginning  of  the  following  year  (subject  to  an  additional 
cash­cap). A minimum of 40% of an executive’s cash incen­
tive awarded for 2009 is deferred and paid out during the 
two  subsequent  years  subject  to  forfeiture,  i.e.  the  entire 
cash incentive is paid out over a three­year period. The for­
feiture provisions allow for unvested awards to be reduced 
(including to nil) in certain events including termination for 

341

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Note 31  Equity participation and other compensation plans (continued)

a) Plans offered (continued)

cause, certain fi nancial losses, behavior that contributes sub­
stantially to a material restatement of financial results or to 
harm to UBS’s reputation, breaches of legal or regu latory re­
quirements or of risk/compliance policies, and a number of 
other  events.  Compensation  expense  is  recognized  in  the 
performance  year,  which  is  generally  the  year  prior  to  the 
grant date.

Discretionary share­based compensation plans
Key  Employee  Stock  Appreciation  Rights  Plan  (KESAP)  and 
Key Employee Stock Option Plan (KESOP): Key and high po­
tential employees may be granted discretionary share­settled 
Stock Appreciation Rights (SARs) or UBS options with a strike 
price not less than the fair market value of a UBS share on 
the date the SAR or option is granted. In certain cases, an 
option or SAR may be granted at a higher strike price. A SAR 
gives  employees  the  right  to  receive  such  number  of  UBS 
shares equal to the value of any appreciation in the market 
price of a UBS share between the grant date and the exercise 
date.  One  option  gives  the  right  to  acquire  one  registered 
UBS share at the option’s strike price.

KESAP and KESOP awards are settled by delivering UBS 
shares,  except  in  countries  where  this  is  not  permitted  for 
legal reasons. Options granted prior to 2008 generally vest 
in one­third increments over a three­year vesting period and 
generally  expire  ten  years  from  the  grant  date.  SARs2  and 
options granted from 2008 onwards vest in full following a 
three­year vesting period and generally expire ten years from 
the grant date. These awards are generally forfeitable upon 
termination  of  employment  with  UBS.  Compensation  ex­
pense is recognized over the shorter of the legal vesting pe­
riod and the period from grant to the retirement eligibility 
date of the employee.

Senior Executive Stock Appreciation Rights Plan (SESAP) 
and Senior Executive Stock Option Plan (SESOP): senior ex­
ecutives may be granted discretionary SARs or UBS options 
with a strike price set at 110% of the fair market value of a 
UBS share on the date the SAR or option is granted. A SAR 
gives  employees  the  right  to  receive  such  number  of  UBS 
shares equal to the value of any appreciation over 110% of 
the market price of a UBS share between grant date and the 
exercise date. One option gives the right to acquire one reg­
istered UBS share at the option’s strike price. SESAP and SES­
OP awards are settled by delivering UBS shares. These awards 
vest in full following a three­year vesting period and gener­
ally expire ten years from the grant date. These awards are 
forfeitable if certain conditions are not met. Compensation 
expense for all SESAP and SESOP awards is recognized dur­

ing the performance year, which is generally the period prior 
to  the  grant  date.  During  2009,  UBS  only  granted  SESOP 
awards to certain employees for which it had a contractual 
commitment.

Voluntary share­based compensation plans
Equity Plus Plan (Equity Plus): This voluntary plan gives eligi­
ble employees the opportunity to purchase UBS shares at fair 
market value and generally receive at no additional cost two 
UBS options for each share purchased, up to a maximum an­
nual limit. Share purchases can be made annually from bo­
nus  compensation  and  /  or  quarterly  based  on  regular  de­
ductions from salary. Shares purchased under Equity Plus are 
restricted from sale for two years from the time of purchase. 
The options have a strike price equal to the fair market value 
of a UBS share on the date the option is granted, a two­year 
vesting period and generally expire ten years from the date 
of grant. The options are forfeitable in certain circumstances 
and are settled by delivering UBS shares, except in countries 
where this is not permitted for legal reasons. Compensation 
expense  related  to  the  UBS  options  is  recognized  over  the 
shorter of the legal vesting period and the period from grant 
to the retirement eligibility date of the employee.

UBS satisfies share delivery obligations under its option­
based and SAR­based participation plans either by purchas­
ing UBS shares in the market or through the issuance of new 
shares. For UBS’s option­based plans, shares held in treasury 
or newly issued shares are delivered to the employee against 
receipt  of  the  strike  price  at  exercise.  Under  its  SAR­based 
plans, UBS does not receive payment of a strike price at ex­
ercise but rather delivers to the employee shares held in trea­
sury or newly issued shares equal to the difference between 
the market value of a UBS share at exercise and the strike 
price. As of 31 December 2009, UBS was holding approxi­
mately 27.7 million shares in treasury and an additional 150 
million  unissued  shares  in  conditional  share  capital,  which 
are  available  and  can  be  used  for  future  employee  option 
and SAR exercises. The shares available cover all vested (i.e. 
exercisable) employee options and SARs.

Other plans
Executive Capital Accumulation Plan (ECAP): UBS sponsors a 
voluntary  deferred  compensation  plan  for  selected  eligible 
employees. Under this plan, participants are allowed to no­
tionally invest a portion of their cash bonus in money market 
funds, UBS and non­UBS mutual funds and other UBS spon­
sored funds. No additional company match is granted, the 
awards are generally not forfeitable and are settled in cash. 
This plan does not result in compensation expense for UBS. 

2 The first grants made under KESAP were in 2009.

342

Note 31  Equity participation and other compensation plans (continued)

b) Effect on income statement

Mandatory, discretionary and voluntary share­based 
compensation plans 
The  total  share­based  compensation  expense,  including 
amounts  for  AIVs  granted  under  EOP,  recognized  for  the 
years  ended  31  December  2009,  31  December  2008  and 
31  December  2007  was  CHF  913  million,  negative  CHF 
94 million and CHF 3,173 million, respectively. For the years 
ended 31 December 2009, 31 December 2008 and 31 De­
cember  2007,  the  compensation  expense  recognized  for 
share­based payments was primarily related to equity­settled 
plans.  At  31  December  2009,  total  compensation  expense 
related  to  non­vested  mandatory,  discretionary  and  volun­
tary share­based awards, including amounts for AIVs issued 
under EOP, granted in 2009 and previous years which will be 
recognized  as  an  expense  in  the  income  statement  from 
2010 and later is CHF 832 million. This amount is expected 
to  be  recognized  in  Personnel  expenses  over  a  weighted 
 average period of 3.6 years.

Payments  to  participants  of  cash­settled  share­based 
plans,  including  amounts  for  AIVs  granted  under  EOP,  for 
the years ended 31 December 2009, 31 December 2008 and 
31 December 2007 were CHF 83 million, CHF 80 million and 
CHF  42  million,  respectively.  The  total  carrying  amount  of 
the liability related to these cash­settled plans amounted to 
CHF 206 million as of 31 December 2009.

Mandatory deferred cash compensation plans
The  total  deferred  cash  compensation  expense,  related  to 
CBP and CVCP (as described in previous section), recognized 
for the year ended 31 December 2009 was CHF 63 million. 
At 31 December 2009, total compensation expense related 
to CVCP awards granted in 2009 which will be recognized 
as an expense in the income statement from 2010 and later 
is CHF 570 million. This amount is expected to be recognized 
in  Personnel  expenses  over  a  weighted  average  period  of 
1.8 years.

c) UBS share awards

Movements in shares granted under the equity participation plans described in Note 31a) are as follows:

Forfeitable, at the beginning of the year

Shares awarded during the year

Distributions during the year

Forfeited during the year

Forfeitable, at the end of the year

of which: shares vested for accounting purposes

Number of  
shares 
31.12.09

Weighted  
average  
grant date  

fair value CHF

84,736,935

39,067,130

(31,293,824)

(5,621,615)

86,888,626

40,148,461

53

12

66

38

31

Weighted 
average  
grant date  
fair value CHF

66

32

61

54

53

Number of 
shares 
31.12.08

59,102,580

90,895,594

(60,105,109)

(5,156,131)

84,736,935

65,767,017

Number of 
shares 
31.12.07

56,141,102

30,271,820

(25,031,819)

(2,278,523)

59,102,580

47,700,903

Weighted 
average  
grant date  
fair value CHF

58

70

55

66

66

UBS measures compensation expense based on the average 
market price of the UBS share on the grant date as quoted 
on the SIX Swiss Exchange less a discount for post­vesting 
sale  and  hedge  restrictions  and  non­vesting  conditions,  in 
accordance with IFRS 2 Share-based Payment: Vesting Con-
ditions  and  Cancellations.  The  grant  date  fair  value  of  no­
tional  UBS  shares  without  dividend  entitlements  also  in­
cludes a deduction for the present value of future expected 
dividends to be paid between grant date and distribution.

The fair value of the share awards subject to post­vesting 
sale  and  hedge  restrictions  is  discounted  based  upon  the 
duration of the post­vesting restriction and is referenced to 
the cost of purchasing an at­the­money plain vanilla Euro­
pean put option for the term of the transfer restriction. The 

weighted  average  discount  for  share  awards  granted  in 
2009  is  approximately  31.7%  of  the  market  price  of  the 
UBS share. Discounts for non­vesting conditions are based 
on  the  probability  that  the  non­vesting  conditions  will  be 
achieved  and  the  award  will  become  exercisable.  The  fair 
value of share­based awards granted prior to 2008 was not 
discounted for post­vesting sale and hedge restrictions, as 
there was no distinction between vesting and non­vesting 
conditions until the IASB amended IFRS 2 Share-based Pay-
ment:  Vesting  Conditions  and  Cancellations.  The  market 
value  of  shares  legally  vested  was  CHF  346  million,  CHF 
1,385  million,  and  CHF  1,737  million  for  the  years  ended 
31 December 2009, 31 December 2008, and 31 December 
2007, respectively.

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated Financial information

Note 31  Equity participation and other compensation plans (continued)

d) UBS option awards

Movements in options granted under the equity participation plans described in Note 31a) are as follows:

Outstanding, at the beginning of the year

Granted during the year

Exercised during the year

Forfeited during the year

Expired unexercised

Outstanding, at the end of the year

Exercisable, at the end of the year

Number of  
options  
31.12.09

236,055,545

22,525,624

(48,241)

(7,245,512)

(22,663,530)

228,623,886

137,797,186

Weighted  
average  
exercise price  
CHF 2
47

Number of  
options  
31.12.08 1
198,213,092

Weighted  
average exercise 
price CHF 1,2
52

Number of  
options  
31.12.07 1
188,393,473

Weighted  
average exercise 
price CHF 1,2
47

13

16

37

48

43

51

62,973,879

(3,673,657)

(6,732,080)

(14,725,689)

236,055,545

124,054,442

30

26

52

46

47

46

48,094,483

(34,331,511)

(3,650,942)

(292,411)

198,213,092

96,396,428

67

36

62

58

52

39

1 As a result of the rights offering in June 2008, UBS adjusted the number of options and exercise price for vested and unvested employee options which were unexercised at the date of the rights of-
fering. This was done to prevent any dilution impact to holders of these options. No additional compensation expense was recognized. This resulted in an increase to the number of options awarded in 
2008 of 3,881,320 and an increase to the prior year outstanding balance of 2,400,143.    2 Some of the options in this table have exercise prices denominated in USD which have been converted into 
CHF at the year-end spot exchange rate for the purposes of this table.

The weighted average share price at the time when the op­
tions were exercised during the year was CHF 18, CHF 34, 
and CHF 72 for the years ended 31 December 2009, 31 De­

cember 2008, and 31 December 2007, respectively. The fol­
lowing  table  provides  additional  information  about  option 
awards:

Intrinsic value of options exercised during the year (CHF million)

Weighted average grant date fair value of options granted (CHF)

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

0.2

6.00

29

7.53

1,046

10.43

The following table summarizes additional information about options outstanding and options exercisable at 31 Decem­
ber 2009:

Options outstanding

Options exercisable

Number of 
options 
outstanding

Weighted 
average 
exercise price 
(CHF / USD)

Aggregate 
intrinsic value 
(CHF / USD 
million)

Weighted 
average 
remaining 
contractual 
term (years)

Number of 
options 
exercisable

Weighted 
average 
exercise price 
(CHF / USD)

Aggregate 
intrinsic value 
(CHF / USD 
million)

Weighted 
average 
remaining 
contractual 
term (years)

Range of exercise price per share

CHF awards

10.21–15.00

15.01–25.00

25.01–35.00

35.01–45.00

45.01–55.00

55.01–65.00

65.01–75.00

10.21–75.00

USD awards

4.61–15.00

15.01–25.00

25.01–35.00

35.01–45.00

45.01–51.99

4.61–51.99

344

18,599,225

11,560,852

45,514,537

25,831,524

21,961,024

4,945,136

67,395,232

195,807,530

15,632

10,288,746

3,037,460

16,052,302

3,422,216

32,816,356

11.33

18.70

31.10

39.04

49.34

60.26

67.89

44.98

13.53

21.11

27.95

38.12

44.89

32.54

87.8

1.8

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

9.1

9.3

7.3

5.0

5.4

7.0

6.7

2,001

93,767

8,319,508

16,931,901

21,539,533

4,509,038

53,616,749

89.6

6.9 105,012,497

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.3

2.7

3.7

4.8

5.4

15,632

10,268,746

3,037,355

16,040,740

3,422,216

4.1

32,784,689

14.47

20.07

28.31

40.58

49.26

59.96

67.27

55.83

13.53

21.11

27.95

38.12

44.89

32.54

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

8.9

8.7

3.4

3.3

5.3

6.9

6.6

5.6

0.3

2.7

3.7

4.8

5.4

4.1

Note 31  Equity participation and other compensation plans (continued)

e) UBS SAR awards

Movements in SARs granted under the equity participation plans described in Note 31a) are as follows:

Outstanding, at the beginning of the year

Granted during the year

Exercised during the year

Forfeited during the year

Expired unexercised

Outstanding, at the end of the year

Exercisable, at the end of the year

Number of rights  

Weighted average  

31.12.09

exercise price (CHF)

0

66,126,830

0

(5,219,655)

0

60,907,175

4,000,000

0

12

0

11

0

12

10

The following table summarizes additional information about SARs outstanding at 31 December 2009.

Range of exercise price per SAR

CHF awards

9.35–12.50

12.51–15.00

15.01–17.50

17.51–20.00

37.51– 40.00

9.35– 40.00

SARs outstanding

Number of SARs 
outstanding

Weighted average 
exercise price (CHF)

Aggregate  
intrinsic value (CHF)

Weighted average 
remaining contractual 
term (years)

59,273,505

53,410

268,330

406,930

905,000

60,907,175

11.26

14.57

16.47

19.25

40.00

11.77

283.9

0.1

0.0

0.0

0.0

284.0

8.8

9.5

9.5

9.7

9.2

8.8

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Note 31  Equity participation and other compensation plans (continued)

f) Valuation

The  fair  value  of  options  and  SARs  (instruments)  is  deter­
mined by means of a Monte Carlo simulation. The simula­
tion  technique  uses  a  mix  of  implied  and  historic  volatility 
and specific employee exercise behavior patterns based on 
statistical  data,  taking  into  account  the  specific  terms  and 
conditions under which the instruments are granted, such as 
the vesting period, forced exercises during the lifetime, and 
gain­  and  time­dependent  exercise  behavior.  The  expected 
term  of  each  instrument  is  calculated  as  the  probability­

weighted average period of the time between grant and ex­
ercise. The term structure of volatility is derived from the im­
plied volatilities of traded UBS options in combination with 
the observed long­term historic share price volatility. Expect­
ed future dividends are derived from the historical dividend 
pattern.

The fair value of options and SARs granted in 2009 and 
the fair value of options granted in 2008 and 2007 was de­
termined using the following assumptions:

CHF awards

48.22

2.16

0.27

11.88

11.64

CHF awards

33.86

2.83

1.85

30.11

28.05

CHF awards

23.86

2.58

3.13

71.31

70.25

31.12.09

range low

40.91

1.50

0.00

9.35

9.35

31.12.08

range low

30.00

1.74

1.10

14.47

14.47

31.12.07

range low

22.51

2.46

2.20

55.48

55.48

range high

53.47

2.57

0.29

40.00

19.27

range high

49.32

3.27

2.57

46.02

43.61

range high

29.23

3.27

4.56

78.80

78.80

Expected volatility (%)

Risk-free interest rate (%)

Expected dividend (CHF)

Strike price (CHF)

Share price (CHF)

Expected volatility (%)

Risk-free interest rate (%)

Expected dividend (CHF)

Strike price (CHF)

Share price (CHF)

Expected volatility (%)

Risk-free interest rate (%)

Expected dividend (CHF)
Strike price (CHF) 1
Share price (CHF) 1

1 Not adjusted for stock dividend and rights offering in 2008.

346

Note 32  Related parties

The Group defines related parties as associated companies 
(entities which are controlled or significantly influenced by 
UBS),  post­employment  benefit  plans  for  the  benefit  of 
UBS  employees,  key  management  personnel,  close  family 
members of key management personnel and entities which 
are,  directly  or  indirectly,  controlled  or  jointly  controlled 

by key management personnel or their close family mem­
bers. Key management personnel is defined as members of 
the  Board  of  Directors  (BoD)  and  Group  Executive  Board 
(GEB). This definition is based on the revised requirements 
of  IAS  24  Related  Party  Disclosures  issued  in  November 
2009.

a) Remuneration of key management personnel

The non­independent members of the BoD have top man­
agement employment contracts and receive pension bene­
fits  upon  retirement.  Total  remuneration  of  the  non­inde­

pendent members of the BoD, and GEB including those who 
stepped down during, 2009 1 is as follows:

CHF million

Base salaries and other cash payments

Incentive awards – cash

Employer’s contributions to retirement benefit plans

Benefits in kind, fringe benefits (at market value)
Equity compensation benefits 2
Total

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

16

64

2

1

29

112

12

0

2

1

0

15

14

38

2

2

22

78

1 During 2009, Marcel Rohner, Jerker Johansson, Raoul Weil, Walter H. Stürzinger, Rory Tapner, and Marten Hoekstra stepped down from the GEB. The total awards of approximately CHF 39 million are  heavily 
influenced by contractual obligations.    2 Expense for shares and options granted is measured at grant date and allocated over the vesting period, generally 3 years for options and 5 years for shares.

Peter Kurer, former Chairman of the BoD, did not stand for 
reelection at the AGM on 15 April 2009, and retired from 
UBS as of April 2009. He received his base salary until the 
termination date of 30 April 2009. For ongoing advisory re­
quirements and assistance in the handover to his successor, 
Peter  Kurer  received  a  flat  salary  of  CHF  1,000,000.  For 
2009, as was the case for 2007 and 2008, he did not receive 
any discretionary incentive or fixed share awards. After as­
sessing  his  tenure  as  Chairman  and  the  specific  organiza­
tional  transition  requirements,  the  Human  Resources  and 
Compensation Committee (HRCC) deemed it appropriate to 
approve a one­time contribution of CHF 3,332,000 into the 
UBS  pension  fund  on  his  behalf  to  cover  the  deficit  in  his 
pension fund.

Marcel Rohner stepped down as Group CEO on 26 Febru­
ary 2009. In honoring the twelve­month notice period of his 
contract, he received his annual salary of CHF 1,500,000. For 
2009, as also for 2008, he did not receive any discretionary 
incentive awards. After assessing his tenure as Group CEO 
and the specific organizational transition requirements, the 
HRCC deemed it appropriate to approve a one­time contri­
bution of CHF 1,200,000 into the UBS pension fund on his 
behalf to cover the deficit in his pension fund.

The independent members of the BoD do not have em­
ployment  or  service  contracts  with  UBS,  and  thus  are  not 
entitled to benefits upon termination of their service on the 
BoD. Payments to these individuals for their services as exter­
nal board members amounted to CHF 6.4 million in 2009, 
CHF 6.4 million in 2008 and CHF 5.7 million in 2007.

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Note 32  Related parties (continued)

b) Equity holdings

Number of stock options from equity participation plans held by non-independent members of the BoD 
and the GEB 1
Number of shares held by members of the BoD, GEB and parties closely linked to them

1 Further information about UBS’s equity participation plans can be found in Note 31.

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

9,410,280

4,180,154

8,458,037

5,869,952

6,828,152

6,693,012

Of the share totals above, at 31 December 2009, 31 Decem­
ber 2008 and 31 December 2007, 0 shares, 15,878 shares 
and  4,852  shares,  respectively,  were  held  by  close  family 
members  of  key  management  personnel  and  0  shares, 
103,841  shares  and  2,200,000  shares,  respectively,  were 
held by entities which are directly or indirectly controlled or 

jointly  controlled  by  key  management  personnel  or  their 
close  family  members.  Further  information  about  UBS’s 
 equity participation plans can be found in Note 31. No mem­
ber of the BoD or GEB is the  beneficial owner of more than 
1% of the Group’s shares at 31 December 2009.

c) Loans, advances and mortgages to key management personnel

Non­independent  members  of  the  BoD  and  GEB  members 
have been granted loans, fixed advances and mortgages on 
the  same  terms  and  conditions  that  are  available  to  other 
employees, based on terms and conditions granted to third 
parties  adjusted  for  reduced  credit  risk.  Independent  BoD 

members are granted loans and mortgages at general mar­
ket conditions.

Movements in the loan, advances and mortgage balances 

are as follows:

CHF million

Balance at the beginning of the year

Additions

Reductions

Balance at the end of the year

31.12.09

31.12.08

11

12

(5)

18

15

8

(12)

11

No unsecured loans were granted to key management personnel as of 31 December 2009 and 31 December 2008.

d) Associated companies

CHF million

Balance at the beginning of the year

Additions

Reductions

Credit loss (expense) / recovery

Foreign currency translation

Balance at the end of the year

of which: unsecured loans

of which: allowances for credit losses

All loans to associated companies are transacted at arm’s length.

31.12.09

31.12.08

301

295

(222)

(1)

0

373

42

1

220

171

(77)

0

(13)

301

82

3

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Note 32  Related parties (continued)

d) Associated companies (continued)

Other transactions with associated companies transacted at arm’s length are as follows:

CHF million

Payments to associates for goods and services received

Fees received for services provided to associates

Commitments and contingent liabilities to associates

Note 34 provides a list of significant associates.

e) Other related party transactions

During  2008  and  2007,  UBS  entered  into  transactions  at 
arm’s length with entities which are directly or indirectly con­
trolled  or  jointly  controlled  by  UBS’s  key  management  per­
sonnel or their close family members. In 2009, UBS did not 
enter into any such transactions. The 2008 and 2007 num­
bers  included  into  the  table  below  have  been  restated  to 
reflect the revised guidance in IAS 24 Related Party Disclo-
sures. Refer to Note 1b for details.

Movements in loans to other related parties are as follows:

CHF million

Balance at the beginning of the year

Additions

Reductions
Balance at the end of the year 1

As of or for the year ended

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

130

2

156

90

6

40

87

20

33

In 2008 these entities included: Aebi + Co. AG (Switzer­
land), Kedge Capital Selected Funds Ltd. (Jersey), Löwenfeld 
AG (Switzerland), Martown Trading Ltd. (Isle of Man), Ome­
ga  Fund  I  Ltd  (Jersey),  Omega  Fund  IV  Ltd  (Jersey),  Stadler 
Rail  Group  (Switzerland),  Team  Alinghi  (Switzerland)  and 
Team Alinghi (Spain).

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

6

0

(6)

0

158

0

(152)

6

539

77

(458)

158

1 In 2009 includes loans, guarantees and contingent liabilities of CHF 0 million and unused committed facilities of CHF 0 million but excludes unused uncommitted working capital facilities and unused 
guarantees of CHF 0 million. In 2008 includes loans, guarantees and contingent liabilities of CHF 6 million and unused committed facilities of CHF 0 million but excludes unused un committed working 
capital facilities and unused guarantees of CHF 320 million. In 2007 includes loans, guarantees and contingent liabilities of CHF 158 million and unused committed facilities of CHF 0 million but excludes 
unused uncommitted working capital facilities and unused guarantees of CHF 57 million.

Other transactions with these related parties include:

CHF million

Goods sold and services provided to UBS

Fees received for services provided by UBS

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

0

0

1

11

8

6

As  part  of  its  sponsorship  of  Team  Alinghi,  UBS  paid  CHF 
828,090 (EUR 538,000) in basic sponsoring fees for 2008. 

Team Alinghi’s controlling shareholder is UBS former Board 
member Ernesto Bertarelli.

f) Additional information

UBS also engages in trading and risk management activities 
(e.g. swaps, options, forwards) with various related parties 
mentioned in previous sections. These transactions may give 
rise to credit risk either for UBS or for a related party towards 

UBS. As part of its normal course of business, UBS is also a 
market maker in equity and debt instruments and at times 
may hold positions in instruments of related parties.

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Note 33  Events after the reporting period

In  January  2010,  UBS  closed  the  sale  of  its  investments  in 
several associated entities owning office space in New York. 
A  significant  portion  of  the  office  space  is  leased  by  UBS 
Group until 2018. The sales price is USD 180 million, with a 
resulting  gain  on  sale  of  approximately  USD  173  million, 
which will be recognized in 2010.

There have been no further material events after the re­

porting period which would require disclosure or adjustment 
to the 31 December 2009 Financial Statements.

On  4  March  2010,  the  Board  of  Directors  reviewed 
the  financial  statements  and  authorized  them  for  issue. 
These financial statements will be submitted to the Annual 
General  Meeting  of  Shareholders  on  14  April  2010  for 
 approval.

Note 34  Significant subsidiaries and associates

The legal entity group structure of UBS is designed to sup­
port  the  Group’s  businesses  within  an  efficient  legal,  tax, 
regulatory and funding framework. Neither the business di­
visions  of  UBS  (namely  Investment  Bank,  Wealth  Manage­
ment  Americas,  Wealth  Management  &  Swiss  Bank  and 
Global Asset Management) nor Corporate Center are repli­
cated in their own individual legal entities, but rather they 
generally operate out of UBS AG (Parent Bank) through its 
Swiss and foreign branches.

The  Parent  Bank  structure  allows  UBS  to  use  one  legal 

platform for all the business divisions.

Where, usually due to local legal, tax or regulatory rules 
or due to additional legal entities joining the UBS Group via 
acquisition, it is either not possible or not efficient to operate 
out of the Parent Bank, then local subsidiary companies host 
the businesses. The significant operating subsidiary compa­
nies in the Group are listed below:

Significant subsidiaries

Company

Caisse Centrale de Réescompte

CCR Asset Management S.A.

Fondcenter AG

OOO UBS Bank

PT UBS Securities Indonesia

Topcard Service AG

UBS (Bahamas) Ltd.

UBS (France) S.A.

UBS (Grand Cayman) Limited

UBS (Italia) S.p.A.

UBS (Luxembourg) S.A.

UBS (Luxembourg) SA Austria Branch

UBS (Monaco) S.A.

Jurisdiction of incorporation

Paris, France

Paris, France

Zurich, Switzerland

Moscow, Russia

Jakarta, Indonesia

Glattbrugg, Switzerland

Nassau, Bahamas

Paris, France

Business division 1
Global AM

Global AM

Global AM

IB

IB

WM&SB

WM&SB

WM&SB

George Town, Cayman Islands

IB

Milan, Italy

Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Vienna, Austria

Monte Carlo, Monaco

UBS Alternative and Quantitative Investments Limited

London, Great Britain

UBS Alternative and Quantitative Investments LLC

UBS Americas Inc

UBS Asesores SA

UBS Bank (Canada)

UBS Bank Mexico, S.A. Institucion de Banca Multiple, 
UBS Grupo Financiero

UBS Bank USA

UBS Bank, S.A.

UBS Belgium SA/NV

UBS Capital Securities (Jersey) Limited

Delaware, USA

Delaware, USA

Panama, Panama

Toronto, Canada

Mexico City, Mexico

Utah, USA

Madrid, Spain

Brussels, Belgium

St. Helier, Jersey

WM&SB

WM&SB

WM&SB

WM&SB

Global AM

Global AM

IB

WM&SB

WMA

IB

WMA

WM&SB

WM&SB

CC

Share capital in 
millions

Equity interest 
accumulated in %

EUR

EUR

CHF

RUB

IDR

CHF

USD

EUR

USD

EUR

CHF

CHF

EUR

GBP

USD

USD

USD

CAD

MXN

USD

EUR

EUR

EUR

5.0

4.8

0.1

1,250.0

118,000.0

0.2

4.0

125.7

25.0

60.0

150.0

0.0

9.2

0.3

0.1

0.0

0.0

8.5

706.4
1,880.0 2
82.2

23.0

0.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

98.6

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

1 WMA: Wealth Management Americas, WM&SB: Wealth Management & Swiss Bank, Global AM: Global Asset Management, IB: Investment Bank, CC: Corporate Center.    2 Share capital and share premium.

350

Note 34  Significant subsidiaries and associates (continued)

Significant subsidiaries (continued)

Company

UBS Card Center AG

UBS Casa de Bolsa, S.A. de C.V.

UBS Convertible Securities (Jersey) Limited

UBS Custody Services Singapore Pte. Ltd.

UBS Derivatives Hong Kong Limited

UBS Deutschland AG

UBS Fiduciaria S.p.A.

UBS Finance (Curação) N.V.

UBS Finance (Delaware) LLC

UBS Financial Services Inc.

Jurisdiction of incorporation

Glattbrugg, Switzerland

Business division 1
WM&SB

Mexico City, Mexico

St. Helier, Jersey

Singapore, Singapore

Hong Kong, China

Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Milan, Italy

Willemstad, Netherlands Antilles

Delaware, USA

Delaware, USA

UBS Financial Services Incorporated of Puerto Rico

Hato Rey, Puerto Rico

UBS Fund Advisor, L.L.C.

UBS Fund Holding (Luxembourg) S.A.

UBS Fund Holding (Switzerland) AG

UBS Fund Management (Switzerland) AG

UBS Fund Services (Cayman) Ltd

UBS Fund Services (Ireland) Limited

Delaware, USA

Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Basel, Switzerland

Basel, Switzerland

George Town, Cayman Islands

Dublin, Ireland

UBS Fund Services (Luxembourg) S.A.

Luxembourg, Luxembourg

UBS Fund Services (Luxembourg) S.A. Poland Branch

Zabierzow, Poland

UBS Futures Singapore Ltd.

UBS Global Asset Management (Americas) Inc

UBS Global Asset Management (Australia) Ltd

UBS Global Asset Management (Canada) Co

Singapore, Singapore

Delaware, USA

Sydney, Australia

Toronto, Canada

UBS Global Asset Management (Deutschland) GmbH

Frankfurt am Main, Germany

UBS Global Asset Management (Hong Kong) Limited

Hong Kong, China

UBS Global Asset Management (Italia) SGR SpA

UBS Global Asset Management (Japan) Ltd

Milan, Italy

Tokyo, Japan

UBS Global Asset Management (Singapore) Ltd

Singapore, Singapore

UBS Global Asset Management (Taiwan) Ltd

Taipei, Taiwan

UBS Global Asset Management (UK) Ltd

UBS Global Asset Management (US) Inc

UBS Global Asset Management Funds Ltd

UBS Global Asset Management Holding Ltd

UBS Global Asset Management Life Ltd

UBS Global Life AG

UBS Global Trust Corporation

UBS Hana Asset Management Company Ltd

UBS Hypotheken AG

UBS International Holdings B.V.

UBS International Life Limited

UBS Investment Management Canada Inc.

UBS Investments Philippines, Inc.

UBS Italia SIM SpA

UBS Leasing AG

UBS Life AG

UBS Life Insurance Company USA

UBS Limited

UBS Loan Finance LLC

UBS Menkul Degerler AS

London, Great Britain

Delaware, USA

London, Great Britain

London, Great Britain

London, Great Britain

Vaduz, Liechtenstein

St. John, Canada

Seoul, South Korea

Zurich, Switzerland

Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Dublin, Ireland

Toronto, Canada

Makati City, Philippines

Milan, Italy

Zurich, Switzerland

Zurich, Switzerland

California, USA

London, Great Britain

Delaware, USA

Istanbul, Turkey

Share capital in 
millions

Equity interest 
accumulated in %

CHF

MXN

CHF

SGD

HKD

EUR

EUR

USD

USD

USD

USD

USD

CHF

CHF

CHF

USD

EUR

CHF

PLN

USD

USD

AUD

CAD

EUR

HKD

EUR

JPY

SGD

TWD

GBP

USD

GBP

GBP

GBP

CHF

CAD

KRW

CHF

EUR

EUR

CAD

PHP

EUR

CHF

CHF

USD

GBP

USD

TRY

0.1

114.9

50.0

5.5

880.0

176.0

0.2

0.1
37.3 2
3,505.8 2
31.0 2
0.0 2
42.0

18.0

1.0

5.6

1.3

2.5

0.1
39.8 2
0.0

8.0
117.0 2
7.7

25.0

5.1

2,200.0

4.0

340.0

93.0
17.2 2
26.0

109.4

5.0

5.0

0.1

45,000.0

0.1

6.8

1.0

0.0

360.0

15.1

10.0

25.0
39.3 2
63.3
16.7 2
30.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

51.0

98.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

99.4

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

IB

CC

WM&SB

IB

WM&SB

WM&SB

CC

IB

WMA

WMA

WMA

Global AM

Global AM

Global AM

Global AM

Global AM

Global AM

CC

IB

Global AM

Global AM

Global AM

Global AM

Global AM

Global AM

Global AM

Global AM

Global AM

Global AM

Global AM

Global AM

Global AM

Global AM

WM&SB

WM&SB

Global AM

WM&SB

CC

WM&SB

WMA

IB

IB

WM&SB

WM&SB

WMA

IB

IB

IB

1 WMA: Wealth Management Americas, WM&SB: Wealth Management & Swiss Bank, Global AM: Global Asset Management, IB: Investment Bank, CC: Corporate Center.    2 Share capital and share premium.

351

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Note 34  Significant subsidiaries and associates (continued)

Significant subsidiaries (continued)

Company

UBS New Zealand Limited

UBS O’Connor Limited

UBS O’Connor LLC

UBS Preferred Funding (Jersey) Limited

UBS Preferred Funding Company LLC I

UBS Preferred Funding Company LLC II

UBS Preferred Funding Company LLC IV

UBS Preferred Funding Company LLC V

UBS Real Estate Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH

UBS Real Estate Securities Inc

UBS Realty Investors LLC

Jurisdiction of incorporation

Auckland, New Zealand

London, Great Britain

Delaware, USA

St. Helier, Jersey

Delaware, USA

Delaware, USA

Delaware, USA

Delaware, USA

Munich, Germany

Delaware, USA

Massachusetts, USA

UBS Sauerborn Private Equity Komplementär GmbH

Bad Homburg, Germany

Business division 1
IB

Global AM

Global AM

CC

CC

CC

CC

CC

Global AM

IB

Global AM

WM&SB

UBS Securities (Thailand) Ltd

UBS Securities Asia Limited

UBS Securities Australia Ltd

UBS Securities Canada Inc

UBS Securities España Sociedad de Valores SA

UBS Securities France S.A.

UBS Securities Hong Kong Limited

UBS Securities India Private Limited

UBS Securities International Limited

UBS Securities Japan Ltd

UBS Securities LLC

UBS Securities Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.

UBS Securities Philippines Inc

UBS Securities Pte. Ltd.

UBS Securities Pte. Ltd. Seoul Branch

UBS Service Centre (Poland) Sp. z o.o.

UBS South Africa (Proprietary) Limited

UBS Swiss Financial Advisers AG

UBS Trust Company National Association

UBS Trustees (Bahamas) Ltd

UBS Trustees (Cayman) Ltd

UBS Trustees (Jersey) Ltd.

UBS Trustees (Singapore) Ltd

UBS UK Properties Limited

UBS Wealth Management (UK) Ltd

UBS Wealth Management Australia Ltd

Vermogens Advies Holding B.V.

Bangkok, Thailand

Hong Kong, China

Sydney, Australia

Toronto, Canada

Madrid, Spain

Paris, France

Hong Kong, China

Mumbai, India

London, Great Britain

George Town, Cayman Islands

Delaware, USA

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Makati City, Philippines

Singapore, Singapore

Seoul, South Korea

Krakow, Poland

Sandton, South Africa

Zurich, Switzerland

New York, USA

Nassau, Bahamas

George Town, Cayman Islands

St. Helier, Jersey

Singapore, Singapore

London, Great Britain

London, Great Britain

Melbourne, Australia

Amsterdam, the Netherlands

IB

IB

IB

IB

IB

IB

IB

IB

IB

IB

IB

IB

IB

IB

IB

CC

IB

WM&SB

WMA

WM&SB

WM&SB

WM&SB

WM&SB

IB

WM&SB

WM&SB

WM&SB

Share capital in 
millions

Equity interest 
accumulated in %

NZD

GBP

USD

EUR

USD

USD

USD

USD

EUR

USD

USD

EUR

THB

HKD

AUD

CAD

EUR

EUR

HKD

INR

GBP

JPY

USD

MYR

PHP

SGD

KRW

PLN

ZAR

CHF

USD

USD

USD

GBP

SGD

GBP

GBP

AUD

EUR

7.5

8.8

1.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

7.5

1,300.4

9.3

0.0

400.0

20.0
209.8 2
10.0

15.0

22.9

430.0

140.0

18.0

60,000.0
22,205.6 2
80.0

190.0

311.5

150,000.0

0.1

0.0

1.5
105.0 2
2.0

2.0

0.0

3.3

132.0

2.5

53.9

0.3

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

51.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

1 WMA: Wealth Management Americas, WM&SB: Wealth Management & Swiss Bank, Global AM: Global Asset Management, IB: Investment Bank, CC: Corporate Center.    2 Share capital and share premium.

352

Note 34  Significant subsidiaries and associates (continued)

Changes in the consolidation scope 2009

Newly significant, fully consolidated companies

Topcard Service AG – Glattbrugg, Switzerland

UBS (Luxembourg) SA Austria Branch – Vienna, Austria

UBS Capital Securities (Jersey) Limited – St. Helier, Jersey

UBS Casa de Bolsa, S.A. de C.V. – Mexico City, Mexico

UBS Custody Services Singapore Pte. Ltd. – Singapore, Singapore

UBS Hypotheken AG – Zurich, Switzerland

UBS Preferred Funding (Jersey) Limited – St. Helier, Jersey

Significant deconsolidated companies

Banco UBS Pactual S.A. – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

CCR Actions S.A. – Paris, France

CCR Gestion S.A. – Paris, France

UBS Factoring AG – Zurich, Switzerland

UBS Finance (Cayman Islands) Ltd. – George Town, Cayman Islands

UBS International Inc. – Delaware, USA

UBS Pactual Asset Management S.A. DTVM – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

UBS Service Centre (India) Private Limited – Mumbai, India

UBS Services USA LLC – Delaware, USA

Significant associates

Company
SIX Group AG – Zurich, Switzerland 1
UBS Securities Co. Limited – Beijing, China

1 UBS is represented in the Board of Directors.

Reason for deconsolidation

Sold

Merged

Merged

Merged

Liquidated

Merged

Sold

Sold

Merged

Industry

Financial

Financial

Equity interest in %

17.3

20.0

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353

 
Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Note 35  Invested assets and net new money

Invested  assets  include  all  client  assets  managed  by  or  de­
posited  with  UBS  for  investment  purposes.   Invested  assets 
include managed fund assets, managed institutional assets, 
discretionary  and  advisory  wealth  management  portfolios, 
fiduciary  deposits,  time  deposits,  savings  accounts  and 
wealth  management  securities  or  brokerage  accounts.  All 
assets  held  for  purely  transactional  purposes  and  custody­
only  assets,  including  corporate  client  assets  held  for  cash 
management and transactional purposes, are excluded from 
invested assets as the Group only administers the assets and 
does not offer advice on how the assets should be invested. 
Also excluded are non­bankable assets (e.g. art collections) 
and deposits from third­party banks for funding or trading 
purposes. 

Discretionary assets are defined as client assets which UBS 
decides how to invest. Other invested assets are those where 
the  client  ultimately  decides  how  the  assets  are  invested. 
When  a  single  product  is  created  in  one  business  division 
and sold in another, it is counted in both the business divi­
sion that manages the investment and the one that distrib­

utes it. This results in double counting within UBS total in­
vested  assets,  as  both  business  divisions  are  providing  a 
service  independently  to  their  respective  clients,  and  both 
add value and generate revenue. 

Net new money in a period is the net amount of invested 
assets that are entrusted to UBS by new and existing clients 
less those withdrawn by existing clients and clients who ter­
minated their relationship with UBS. 

Net new money is calculated using the direct method, by 
which inflows and outflows to / from invested assets are de­
termined  at  the  client  level  based  on  transactions.  Interest 
and dividend income from invested assets is not counted as 
net new money inflow. Market and currency movements, as 
well as fees, commissions and interest on loans charged are 
excluded from net new money, as are the effects resulting 
from  any  acquisition  or  divestment  of  a  UBS  subsidiary  or 
business.  Reclassifications  between  invested  assets  and  cli­
ent assets as a result of a change in the service level delivered 
are treated as net new money flows.

CHF billion

Fund assets managed by UBS

Discretionary assets

Other invested assets

Total invested assets (double counts included)

of which: double count

of which: acquisitions (divestments)

Net new money (double counts included)

As of or for the year ended

31.12.09

31.12.08

319

590

1,325

2,233

254

(48.2)

(147.3)

339

528

1,307

2,174

273

19.1

(226.0)

354

Note 36  Business combinations

Business combinations completed in 2009

Acquisition of the commodity index business of 
AIG  Financial Products Corp. 
In  May  2009,  UBS  completed  the  acquisition  of  the  com­
modity  index  business  of  AIG  Financial  Products  Corp.,  in­
cluding  AIG’s  rights  to  the  DJ­AIG  Commodity  index.  This 
commodity index business comprises a product platform of 
commodity  index  swaps  and  funded  notes  based  on  the 
benchmark  Dow  Jones­AIG  Commodity  Index  (DJ­AIGCI). 
The cost of the business combination, including directly at­

tributable  transaction  costs,  amounted  to  CHF  74  million 
(USD 65 million) of which CHF 17 million (USD 15 million) 
was  paid  in  cash  upon  closing.  The  remaining  payments, 
based upon future earnings of the purchased business, are 
expected to be made by September 2010. The cost of the 
business combination was allocated to Intangible assets of 
CHF 40 million (USD 35 million) and Goodwill of CHF 34 mil­
lion  (USD  30  million).  The  business  of  AIG  was  integrated 
into UBS’s Investment Bank.

AIG Commodity Index 2009

CHF million

Assets

Intangible assets

Goodwill

All other assets

Total assets

Liabilities and equity

Liabilities

Equity

Total liabilities and equity

Book value

Step-up to fair value

Fair value

0

0

598

598

598

0

598

40

34

0

74

0

74

74

40

34

598

672

598

74

672

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Note 36  Business combinations (continued)

Business combinations completed in 2008

Caisse Centrale de Réescompte Group
In February 2008, UBS completed the acquisition in France 
of  100%  of  Caisse  Centrale  de  Réescompte  Group  (CCR) 
from Commerzbank. The cost of the business combination, 
including  directly  attributable  transaction  costs,  amounted 
to approximately CHF 613 million (EUR 387 million) and was 
paid in cash. The cost of the business combination included 
approximately EUR 133 million for the excess capital in CCR 
at  closing.  The  cost  of  the  business  combination  has  been 

allocated  to  Intangible  assets  reflecting  customer  relation­
ships of CHF 36 million (EUR 23 million), net assets of CHF 
209 million (EUR 131 million) and Goodwill of CHF 368 mil­
lion (EUR 233 million). The business of CCR, which included 
EUR 13.3 billion of invested assets as of 31 December 2007 
and  approximately  190  employees,  was  integrated  into 
UBS’s asset management and wealth management business­
es in France.

Caisse Centrale de Réescompte Group (CCR) 2008

CHF million

Assets

Intangible assets

Property and equipment

Goodwill

All other assets

Total assets

Liabilities and equity

Liabilities

Equity

Total liabilities and equity

Book value

Step-up to fair value

Fair value

0

5

0

513

518

297

221

518

36

0

368

1

405

13

392

405

36

5

368

514

923

310

613

923

In 2009, the allocations were finalized and the intangible assets and goodwill were allocated to the divisions as follows:

Caisse Centrale de Réescompte Group (CCR) 2008

Wealth Management & 
Swiss Bank

Global Asset 
Management

10

33

26

335

Total

36

368

CHF million

Assets

Intangible assets

Goodwill

356

Note 36  Business combinations (continued)

VermogensGroep
In August 2008, UBS completed the acquisition of 100% of 
VermogensGroep, an independent Dutch wealth manager. 
The cost of the business combination, including directly at­
tributable  transaction  costs,  amounted  to  approximately 
CHF  173  million  (EUR  107  million)  out  of  which  approxi­
mately  CHF  81  million  (EUR  50  million)  was  paid  in  cash 
upon closing. The remaining cost of the business combina­
tion is expected to be paid in installments over 3 years. The 

cost of the business combination was allocated to Intangi-
ble assets of CHF 49 million (EUR 30 million), Net liabilities 
of CHF 2.1 million (EUR 1.3 million) and Goodwill of CHF 
126  million  (EUR  78  million).  VermogensGroep  serve 
wealthy private clients, foundations and institutions in the 
Dutch market and managed client assets of approximately 
EUR  4  billion  at  the  time  of  the  transaction.  Vermogens­
Groep  was  integrated  into  UBS’s  wealth  management 
 business.

VermogensGroep 2008

CHF million

Assets

Intangible assets

Property and equipment

Goodwill

All other assets

Total assets

Liabilities and equity

Liabilities

Equity

Total liabilities and equity

Book value

Step-up to fair value

Fair value

0

2

0

10

12

2

10

12

49

0

126

0

175

12

163

175

49

2

126

10

187

14

173

187

Pro-forma information (unaudited)

The following pro­forma information shows UBS’s total op­
erating income, net profit attributable to UBS shareholders 
and basic earnings per share as if all of the acquisitions com­
pleted in 2009 had been made as of 1 January 2008 and all 
acquisitions completed in 2008 had been made as of 1 Janu­

ary 2007. Adjustments have been made to reflect additional 
amortization and depreciation of assets and liabilities, which 
have been assigned fair values different from their carryover 
bases in purchase accounting.

Pro-forma information (unaudited)

CHF million, except where indicated

Total operating income

Net profit

Basic earnings per share (CHF)

31.12.09

22,606

(2,737)

(0.75)

For the year ended

31.12.08

910

(21,251)

(7.61)

31.12.07

31,932

(5,233)

(2.40)

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Note 37  Discontinued operations

2009

2007

In 2009, private equity investments sold in prior years con­
tributed a subsequent loss of CHF 7 million to UBS’s net prof­
it from discontinued operations.

2008

Industrial holdings
In 2008, private equity investments, including the sale of one 
equity  investment  and  subsequent  gains  on  private  equity 
investments sold in prior years, contributed CHF 155 million 
to UBS’s net profit from discontinued operations, which in­
cluded after­tax gains on sale of CHF 120 million and an af­
ter­tax operating profit of CHF 34 million. The cash consider­
ation  received  for  the  equity  investment  sold  in  2008 
amounted to CHF 141 million. These private equity invest­
ments were held within the Industrial Holdings segment, in­
tegrated within the Corporate Center since the beginning of 
2008, and were sold in line with UBS’s strategy to exit the 
private  equity business.

Industrial holdings
In  2007,  private  equity  investments,  including  the  sale  of 
two private equity investments, as well as subsequent gains 
on private equity investments sold in prior years, contributed 
CHF 138 million to UBS’s net profit from discontinued opera­
tions, which included after­tax gains on sale of CHF 102 mil­
lion and an after­tax operating profit of CHF 36 million. The 
cash consideration received for the two investments sold in 
2007 amounted to CHF 14 million. These private equity in­
vestments were all held within the Industrial Holdings seg­
ment  and  were  sold  in  line  with  UBS’s  strategy  to  exit  the 
private equity business.

Private Banks & GAM
The  tax  benefit  on  gain  from  sales  of  CHF  258  million  in­
cludes the release of a deferred tax liability of approximately 
CHF 275 million to the profit and loss account, which was 
recognized upon the sale of UBS’s 20.7% stake in Julius Baer 
in  2007.  This  deferred  tax  liability  had  been  recognized  in 
connection with the receipt of Julius Baer shares on the sale 
of Private Banks & GAM in December 2005, but was not ul­
timately  incurred  due  to  the  manner  of  realization  of  the 
Julius Baer investment. The tax expense from the recognition 
of the deferred tax liability was booked in discontinued op­
erations  in  2005,  and  therefore  the  release  has  also  been 
reflected in discontinued operations.

358

Note 37  Discontinued operations (continued)

CHF million

Operating income

Operating expenses

Operating profit from discontinued operations before tax

Pre-tax gain on sale

Profit from discontinued operations before tax

Tax expense on operating profit from discontinued operations before tax

Tax expense on gain from sale

Tax expense from discontinued operations

Net profit from discontinued operations

Net cash flows from

operating activities

investing activities

financing activities

For the year ended 31.12.08

Private Banks & GAM 1,2

0

0

0

44

44

0

1

1

43

0

0

0

Industrial Holdings 2
19

(15)

34

120

155

0

0

0

155

(1)

3

0

1 Gain resulting from a purchase price adjustment related to the sale of Private Banks & GAM in 2005.    2 Included in Corporate Center in Note 2a.

CHF million

Operating income

Operating expenses

Operating profit from discontinued operations before tax

Pre-tax gain on sale

Profit from discontinued operations before tax

Tax expense on operating profit from discontinued operations before tax

Tax expense on gain from sale

Tax expense from discontinued operations

Net profit from discontinued operations

Net cash flows from

operating activities

investing activities

financing activities

1 Included in Corporate Center in Note 2a.

For the year ended 31.12.07

Private Banks & GAM 1
0

Industrial Holdings 1
394

0

0

7

7

0

(258)

(258)

265

0

0

0

358

36

102

138

0

0

0

138

32

(1)

(42)

359

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Note 38  Reorganizations and disposals

Sale of UBS Pactual

On 18 September 2009, UBS completed the sale of its Bra­
zilian financial services business, UBS Pactual, to BTG Invest­
ments,  LP.  The  sale  consideration  consisted  of  a  combina­
tion of cash and transfer of liabilities by BTG Investments. 
The total cash consideration amounted to USD 620 million, 
of which USD 420 million was paid at closing of the trans­
action and the remaining USD 200 million, plus accrued in­
terest, will be payable 12 months after the closing. The lia­
bilities transferred to BTG Investments consisted primarily of 
the present value of the residual payment obligation of USD 
1.6 billion owed to former Pactual partners, which was in­
curred by UBS upon acquisition of Pactual in 2006 and was 
due in 2011.

Overall,  the  impact  of  the  transaction  on  UBS’s  profit 
 before tax was a net charge of CHF 1,403 million, including 
a  goodwill  impairment  charge  of  CHF  1,123  million  and  a 
pre­tax loss on sale of CHF 498 million reported in the Cor­
porate Center, partly offset by UBS Pactual’s pre­tax opera­
tional profits for 2009 of CHF 218 million. In addition, de­
ferred tax benefits of CHF 243 million have been recognized.
The  goodwill  impairment  charge  of  CHF  1,123  million 
was  allocated  to  the  business  divisions  as  follows:  Invest­
ment  Bank,  CHF  749  million;  Global  Asset  Management, 
CHF  340  million;  and  Wealth  Management  Americas  CHF 
34  million.  It  includes  an  impairment  of  CHF  492  million 
primarily  relating  to  the  effects  from  foreign  exchange 
 losses that were pre viously deferred in equity and from the 
translation  of  the  US  dollar  denominated  sales  price  into 
Swiss francs. For management and segment reporting pur­
poses, consistent with UBS’s internal policy that foreign ex­
change exposures related to investments in subsidiaries are 
managed  by  Group  Treasury,  related  gains  and  losses  are 
recognized  in  the  Corporate  Center.  This  impairment  was 
charged through the “Services (to) / from other business di-
visions”  line  item  to  the  Corporate  Center  with  respective 
credits to the Investment Bank of CHF 328 million, Global 
Asset  Management  of  CHF  149  million  and  Wealth  Man­
agement Americas of CHF 15 million.

The operational results of UBS Pactual of CHF 218 million 
were  included  in  the  business  divisions  Investment  Bank, 
Global Asset Management and Wealth Management Ameri­
cas and the Corporate Center.

Sale of 56 branches in Wealth Management Americas

Following  an  agreement  announced  in  March  2009,  UBS 
sold 56 branches in Wealth Management Americas to Stifel, 
Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated for an upfront cash pay­
ment of approximately USD 29 million. In addition, UBS re­
ceived aggregate payments of USD 18 million for net fixed 

360

assets and employee forgivable loans, and net USD 154 mil­
lion  for  customer  loans  that  were  transferred.  Under  the 
terms  of  the  agreement,  UBS  may  also  receive  additional 
consideration  contingent  on  the  performance  of  the  busi­
ness sold during the two years following the closing of the 
transaction. The transaction was closed in four separate clos­
ings during the second half of 2009. Overall, for 2009 the 
impact of the transaction on UBS’s profit before tax was a 
net charge of approximately USD 12 million. 

Sale of UBS’s India Service Centre (ISC)

On 30 December 2009, UBS completed the sale of its India 
Service Centre (ISC) to Cognizant Technology Solutions for a 
sale consideration of USD 82 million, which was paid in cash 
at closing.

The net impact of the transaction on UBS’s profit before 
tax was a gain of CHF 36 million recognized in the fourth 
quarter in Other income. In addition, the ISC contributed a 
pre­tax profit of CHF 11 million for 2009.

Sale of assets to a third-party fund controlled by the 
Swiss National Bank (SNB)

As  announced  on  16  October  2008,  UBS  entered  into  an 
agreement  with  the  Swiss  National  Bank  (SNB)  to  transfer 
certain illiquid securities and other positions to the SNB Stab­
Fund  limited  partnership  for  collective  investments  (the 
“fund”), which is fully owned and controlled by the SNB.

For each transfer of assets, the SNB financed 90% of the 
purchase price by providing a loan to the fund and the re­
maining 10% by making an equity contribution to the fund. 
Upon  each  asset  transfer,  UBS  purchased,  for  an  amount 
equal to the SNB’s equity contribution to the fund on that 
date, an option to repurchase the fund’s equity (all such op­
tions referred to collectively as the “call option”). The exer­
cise price of the call option was set at USD 1 billion plus 50% 
of the fund’s equity value exceeding USD 1 billion at the time 
of exercise. The call option will be exercisable upon repay­
ment in full of the loan provided by the SNB. The loan is se­
cured by the assets of the fund and bears interest at a rate of 
one month USD­LIBOR plus 250 basis points. Service of the 
loan  is  made  from  the  cash  flows  generated  by  the  fund’s 
assets.

In the event of a change of control of UBS, the SNB has 
the right but not the obligation to request that UBS purchase 
the loan it provided to the fund at its outstanding principal 
amount plus accrued interest and the fund’s equity for 50% 
of its value at the time (the “put option”).

If, upon termination of the fund, the SNB incurs a loss on 
its loan, it will be entitled to receive 100 million UBS ordinary 
shares, subject to anti­dilution adjustments, in exchange for 

Note 38  Reorganizations and disposals (continued)

payment of the par value of these shares (the “contingent 
share issue”).

The  positions  were  transferred  to  the  fund  at  fair  value 
determined at 30 September 2008. UBS’s estimated fair val­
ues as of 30 September 2008 were subject to review by in­
dependent  third­party  valuation  agents  and  the  positions 
transferred  to  the  SNB  were  priced  at  the  lower  of  UBS’s 
 estimated  fair  value  and  the  value  determined  by  the  SNB 
based on the valuation estimated by the valuation agents.

The total market value (net exposure) transferred to the 
SNB StabFund’s portfolio amounted to USD 38.7 billion (net 
of pricing adjustments). USD 16.4 billion of positions were 
transferred to the fund in December 2008, followed by the 
remaining USD 22.2 billion of positions, of which USD 6.6 
billion were transferred in March and USD 15.7 billion in ear­
ly April 2009.

The  purchase  price  for  the  overall  portfolio  was,  in  the 
aggregate, USD 1 billion lower than the market value UBS 
assigned to these positions on 30 September 2008. Of this 
USD  1  billion,  USD  0.7  billion  was  accounted  for  in  UBS’s 
results for 2008. The remaining USD 0.3 billion price differ­
ence was recognized in the income statement in 2009.

Under IFRS, UBS’s call option to acquire equity of the SNB 
StabFund is recognized on the balance sheet as a derivative 
(Positive replacement values) at fair value (CHF 1.2 billion at 
31 December 2009), with changes in fair value recognized in 
profit or loss. The put option was valued as a contingent li­

ability that has been deemed remote at 31 December 2009 
and 2008. The contingent share issue was treated as an eq­
uity instrument and was recognized at fair value in equity as 
an increase to share premium and an expense in net trading 
income in 2008. The fair value of the contingent share issue 
was  estimated  at  approximately  CHF  607  million  and  not 
thereafter re­measured to fair value.

Overall, the impact of the SNB transaction on the income 
statement in 2009 was a loss of CHF 115 million, which in­
cludes  a  CHF  232  million  loss  due  to  the  price  difference 
recognized in first quarter 2009 and a CHF 117 million net 
gain on UBS’s option to acquire the fund’s equity.

Restructuring

In 2009, UBS incurred restructuring charges of CHF 791 mil­
lion, including CHF 491 million in Personnel expenses, main­
ly for severance payments, CHF 256 million in General and 
administrative  expenses,  primarily  for  real­estate  related 
costs,  and  CHF  45  million  of  depreciation  and  impairment 
losses  on  property  and  equipment.  These  restructuring 
charges were allocated to the business divisions as follows: 
Wealth Management & Swiss Bank, CHF 322 million; Wealth 
Management Americas, CHF 152 million; Global Asset Man­
agement, CHF 48 million; Investment Bank, CHF 226 million; 
and the Corporate Center, CHF 45 million.

Note 39  Currency translation rates

The following table shows the principal rates used to translate the financial information of foreign entities into Swiss francs:

1 USD

1 EUR

1 GBP

100 JPY

Spot rate
As of

Average rate
Year ended

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

1.04

1.48

1.67

1.11

1.07

1.49

1.56

1.17

1.08

1.51

1.70

1.16

1.06

1.58

1.96

0.98

1.22

1.65

2.31

1.02

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Note 40  Swiss banking law requirements

The consolidated Financial Statements of UBS are prepared 
in  accordance  with  International  Financial  Reporting  Stan­
dards  (IFRS).  The  Guidelines  of  the  Swiss  Financial  Market 
Supervisory Authority (FINMA) require banks which present 
their financial statements under IFRS to provide a narrative 
explanation of the main differences between IFRS and Swiss 
GAAP (FINMA circular 08/2) and the Banking Ordinance. In­
cluded in this note are the significant differences in regard to 
recognition and measurement between IFRS and the provi­
sions  of  the  Banking  Ordinance  and  the  Guidelines  of  the 
FINMA governing financial statement reporting pursuant to 
Article 23 through Article 27 of the Banking Ordinance. The 
differences outlined in points two through nine also apply to 
the Parent Bank statutory accounts.

1. Consolidation
Under IFRS, all entities which are controlled by the Group are 
consolidated.

Under Swiss law, only entities that are active in the field 
of banking and finance and real estate entities are subject to 
consolidation. Entities which are held temporarily are gener­
ally recorded as financial investments.

2. Financial investments available­for­sale
Under  IFRS,  financial  investments  available­for­sale  are 
 carried at fair value. Changes in fair value are recorded di­
rectly in equity until an investment is sold, collected or oth­
erwise disposed of, or until an investment is determined to 
be impaired. At the time an available­for­sale investment is 
determined to be impaired, the cumulative unrealized loss 
previously recognized in equity is included in net profit or 
loss  for  the  period.  On  disposal  of  a  financial  investment 
available­for­sale, the cumulative unrecognized gain or loss 
previously recognized in equity is recognized in the income 
statement.

Under Swiss law, financial investments are carried either 
at the lower of cost or market or at amortized cost less im­
pairment with changes in measurement recorded in the in­
come statement. Reductions to market value below cost and 
reversals  of  such  reductions  up  to  original  cost  as  well  as 
gains and losses on disposal are included in Other income. 
Equity  investments  that  are  considered  permanent  are  car­
ried on the balance sheet at cost less impairment with im­
pairment  losses  recorded  in  the  income  statement.  Perma­
nent  investments  are  classified  on  the  balance  sheet  as 
investments in associated companies.

3. Cash flow hedges
The Group uses derivative instruments to hedge  the expo­
sure from varying cash flows. Under IFRS, when hedge ac­

counting is applied the fair value gain or loss on the effective 
portion of the derivative designated as a cash flow hedge is 
recognized in equity. When the hedged cash flows material­
ize,  the  accumulated  unrecognized  gain  or  loss  is  realized 
and released to income.

Under  Swiss  law,  the  effective  portion  of  the  fair  value 
change of the derivative instrument used to hedge cash flow 
exposures is deferred on the balance sheet as other assets or 
other  liabilities.  The  deferred  amounts  are  released  to  in­
come when the hedged cash flows materialize.

4. Investment property
Under IFRS, investment property is carried at fair value, with 
changes in fair value recognized in the income statement.

Under Swiss law, investment property is carried at amor­
tized cost less any accumulated depreciation less impairment 
losses unless the investment property is classified as held for 
sale. Investment property classified as held for sale is carried 
at the lower of cost or market.

5. Fair value option
Under IFRS, the Group applies the fair value option to cer­
tain financial assets and financial liabilities, mainly to hybrid 
debt instruments. As a result, the entire hybrid instrument 
is accounted for at fair value with changes in fair value re­
flected in net trading income. Furthermore, UBS designat­
ed certain loans, loan commitments and fund investments 
as  financial  assets  designated  at  fair  value  through  profit 
and loss.

Under Swiss accounting rules, the fair value option is not 

available. 

6. Goodwill and intangible assets
Under IFRS, goodwill acquired in a business combination is 
not amortized but tested annually for impairment. Intangible 
assets acquired in a business combination with an indefinite 
useful life are also not amortized but tested annually for im­
pairment.

Under Swiss law, goodwill and intangible assets with in­
definite useful lives are amortized over a period not exceed­
ing  five  years,  unless  a  longer  useful  life,  which  may  not 
 exceed twenty years, can be justified.

7. Discontinued operations
Under certain conditions, IFRS requires that non­current as­
sets or disposal groups be classified as held for sale. Disposal 
groups that meet the criteria of discontinued operations are 
presented  in  the  income  statement  in  a  single  line  as  Net 
income from discontinued operations.

Under Swiss law, no such reclassification takes place.

362

Note 40  Swiss banking law requirements (continued)

8. Extraordinary income and expense
Certain  items  of  income  and  expense  are  classified  as 
 extraordinary items under Swiss law, whereas in the Group 
Income  Statement  the  amounts  are  classified  as  operating 
income or expense or are included in net profit from discon­
tinued operations, if required.

9. Netting of replacement values
Under  IFRS,  replacement  values  are  reported  on  a  gross 
 basis, unless certain restrictive requirements are met. Under 
Swiss law, replacement values and the related cash collateral 
are reported on a net basis, provided the master netting and 
the related collateral agreements are legally enforceable.

Note 41  Supplemental guarantor information required under SEC rules

Guarantee of PaineWebber securities
Following the acquisition of Paine Webber Group Inc., UBS 
made a full and unconditional guarantee of the senior and 
subordinated  notes  and  trust  preferred  securities  (“Debt 
 Securities”) of PaineWebber. Prior to the acquisition, Paine­
Webber was an, SEC Registrant. Upon the acquisition, Paine­
Webber was merged into UBS Americas Inc., a wholly owned 
subsidiary of UBS.

Under the guarantee, if UBS Americas Inc. fails to make 
any timely payment under the Debt Securities agreements, 

the  holders  of  the  Debt  Securities  or  the  Debt  Securities 
trustee  may  demand  payment  from  UBS  without  first  pro­
ceeding against UBS Americas Inc. UBS’s obligations under 
the  subordinated  note  guarantee  are  subordinated  to  the 
prior payment in full of the deposit liabilities of UBS and all 
other liabilities of UBS.

The information presented in this note is prepared in ac­
cordance with IFRS and should be read in conjunction with 
the Consolidated Financial Statements of UBS of which this 
information is a part.

Supplemental guarantor consolidated income statement

CHF million
For the year ended 31 December 2009

UBS AG 
Parent Bank 1

UBS 
Americas  Inc.

Subsidiaries

Consolidating 
entries

UBS Group

Operating income

Interest income

Interest expense

Net interest income

Credit loss (expense) / recovery

Net interest income after credit loss expense

Net fee and commission income

Net trading income

Income from subsidiaries

Other income

Total operating income

Operating expenses

Personnel expenses

General and administrative expenses

Depreciation of property and equipment

Impairment of goodwill

Amortization of intangible assets

Total operating expenses

Operating profit from continuing operations before tax

Tax expense

Net profit from continuing operations

Net profit from discontinued operations

Net profit

Net profit attributable to minority interests

Net profit attributable to UBS shareholders

18,798

(16,860)

1,939

(937)

1,002

7,912

(1,487)

1,114

550

9,092

8,577

2,351

686

0

3

11,617

(2,526)

210

(2,736)

0

(2,736)

0

(2,736)

4,432

(1,982)

2,450

(897)

1,553

6,025

(423)

0

(872)

6,282

5,566

2,512

171

0

96

8,345

(2,063)

(549)

(1,514)

0

(1,514)

(3)

(1,511)

6,715

(4,657)

2,058

2

2,060

3,774

1,586

0

921

8,341

2,400

1,385

191

1,123

101

5,200

3,141

(104)

3,245

(7)

3,238

613

2,625

(6,484)

6,484

0

0

0

0

0

(1,114)

0

(1,114)

0

0

0

0

0

0

(1,114)

0

(1,114)

0

(1,114)

0

(1,114)

1 UBS AG Parent Bank prepares its financial statements in accordance with Swiss banking law requirements. For the purpose of this disclosure, the accounts have been adjusted to IFRS.

23,461

(17,016)

6,446

(1,832)

4,614

17,712

(324)

0

599

22,601

16,543

6,248

1,048

1,123

200

25,162

(2,561)

(443)

(2,118)

(7)

(2,125)

610

(2,736)

363

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Note 41  Supplemental guarantor information required under SEC rules (continued)

Supplemental guarantor consolidated balance sheet

CHF million
As of 31 December 2009

Assets

Cash and balances with central banks

Due from banks

Cash collateral on securities borrowed

Reverse repurchase agreements

Trading portfolio assets

Trading portfolio assets pledged as collateral

Positive replacement values

Financial assets designated at fair value

Loans

Financial investments available-for-sale

Accrued income and prepaid expenses

Investments in associates

Property and equipment

Goodwill and intangible assets

Deferred tax assets

Other assets

Total assets

Liabilities

Due to banks

Cash collateral on securities lent

Repurchase agreements

Trading portfolio liabilities

Negative replacement values

Financial liabilities designated at fair value

Due to customers

Accrued expenses and deferred income

Debt issued

Other liabilities

Total liabilities

Equity attributable to UBS shareholders

Equity attributable to minority interests

Total equity

Total liabilities and equity

UBS AG  
Parent Bank 1

UBS  
Americas Inc.

Subsidiaries

entries

UBS Group

Consolidating  

15,177

67,640

39,807

113,891

122,801

47,954

413,822

5,831

296,497

63,459

1,664

61,551

4,920

494

6,352

7,131

75

8,597

56,402

37,914

18,224

11,422

8,260

5,876

45,774

15,441

3,880

24

791

9,101

2,037

2,115

5,647

100,909

10,700

82,474

48,739

859

145,265

11,283

22,749

2,857

1,100

49

501

1,413

479

2,169

1,268,991

225,933

437,194

110,418

17,662

38,563

41,884

400,432

100,768

341,200

5,155

126,965

8,229

1,191,276

77,715

0

77,715

1,268,991

53,751

22,993

66,545

10,792

8,173

276

54,470

2,269

493

3,380

223,142

(234)

3,025

2,791

225,933

31,569

10,742

76,657

610

146,992

27,953

72,999

2,093

12,242

26,455

408,312

24,287

4,595

28,882

437,194

0

(130,572)

(43,402)

(117,590)

(1,727)

(16,014)

(145,654)

(12,768)

(58,193)

0

(828)

(60,754)

0

0

0

(4,078)

(591,580)

(130,572)

(43,402)

(117,590)

(5,817)

(145,654)

(16,344)

(58,193)

(828)

(8,348)

(4,078)

(530,826)

(60,754)

0

(60,754)

(591,580)

20,899

46,574

63,507

116,689

188,037

44,221

421,694

10,223

306,828

81,757

5,816

870

6,212

11,008

8,868

7,336

1,340,538

65,166

7,995

64,175

47,469

409,943

112,653

410,475

8,689

131,352

33,986

1,291,905

41,013

7,620

48,633

1,340,538

1 UBS AG Parent Bank prepares its financial statements in accordance with Swiss banking law requirements. For the purpose of this disclosure, the accounts have been adjusted to IFRS.

364

Note 41  Supplemental guarantor information required under SEC rules (continued)

Supplemental guarantor consolidated statement of cash flows

CHF million
For the year ended 31 December 2009

Net cash flow from / (used in) operating activities

Cash flow from / (used in) investing activities

Purchase of subsidiaries and associates

Disposal of subsidiaries and associates

Purchase of property and equipment

Disposal of property and equipment

Net (investment in) / divestment of financial investments available-for-sale

Net cash flow from / (used in) investing activities

Cash flow from / (used in) financing activities

Net money market papers issued / (repaid)

Net movements in treasury shares and own equity derivative activity

Capital issuance

Issuance of long-term debt, including financial liabilities designated at fair value

Repayment of long-term debt, including financial liabilities designated at fair value

Increase in minority interests

Dividends paid to / decrease in minority interests

Net activity in investments in subsidiaries

Net cash flow from / (used in) financing activities

Effects of exchange rate differences

Net increase / (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year

Cash and cash equivalents comprise:

Cash and balances with central banks
Money market papers 2
Due from banks with original maturity of less than three months

Total

UBS AG 
Parent Bank 1
4,841

UBS 
Americas  Inc.

Subsidiaries

UBS Group

(6,469)

56,126

54,497

(42)

296

(656)

104

(22,319)

(22,616)

(7,020)

673

3,726

64,956

(55,616)

0

0

(4,032)

2,686

5,886

(9,202)

132,782

123,580

15,177

78,025

30,378

123,580

0

0

(124)

53

(12,484)

(12,555)

0

0

(75)

6

14,677

14,608

(42)

296

(854)

163

(20,127)

(20,563)

(1,596)

(51,424)

(60,040)

0

0

0

(1,548)

0

(8)

2,419

(733)

574

(19,183)

24,421

5,238

75

3,714

1,450

5,238

0

0

2,106

(7,861)

3

(576)

1,614

(56,136)

(933)

13,664

22,490

36,154

5,647

16,694

13,814

36,154

673

3,726

67,062

(65,024)

3

(583)

0

(54,183)

5,529

(14,721)

179,693

164,973

20,899

98,432

45,642

164,973

1 UBS AG Parent Bank prepares its financial statements in accordance with Swiss banking law requirements. For the purpose of this disclosure, the accounts have been adjusted to IFRS.    2 Money 
market papers are included in the balance sheet under “Trading portfolio assets”, “Trading portfolio assets pledged as collateral” and “Financial investments available-for-sale”. CHF 57,116 million were 
pledged as of 31 December 2009.

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365

 
Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Note 41  Supplemental guarantor information required under SEC rules (continued)

Supplemental guarantor consolidated income statement

CHF million
For the year ended 31 December 2008

UBS AG 
Parent Bank 1

UBS  
Americas Inc.

Subsidiaries

Consolidating 
entries

UBS Group

Operating income

Interest income

Interest expense

Net interest income

Credit loss (expense) / recovery

Net interest income after credit loss expense

Net fee and commission income

Net trading income

Income from subsidiaries

Other income

Total operating income

Operating expenses

Personnel expenses

General and administrative expenses

Depreciation of property and equipment

Impairment of goodwill

Amortization of intangible assets

Total operating expenses

Operating profit from continuing operations before tax

Tax expense

Net profit from continuing operations

Net profit from discontinued operations

Net profit

Net profit attributable to minority interests

Net profit attributable to UBS shareholders

49,699

(48,686)

1,013

(861)

152

9,709

(8,129)

(19,882)

2,836

(15,314)

8,738

3,918

770

0

1

13,427

(28,741)

(7,407)

(21,335)

43

(21,292)

0

(21,292)

21,343

(17,436)

3,907

(2,050)

1,857

7,910

(19,847)

0

1,058

(9,022)

5,169

4,604

205

341

93

10,412

(19,434)

(4)

(19,430)

0

(19,430)

(9)

(19,421)

27,354

(26,282)

1,072

(85)

987

5,310

2,156

0

(3,202)

5,251

2,355

1,976

266

0

119

4,716

535

574

(39)

155

116

577

(461)

(32,717)

32,717

0

0

0

0

0

19,882

0

19,882

0

0

0

0

0

0

19,882

0

19,882

0

19,882

0

19,882

65,679

(59,687)

5,992

(2,996)

2,996

22,929

(25,820)

0

692

796

16,262

10,498

1,241

341

213

28,555

(27,758)

(6,837)

(20,922)

198

(20,724)

568

(21,292)

1 UBS AG Parent Bank prepares its financial statements in accordance with Swiss banking law requirements. For the purpose of this disclosure, the accounts have been adjusted to IFRS.

366

Note 41  Supplemental guarantor information required under SEC rules (continued)

Supplemental guarantor consolidated balance sheet

CHF million
As of 31 December 2008

Assets

Cash and balances with central banks

Due from banks

Cash collateral on securities borrowed

Reverse repurchase agreements

Trading portfolio assets

Trading portfolio assets pledged as collateral

Positive replacement values

Financial assets designated at fair value

Loans

Financial investments available-for-sale

Accrued income and prepaid expenses

Investments in associates

Property and equipment

Goodwill and intangible assets

Deferred tax assets

Other assets

Total assets

Liabilities

Due to banks

Cash collateral on securities lent

Repurchase agreements

Trading portfolio liabilities

Negative replacement values

Financial liabilities designated at fair value

Due to customers

Accrued expenses and deferred income

Debt issued

Other liabilities

Total liabilities

Equity attributable to UBS shareholders

Equity attributable to minority interests

Total equity

Total liabilities and equity

UBS AG  
Parent Bank 1

UBS  
Americas Inc.

Subsidiaries

Consolidating  
entries

UBS Group

27,030

111,563

48,874

206,087

145,012

71,736

862,459

5,120

326,548

1,237

3,684

66,255

5,093

250

6,607

8,934

332

11,490

109,783

79,178

47,558

12,655

18,215

7,755

53,774

638

2,700

58

971

9,393

1,757

2,148

5,382

192,206

16,914

145,851

57,230

1,531

293,896

12,741

35,193

3,373

2,666

50

642

3,292

516

6,333

0

(250,808)

(52,674)

(206,468)

22,038

(45,706)

(320,470)

(12,734)

(75,207)

0

(2,909)

(65,473)

0

0

0

(7,484)

32,744

64,451

122,897

224,648

271,838

40,216

854,100

12,882

340,308

5,248

6,141

892

6,706

12,935

8,880

9,931

1,896,489

358,405

777,816

(1,017,895)

2,014,815

196,723

25,248

30,988

51,034

855,005

88,505

422,688

7,417

127,408

12,598

1,817,614

78,875

0

78,875

1,896,489

68,213

32,884

140,197

17,086

16,792

1,716

70,242

2,584

2,439

4,313

356,466

(1,097)

3,036

1,939

358,405

111,500

8,605

137,844

903

300,537

35,973

48,018

3,104

72,569

33,571

752,624

20,226

4,966

25,192

777,816

(250,808)

(52,674)

(206,468)

(6,592)

(320,470)

(24,648)

(75,207)

(2,909)

(5,162)

(7,484)

(952,422)

(65,473)

0

(65,473)

(1,017,895)

125,628

14,063

102,561

62,431

851,864

101,546

465,741

10,196

197,254

42,998

1,974,282

32,531

8,002

40,533

2,014,815

1 UBS AG Parent Bank prepares its financial statements in accordance with Swiss banking law requirements. For the purpose of this disclosure, the accounts have been adjusted to IFRS.

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Note 41  Supplemental guarantor information required under SEC rules (continued)

Supplemental guarantor consolidated statement of cash flows

CHF million
For the year ended 31 December 2008

Net cash flow from / (used in) operating activities

Cash flow from / (used in) investing activities

Purchase of subsidiaries and associates

Disposal of subsidiaries and associates

Purchase of property and equipment

Disposal of property and equipment

Net (investment in) / divestment of financial investments available-for-sale

Net cash flow from / (used in) investing activities

Cash flow from / (used in) financing activities

Net money market papers issued / (repaid)

Net movements in treasury shares and own equity derivative activity

Capital issuance

Issuance of long-term debt, including financial liabilities designated at fair value

Repayment of long-term debt, including financial liabilities designated at fair value

Increase in minority interests

Dividends paid to / decrease in minority interests

Net activity in investments in subsidiaries

Net cash flow from / (used in) financing activities

Effects of exchange rate differences

Net increase / (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year

Cash and cash equivalents comprise:

Cash and balances with central banks
Money market papers 2
Due from banks with original maturity of less than three months

Total

UBS AG 
Parent Bank 1
69,799

(1,502)

1,686

(819)

37

330

(268)

(52,815)

623

23,135

91,961

(62,822)

0

0

(11,978)

(11,896)

(33,963)

23,672

109,110

132,782

27,030

62,777

42,975

132,782

UBS  
Americas Inc.

(438)

0

0

(258)

27

156

(75)

914

0

0

0

(14,500)

842

(112)

21,816

8,960

442

8,889

15,532

24,421

332

19,875

4,214

24,421

Subsidiaries

7,646

UBS Group

77,007

0

0

(140)

5

(1,198)

(1,333)

11,264

0

0

11,126

(15,572)

819

(420)

(9,838)

(2,621)

(5,665)

(1,973)

24,463

22,490

5,382

4,080

13,028

22,490

(1,502)

1,686

(1,217)

69

(712)

(1,676)

(40,637)

623

23,135

103,087

(92,894)

1,661

(532)

0

(5,557)

(39,186)

30,588

149,105

179,693

32,744

86,732

60,217

179,693

1 UBS AG Parent Bank prepares its financial statements in accordance with Swiss banking law requirements. For the purpose of this disclosure, the accounts have been adjusted to IFRS.    2 Money 
market papers are included in the balance sheet under “Trading portfolio assets”, “Trading portfolio assets pledged as collateral” and “Financial investments available-for-sale”. CHF 19,912 million were 
pledged as of 31 December 2008. The previously disclosed amount of pledged money market papers has been adjusted to include positions recognized in the balance sheet under “Trading portfolio 
assets pledged as collateral”.

368

Note 41  Supplemental guarantor information required under SEC rules (continued)

Supplemental guarantor consolidated income statement

CHF million 
For the year ended 31 December 2007

UBS AG 
Parent Bank 1

UBS 
Americas Inc.

Subsidiaries

Consolidating 
entries

UBS Group

Operating income

Interest income

Interest expense

Net interest income

Credit loss (expense) / recovery

Net interest income after credit loss expense

Net fee and commission income

Net trading income

Income from subsidiaries

Other income

Total operating income

Operating expenses

Personnel expenses

General and administrative expenses

Depreciation of property and equipment

Amortization of intangible assets

Total operating expenses

Operating profit from continuing operations before tax

Tax expense

Net profit from continuing operations

Net profit from discontinued operations

Net profit

Net profit attributable to minority interests

Net profit attributable to UBS shareholders

77,306

(74,689)

2,617

11

2,628

12,852

3,467

464

(4,273)

15,138

13,239

5,684

930

3

19,856

(4,718)

794

(5,512)

265

(5,247)

0

(5,247)

47,747

(46,420)

1,327

(234)

1,093

10,119

(9,932)

0

8,369

9,649

8,329

3,446

138

101

12,014

(2,365)

(486)

(1,879)

0

(1,879)

18

(1,897)

51,985

(50,592)

1,393

(15)

1,378

7,663

(1,888)

0

245

7,398

3,947

(701)

175

172

3,593

3,805

1,061

2,744

138

2,882

521

2,361

(67,926)

67,926

109,112

(103,775)

0

0

0

0

0

(464)

0

(464)

0

0

0

0

0

(464)

0

(464)

0

(464)

0

(464)

5,337

(238)

5,099

30,634

(8,353)

0

4,341

31,721

25,515

8,429

1,243

276

35,463

(3,742)

1,369

(5,111)

403

(4,708)

539

(5,247)

1 UBS AG Parent Bank prepares its financial statements in accordance with Swiss banking law requirements. For the purpose of this disclosure, the accounts have been adjusted to IFRS.

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Financial information
Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Note 41  Supplemental guarantor information required under SEC rules (continued)

Supplemental guarantor consolidated statement of cash flows

CHF million
For the year ended 31 December 2007

Net cash flow from / (used in) operating activities

Cash flow from / (used in) investing activities

Purchase of subsidiaries and associates

Disposal of subsidiaries and associates

Purchase of property and equipment

Disposal of property and equipment

Net (investment in) / divestment of financial investments available-for-sale

Net cash flow from / (used in) investing activities

Cash flow from / (used in) financing activities

Net money market papers issued / (repaid)

Net movements in treasury shares and own equity derivative activity

Dividends paid

Issuance of long-term debt, including financial liabilities designated at fair value

Repayment of long-term debt, including financial liabilities designated at fair value

Increase in minority interests

Dividends paid to / decrease in minority interests

Net activity in investments in subsidiaries

Net cash flow from / (used in) financing activities

Effects of exchange rate differences

Net increase / (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year

Cash and cash equivalents comprise:

Cash and balances with central banks
Money market papers 2
Due from banks with original maturity of less than three months

Total

UBS AG  
Parent Bank 1
(65,749)

UBS 
Americas Inc.

19,670

Subsidiaries

(5,999)

UBS Group

(52,078)

(2,337)

885

(1,022)

40

4,027

1,593

35,017

(2,771)

(4,275)

105,197

(54,251)

0

0

871

79,788

(9,070)

6,562

102,548

109,110

8,530

60,266

40,314

109,110

0

0

(581)

28

34

(519)

(1,426)

0

0

1,022

(7,022)

32

(665)

(6,627)

(14,686)

(3,062)

1,403

14,129

15,532

109

13,202

2,221

15,532

0

0

(307)

66

1,920

1,679

(919)

0

0

4,655

(1,134)

1,062

46

5,756

9,466

(96)

5,050

19,413

24,463

10,154

3,747

10,562

24,463

(2,337)

885

(1,910)

134

5,981

2,753

32,672

(2,771)

(4,275)

110,874

(62,407)

1,094

(619)

0

74,568

(12,228)

13,015

136,090

149,105

18,793

77,215

53,097

149,105

1 UBS AG Parent Bank prepares its financial statements in accordance with Swiss banking law requirements. For the purpose of this disclosure, the accounts have been adjusted to IFRS.    2 Money 
market papers are included in the balance sheet under “Trading portfolio assets”, “Trading portfolio assets pledged as collateral” and “Financial investments available-for-sale”. CHF 7,881 million were 
pledged as of 31 December 2007. The previously disclosed amount of pledged money market papers has been adjusted to include positions recognized in the balance sheet under “Trading portfolio 
assets pledged as collateral”.

Guarantee of other securities
UBS AG, acting through wholly­owned finance subsidiaries, issued the following trust preferred securities:

USD billion, unless otherwise indicated

Issuing entity

UBS Preferred Funding Trust I

UBS Preferred Funding Trust II

UBS Preferred Funding Trust IV 

UBS Preferred Funding Trust V

Type of security

Trust preferred securities
Trust preferred securities 1
Floating rate non-cumulative trust  
preferred securities

Trust preferred securities

Outstanding as of 31.12.09

Date issued

Interest (%)

Amount

October 2000

June 2001

May 2003

May 2006

8.622

7.247

one-month LIBOR  

+ 0.7

6.243

1.5

0.5

0.3

1.0

1 In June 2006, USD 300 million (at 7.25%) of Trust preferred securities also issued in June 2001 were redeemed.

UBS  AG  has  fully  and  unconditionally  guaranteed  these 
 securities. UBS’s obligations under the trust preferred secu­
rities guarantee are subordinated to the prior payment in 
full of the deposit liabilities of UBS and all other liabilities of 

UBS. At 31 December 2009, the amount of senior liabilities 
of  UBS  to  which  the  holders  of  the  subordinated  debt 
 securities  would  be  subordinated  is  approximately  CHF 
1,280 billion.

370

Financial information
UBS AG (Parent Bank)

UBS AG (Parent Bank)

Parent Bank review

Income statement

The Parent Bank UBS AG net loss decreased by CHF 31,448 
million from a loss of CHF 36,489 million to a loss of CHF 
5,041 million.

Net trading income improved by CHF 8,990 million from 
negative  CHF  9,466  million  to  negative  CHF  476  million. 
2008 reflects mainly losses in the fixed income business and 
charges associated with the SNB transaction.

Income  from  investments  in  associated  companies  de-
creased  to  CHF  1,154  million  from  CHF  3,763  million  in 
2008 mainly due to lower dividend distributions received.

Personnel  expenses  were  up  to  CHF  9,101  million  from 
CHF  6,707  million  in  2008  mainly  due  to  recognition  of  a 
defined pension asset in 2008.

Depreciation  decreased  to  CHF  2,405  million  from  CHF 
26,900  million  in  2008  which  included  write-downs  of  in-
vestments in associated US companies.

Allowances,  provisions  and  losses  decreased  to  CHF 
1,432 million from CHF 3,071 million in 2008, which includ-
ed costs related to the US cross-border case and costs associ-
ated with the repurchase of auction rate securities.

The  decrease  in  Extraordinary  income  and  in  Extraordi-
nary expenses are explained in additional income statement 
information.

Balance sheet

In 2009, UBS’s overall balance sheet reduction initiatives led 
also to lower Parent Bank total assets. In particular UBS sub-
sidiaries  and  third  party  banks  in  the  Americas,  European 
region, and to lesser extent in Asia, reduced their assets and 
therefore their funding needs from the Parent Bank. The Par-
ent Bank total assets stood at CHF 848 billion at 31 Decem-
ber 2009, a drop of CHF 342 billion from CHF 1,189 billion 
at 31 December 2008.

The  reductions  occurred  in  inter-bank  lending  (loans 
and collateral trading), which declined by 165 billion, pos-

itive replacement values (down CHF 133 billion), customer 
loans and collateral trading (down CHF 37 billion), trading 
balances (down CHF 21 billion), and liquid assets (down 
CHF 12 billion). These declines however were partially off-
set by higher positions in money market papers (up CHF 
29  billion)  and  financial  investments  (up  CHF  4  billion). 
Mortgage loans remained stable in 2009 at CHF 141 bil-
lion.

Interbank lending

During 2009, due from banks on time declined by CHF 53 
billion, predominately due to lower funding needs of third 
party banks in the Americas and European region as well as 
UBS subsidiaries in the European region. Due from banks on 
demand declined by CHF 12 billion due to lower funding to 
bank subsidiaries in the European region. In addition, inter-
bank collateral trading declined by CHF 100 billion, attribut-
able to lower trading volumes and a shift into money market 
paper within UBS subsidiaries in the Americas, European re-
gion and Asia.

Customer lending

The customer loan drop of CHF 37 billion was the result of 
lower  funding  needs  by  clients  in  the  Americas  and  in  the 
European  region,  as  well  as  UBS  subsidiaries  (non-banks), 
predominately in the Americas region.

Money market papers

The increase in money market papers is due to UBS’s strate-
gic decision to rebalance its investment portfolio, which led 
to  a  shift  from  reverse  repurchase  agreements  into  money 
market papers available-for-sale. These instruments include 
highly  liquid  short-term  securities  issued  by  governments 
and government-controlled institutions in various currencies, 
mainly US dollar and euro.

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Financial information
UBS AG (Parent Bank)

Parent Bank financial statements

Income statement

CHF million

Interest and discount income

Interest and dividend income from trading portfolio

Interest and dividend income from financial investments

Interest expense

Net interest income

Credit-related fees and commissions

Fee and commission income from securities and investment business

Other fee and commission income

Fee and commission expense

Net fee and commission income

Net trading income

Net income from disposal of financial investments

Income from investments in associated companies

Income from real estate holdings

Sundry income from ordinary activities

Sundry ordinary expenses

Other income from ordinary activities

Operating income

Personnel expenses

General and administrative expenses

Operating expenses

Operating profit

Depreciation and write-offs on investments in associated companies and fixed assets

Allowances, provisions and losses

Profit before extraordinary items and taxes

Extraordinary income

Extraordinary expenses

Tax expense

Profit / (loss) for the period

372

For the year ended

% change from

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.08

13,764

4,911

92

(16,901)

1,866

255

9,294

624

(2,264)

7,909

(476)

123

1,154

26

4,761

(3,604)

2,460

11,759

9,101

4,421

13,522

(1,763)

2,405

1,432

(5,600)

688

(49)

(80)

37,825

12,014

76

(49,022)

893

208

11,668

610

(2,849)

9,637

(9,466)

176

3,763

29

3,384

(2,767)

4,584

5,648

6,707

5,822

12,528

(6,880)

26,900

3,071

(36,852)

1,002

(482)

(157)

(5,041)

(36,489)

(64)

(59)

21

(66)

109

23

(20)

2

(21)

(18)

95

(30)

(69)

(10)

41

30

(46)

108

36

(24)

8

74

(91)

(53)

85

(31)

(90)

(49)

86

Balance sheet

CHF million

Assets

Liquid assets

Money market papers

Due from banks

Due from customers

Mortgage loans

Trading balances in securities and precious metals

Financial investments

Investments in associated companies

Fixed assets

Accrued income and prepaid expenses

Positive replacement values

Other assets

Total assets

Total subordinated assets

Total amounts receivable from Group companies

Liabilities and equity

Money market papers issued

Due to banks

Due to customers on savings and deposit accounts

Other amounts due to customers

Medium-term bonds

Bonds issued and loans from central mortgage institutions

Accruals and deferred income

Negative replacement values

Other liabilities

Allowances and provisions

Share capital

General statutory reserve

Reserve for own shares

Other reserves

Profit / (loss) for the period

Total liabilities and equity

Total subordinated liabilities

Total amounts payable to Group companies

31.12.09

31.12.08

% change from
31.12.08

15,177

91,988

191,002

153,893

140,671

138,160

15,206

19,225

4,986

1,754

68,977

6,504

847,543

2,617

242,617

45,043

184,010

72,985

287,156

2,967

155,907

7,520

54,468

6,641

2,277

356

30,377

835

2,042

(5,041)

847,543

19,410

145,268

27,030

62,777

355,679

191,308

141,328

158,741

11,085

22,001

5,032

3,877

201,801

8,697

1,189,356

3,924

435,721

52,063

292,730

61,872

388,338

3,150

143,589

7,895

193,108

14,181

2,724

293

40,910

2,877

22,115

(36,489)

1,189,356

21,228

271,434

(44)

47

(46)

(20)

0

(13)

37

(13)

(1)

(55)

(66)

(25)

(29)

(33)

(44)

(13)

(37)

18

(26)

(6)

9

(5)

(72)

(53)

(16)

22

(26)

(71)

(91)

86

(29)

(9)

(46)

Statement of appropriation of retained earnings

The Board of Directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 14 April 2010 approves the following appropriation:

CHF million

Profit / (loss) for the financial year 2009 as per the Parent Bank’s Income Statement

Appropriation to other reserves

Appropriation to general statutory reserves: Share premium

(5,041)

(2,042)

(2,999)

373

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Financial information
UBS AG (Parent Bank)

Notes to the Parent Bank financial statements

Accounting policies

The Parent Bank Financial Statements are prepared in accor-
dance with Swiss Federal banking law. The accounting poli-
cies are principally the same as for the Group Financial State-
ments outlined in Note 1, Summary of Significant Accounting 
Policies. Major differences between the Swiss Federal bank-
ing law requirements and International Financial Reporting 
Standards  are  described  in  Note  40  to  the  financial  state-
ments. The accounting policies applied for the statutory ac-
counts  of  the  Parent  Bank  are  discussed  below.  The  risk 
management of UBS AG is described in the context of the 
risk management for UBS Group. Refer to “Risk and treasury 
management” section.

Treasury shares

Treasury shares are own equity instruments held by an entity. 
Under Swiss law, treasury shares are recognized in the bal-
ance  sheet  as  trading  balances.  Short  positions  in  treasury 
shares  are  recognized  in  “Due  to  banks”.  Treasury  shares 
recognized as trading balances and short positions in trea-
sury shares are measured at fair value with unrealized gains 
or losses from remeasurement to fair value included in the 
income statement. Realized gains and losses on the sale or 
acquisition of treasury shares are recognized in the income 
statement.  

A Reserve for own shares must be created within equity 
equal to the cost value of the treasury shares held through 
reclassification from Other reserves. Repurchase of treasury 
shares is only allowed if sufficient Other reserves are avail-
able. The Reserve for own shares is not available for distribu-
tion to shareholders. 

Foreign currency translation

Assets and liabilities of foreign branches are translated into 
CHF at the spot exchange rate at the balance sheet date. In-
come and expense items are translated at weighted average 
exchange rates for the period. Gains resulting from exchange 
differences  on  the  translation  of  each  of  these  foreign 
branches are credited to a provision account (other liabilities). 
Losses resulting from exchange differences are debited firstly 
to the aforementioned provision account until such provision 
is fully utilized, and secondly to profit and loss.

Investments in associated companies

Investments in associated companies are equity interests which 
are held for the purpose of the Parent Bank’s business activities 
or for strategic reasons. They include all directly held subsidiar-
ies and are carried at cost less impairment, if applicable.

Deferred taxes

Deferred  tax  assets  are  not  recognized  in  the  Parent  Bank 
Financial Statements. Deferred tax liabilities are recognized 
for all taxable temporary differences. The change in the de-
ferred tax liability is recognized in profit or loss.

Equity participation and other compensation plans

Equity participation plans
Under  Swiss  law,  employee  share  awards  are  recognized  as 
compensation  expense  and  accrued  over  the  performance 
year,  which  is  generally  the  period  prior  to  the  grant  date. 
Employee option awards which do not contain voluntary ter-
mination non-compete provisions are recognized as compen-
sation expense on the grant date. If the award is performance 
based and contains substantive future service / vesting period 
conditions, compensation expense is recognized over the per-
formance period. Employee option awards which contain vol-
untary termination non-compete provisions (i.e. good leaver 
clause) are recognized as compensation expense over the per-
formance year. Equity- and cash-settled awards are classified 
as  liabilities.  The  employee  share  option  awards  are  remea-
sured to fair value at each balance sheet date. However, for 
employee share options that UBS intends to settle in shares 
from  conditional  capital,  there  is  no  impact  on  the  income 
statement and no liability is recognized. Upon exercise of em-
ployee options, cash received for payment of the strike price 
is credited against share capital and general statutory reserve.

Other compensation plans
Fixed and variable deferred cash compensation is recognized 
as compensation expense over the performance year. If the 
award is performance based and contains substantive  future 
service / vesting period conditions, compensation expense is 
recognized over the performance period.

374

Changes in accounting policies, comparability and 
other adjustments

Netting of cash collateral against replacement values
In 2009, UBS concluded that the cash collateral provided 
or received can be offset against the negative or positive 
replacement values if the cash collateral is provided or re-
ceived under the same legally enforceable master netting 
and related collateral agreement. The change in account-
ing policy resulted in the following effects on the balance 
sheet for 31 December 2009: a decrease of approximately 

CHF 28.3 billion in Positive replacement values, a decrease 
of approximately CHF 29.4 billion in Negative replacement 
values and a corresponding decrease in Due from banks / 
Due from customers and Due to banks / Due to customers. 
There was no impact to the income statement for the pe-
riod.

Subordinated liabilities
In  the  balance  sheet  2009,  total  subordinated  liabilities 
 presented for 31 December 2008 have been adjusted from 
CHF 24,427 million to CHF 21,228 million.

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Financial information
UBS AG (Parent Bank)

Additional income statement information

Net trading income

CHF million

Investment Bank equities
Investment Bank fixed income, currencies and commodities 1
Other business divisions 1
Total

1 The prior year amounts have been adjusted to conform to the current year’s presentation.

Extraordinary income and expenses

For the year ended

% change from

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.08

3,005

(4,496)

1,014

(476)

3,930

(12,678)

(718)

(9,466)

(24)

65

95

Extraordinary income includes gains from sale of subsidiaries 
and associated companies of CHF 393 million in 2009, where-
as 2008 included a gain on sale of Bank of China investment 
of  approximately  CHF  360  million.  Further,  2009  includes 
write-up of investments in associated companies of CHF 265 
million (2008: CHF 30 million). Amounts in 2008 included a 

release on reserves on investments in subsidiaries of CHF 490 
million and a release of provisions of CHF 72 million.

Extraordinary expenses in 2009 include losses from sale of 
subsidiaries  and  associated  companies  of  CHF  48  million. 
2008 included CHF 478 million related to an overstatement 
of trading income in 2007.

376

Additional balance sheet information

Allowances and provisions 1

CHF million

Default risks (credit and country risk)

Litigation risks

Operational risks

Retirement benefit plans

Restructuring provisions

Deferred taxes

Other

Total allowances and provisions

Allowances deducted from assets

Total provisions as per balance sheet

Provisions applied 
in accordance 
with their 
specified purpose

Recoveries, 
doubtful interest, 
currency translation 
differences

Balance at 
31.12.08

Provisions released 
to income

New provisions 
charged to income

Balance at  
31.12.09

(1,408)

(280)

(203)

(29)

(205)

0

(522)

(2,647)

196

(100)

0

(1)

45

(15)

2

127

(493)

(22)

(57)

0

(3)

(12)

(173)

(760)

1,405

134

145

32

303

0

458

2,477

1,556

1,078

157

94

74

36

1,259

4,254

1,530

2,724

1,256

810

42

96

214

9

1,024

3,451

1,174

2,277

1 In previous years, the table included “Trading portfolio risks” (CHF 14,858 million at 31 December 2008). “Trading portfolio risks” includes credit, liquidity and model adjustments to financial instruments 
accounted for at fair value through profit or loss. As these adjustments are components of fair value rather than allowances and provisions, and respective profit or loss impacts are presented as net  trading 
income rather than credit loss expense / (recovery), “Trading portfolio risks” are no longer included.

Statement of shareholders’ equity

CHF million

As of 31.12.07 and 1.1.08
Capital increase 1
Capital increase related to MCNs

Increase in reserves

Prior year dividend

Profit / (loss) for the period

Changes in reserves for own shares

Transfers

As of 31.12.08 and 1.1.09

Capital increase

Capital increase related to MCNs

Increase in reserves

Prior year dividend

Profit / (loss) for the period

Changes in reserves for own shares
Transfers 2
As of 31.12.09

General statutory 
reserves: 
Share premium

General statutory 
reserves: 
Retained earnings

Reserves for own 
shares

6,303

15,911

16,223

(11,901)

26,536

3,783

58

(2,999)

27,378

2,472

9,441

(2,472)

0

(6,564)

2,877

(2,042)

0

835

Share capital

207

86

293

30

33

356

Total 
shareholders’  
equity (before 
distribution 
of profit)

33,990

15,982

16,223

0

0

(36,489)

0

0

29,706

3,813

91

0

0

(5,041)

0

0

28,569

Other reserves

15,567

(15)

(36,489)

6,564

14,373

0

(5,041)

2,042

2,999

0

1 Includes stock dividend.    2 Subject to approval by the Annual General Meeting on 14 April 2010.

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Financial information
UBS AG (Parent Bank)

Share capital

As of 31.12.09

Issued and paid up

Conditional share capital

As of 31.12.08

Issued and paid up

Conditional share capital

Shares issued

On 25 June 2009, UBS increased its share capital by issuing 
293,258,050 new registered shares. The shares were placed 
with  a  small  number  of  large  institutional  investors.  The 
shares were issued out of authorized capital which had been 
approved  at  the  Annual  General  Meeting  of  shareholders 
(AGM) on 15 April 2009. 

On 19 August 2009, the Swiss Confederation announced 
the  conversion  of  its  UBS  mandatory  convertible  notes 
(MCNs).  Upon  conversion  on  25  August  2009,  UBS  issued 
332,225,913 new shares from existing conditional capital.

On 27 February 2008 the extraordinary general meeting 
of shareholders approved the creation of a maximum of CHF 
10,370,000 in authorized capital allowing the distribution of 
a stock dividend. That resulted in the issuance of 98,698,754 
shares.

On 23 April 2008, the AGM of shareholders approved a 
capital increase that resulted in the issuance of 760,295,181 
fully paid registered shares. All issued shares are fully paid.

Par value

Ranking for dividends

No. of shares

Capital in CHF

No. of shares

Capital in CHF

3,558,112,753

355,811,275

3,558,112,753

355,811,275

527,773,646

52,777,365

2,932,580,549

293,258,055

2,932,580,549

293,258,055

792,844,711

79,284,471

For  further  information  on  the  capital  increase  and  the 
conversion of the MCNs in 2009, refer to “Note 26 Capital 
increases and mandatory convertible notes” in the financial 
statements.

Conditional share capital

On 31 December 2009, a maximum of 29,350 shares could 
have  been  issued  against  the  future  exercise  of  options 
from  former  PaineWebber  employee  option  plans  and 
149,994,296  shares  could  have  been  issued  to  fund  UBS’s 
employee  share  option  programs.  In  addition,  conditional 
capital  of  up  to  277,750,000  shares  was  available  for  the 
UBS  share  delivery  obligation  due  to  the  issuance  of  the 
March 2008 mandatory convertible notes (MCNs) and con-
ditional  capital  of  up  to  100,000,000  shares  is  available  in 
connection  with  the  transaction  with  the  Swiss  National 
Bank (SNB). 

378

Off-balance-sheet and other information

Assets pledged or assigned as security for own obligations and assets subject to reservation of title

CHF million

Money market papers
Mortgage loans 1
Securities

Other

Total

31.12.09

31.12.08

Change in %

Book value

Effective liability

Book value

Effective liability

Book value

Effective liability

42,898

21,741

47,289

8,578

120,506

1,368

12,321

31,862

0

45,551

7,429

3,699

50,223

8,149

69,500

1,300

2,418

37,083

0

40,801

477

488

(6)

5

73

5

410

(14)

12

1 Book value includes mortgage loans transferred for security purpose in preparation of upcoming covered bond issuances.

Financial  assets  are  mainly  pledged  in  securities  borrowing 
and  lending  transactions,  in  repurchase  and  reverse  repur-
chase transactions, under collateralized credit lines with cen-
tral banks, against loans from mortgage institutions, in con-

nection with derivative transactions, as security deposits for 
stock exchanges and clearinghouse memberships, or trans-
ferred for security purpose in connection with the issuance 
of covered bonds.

Commitments and contingent liabilities

CHF million

Contingent liabilities

Irrevocable commitments

Liabilities for calls on shares and other equities

Confirmed credits

31.12.09

139,319

73,270

151

2,083

31.12.08

286,451

68,660

145

2,079

% change from
31.12.08

(51)

7

4

0

UBS AG is jointly and severally liable for the value added tax (VAT) liability of Swiss subsidiaries that belong to its VAT group.

Derivative instruments

CHF million, except where indicated

Interest rate contracts

Credit derivative contracts

Foreign exchange contracts

Precious metal contracts

Equity / index contracts

Commodities contracts, excluding precious metals contracts

Total derivative instruments

Replacement value netting

Replacement values after netting

1 PRV: Positive replacement value.    2 NRV: Negative replacement value.

31.12.09

31.12.08

Notional 
amount
CHF billion

33,787

2,525

6,523

79

251

6

43,171

PRV 1
187,506

80,008

97,925

3,442

17,314

761

386,956

317,979

68,977

NRV 2
174,632

70,586

101,800

3,378

21,353

697

372,447

317,979

54,468

Notional 
amount
CHF billion

36,476

3,712

6,005

108

473

160

46,934

PRV 1
377,307

202,357

222,178

5,804

28,502

27,055

863,203

661,402

201,801

NRV 2
370,346

187,216

229,656

5,697

36,208

25,387

854,510

661,402

193,108

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Financial information
UBS AG (Parent Bank)

Fiduciary transactions

CHF million

Deposits:

with third-party banks

with subsidiaries

Total

31.12.09

31.12.08

% change from
31.12.08

17,088

1,810

18,898

36,452

2,738

39,190

(53)

(34)

(52)

Due to UBS pension plans

CHF million

Due to UBS pension plans and UBS debt instruments held by pension plans

For the year ended

% change from

31.12.09

397

31.12.08

876

31.12.08

(55)

Transactions with related parties

Transactions with related parties (such as securities transactions, payment transfer services, borrowing and compensation for 
deposits) are conducted at internally agreed transfer prices or at arm’s length.

Outsourcing

Outsourcing of IT and other services through agreements with external service providers is in compliance with FINMA circu-
lar 08 / 7 “Outsourcing banks”.

Personnel

The Parent Bank employed 36,182 personnel on 31 December 2009 and 40,998 personnel on 31 December 2008.

Significant shareholders

In % of shares issued

Chase Nominees Ltd, London
DTC (Cede & Co.), New York 1
Mellon Bank N.A., Everett

Nortrust Nominees Ltd, London

1 DTC (Cede & Co.), New York, “The Depository Trust Company” is a US securities clearing organization.

31.12.09

11.63

8.42

3.21

3.07

31.12.08

31.12.07

7.19

9.89

less than 3

less than 3

7.99

14.15

less than 3

less than 3

380

Corporate governance and compensation report

Compensation details and additional information for executive members of the BoD

CHF, except where indicated a

Name, function 1
Kaspar Villiger, Chairman

Peter Kurer, former Chairman

Marcel Ospel, former Chairman

Stephan Haeringer,  
former Executive Vice Chairman

For the  
year ended

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

Base salary

602,083

666,667

1,333,333

666,667

1,125,000

Annual incentive 
award (cash)

0

0

0

0

0

Annual incentive 
award (shares 
– fair value) c
0

Discretionary 
award (options 
– fair value) d
0

Benefits  
in kind e
74,488

Contributions to 
retirement 
benefits plans f
0

Total

676,571

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

37,561

58,267

89,780

794,008

174,047

1,565,647

80,755

87,023

834,445

108,846

195,802

1,429,648

1 2009: Kaspar Villiger was the only non-independent member in office on 31 December 2009; Peter Kurer did not stand for reelection at the AGM on 15 April 2009. 2008: Peter Kurer was the only 
executive member in office on 31 December 2008; Marcel Ospel did not stand for reelection at the AGM on 23 April 2008 and Stephan Haeringer stepped down during the year as a member of the BoD, 
and both of these payments are pro-rata for the four and nine months, respectively, in their functions.

Explanation of the tables outlining compensation details of executive members of  
the BoD and members of the GEB:

a.  Local currencies are converted into CHF using the exchange rates as detailed in “Note 39 Currency translation rates” in the “Financial informa-

tion” section of this report.

b.  The entire cash incentive is only paid out over a three-year period and is subject to forfeiture.
c.  Values per performance share at grant: CHF 16.30 for PEP awards and CHF 22.20 for IPP awards granted in 2010 related to the performance year 
2009. These are based on the performance share valuation which will be used for accounting purposes under IFRS 2. The valuation was carried out 
by PricewaterhouseCoopers and takes into account the relevant performance conditions, targets set, and the range of possible outcomes for these.

d.  No options were granted in 2010 for the performance year 2009.
e.  Benefits in kind – car leasing, company car allowance, staff discount on banking products and services, health and welfare benefits and gen-

eral expense allowances – are all valued at market price.

f.  Swiss executives participate in the same pension plan as all other employees. Under this plan, employees receive a company contribution to 
the plan which covers compensation up to CHF 820,800. The retirement benefits consist of a pension, a bridging pension and a one-off 
payout of accumulated capital. Employees must also contribute to the plan. This figure excludes the mandatory employer’s social security 
contributions (AHV, ALV) but includes the portion attributed to the employer’s portion of the legal BVG requirement. The employee contribu-
tion is included in the base salary and annual incentive award components.

In both the US and the UK, executives participate in the same plans as all other employees. In the US the plans differ between the two business 
divisions. For each business division there are two different plans. The grandfathered plans, which are no longer open to new hires, operate, de-
pending on the business division, either on a cash balance basis or a career average salary basis and participants accrue a pension based on their 
annual compensation limited to USD 250,000 (or USD 150,000 for Wealth Management Americas employees). In the defined contribution plan, 
participants receive company contributions to the plan based on compensation limited to USD 245,000. US management may also participate in 
a 401(k) defined contribution plan (open to all employees), which provides a company matching contribution for employee contributions. In the 
UK, management participates in either the principal pension plan, which operates on a defined contribution basis and is limited to an earnings cap 
of GBP 100,000, or a grandfathered defined benefit plan which provides a pension on retirement based on career average base salary (uncapped).

381

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Financial information
UBS AG (Parent Bank)

Remuneration details and additional information for independent members of the BoD

CHF, except where indicated a

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i

e For the 
period 
AGM to 
AGM

m
m
o
C

Base fee

Committee 
retainer(s)

Benefits  
in kind

M

M

M

M

C

M

M

M

M

M

M

C

M

M

M

M

M

M

2009/2010 325,000

M 2008/2009 325,000

100,000

200,000

2009/2010

2008/2009 325,000

2009/2010 325,000

2008/2009 162,500

200,000

350,000

75,000

2009/2010 325,000

200,000

2008/2009

M

M

2009/2010 325,000

M 2008/2009 162,500

2009/2010 325,000

2008/2009 162,500

2009/2010 325,000

2008/2009

2009/2010

200,000

150,000

200,000

100,000

250,000

2008/2009 325,000

M

2009/2010 325,000

250,000

200,000

M

M

C

C

2008/2009

2009/2010

2008/2009 162,500

2009/2010 325,000

2008/2009 325,000

2009/2010 325,000

2008/2009 162,500

2009/2010 325,000

2008/2009 325,000

2009/2010

2008/2009 162,500

2009/2010 325,000

M 2008/2009 325,000

2009/2010

150,000

300,000

300,000

300,000

100,000

400,000

450,000

0

100,000

400,000

C

M

2008/2009 325,000

300,000

2008/2009 162,500

100,000

2009/2010

M

M

M

M

C

M

C

M

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Additional 
payments
250,000 6
250,000 6

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Share 
percent-
age 3
100

Number of 
shares 4,5
51,845

100

76,228

100

50

50

50

100

50

50

50

50

51,596

27,261

12,280

21,203

40,301

16,158

21,203

13,572

23,222

Total

675,000

775,000

525,000

675,000

237,500

525,000

525,000

312,500

525,000

262,500

575,000

575,000

525,000

50

100

29,731

40,301

312,500

625,000

625,000

625,000

262,500

725,000

775,000

162,500

425,000

725,000

50

50

50

50

50

50

50

100

50

50

16,158

25,242

32,316

25,242

13,572

29,281

40,072

15,945

17,164

37,487

262,500

50

13,572

50

32,316

625,000

6,425,000

6,437,500

Name, function 1
Sergio Marchionne, 
Senior Independent 
Director, Vice Chairman

Ernesto Bertarelli, 
former member

Sally Bott,  
member2

Michel Demaré, 
member

Rainer-Marc Frey, 
member2

Bruno Gehrig,  
member2

Ann F. Godbehere, 
member

Gabrielle Kaufmann-
Kohler, former member

Axel P. Lehmann, 
member

Rolf A. Meyer,  
former member2

Helmut Panke,  
member

William G. Parrett, 
member2

David Sidwell,  
member

Peter Spuhler,  
former member2

Peter R. Voser, 
member

Lawrence A. Weinbach, 
former member2

Joerg Wolle,  
former member

Total 2009

Total 2008

Legend: C = Chairperson of the respective committee; M = Member of the respective committee

1 There were 11 independent BoD members in office on 31 December 2009. Michel Demaré, Ann F. Godbehere and Axel P. Lehmann were appointed at the AGM on 15 April 2009 and Ernesto Berta relli, 
Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler and Joerg Wolle stepped down from the BoD at the AGM on 15 April 2009. There were 11 independent BoD members in office on 31 December 2008. David Sidwell was 
appointed at the AGM on 23 April 2008, and Rolf A. Meyer, Peter Spuhler and Lawrence A. Weinbach stepped down from the BoD at the EGM on 2 October 2008. Sally Bott, Rainer-Marc Frey, Bruno 
Gehrig and William G. Parrett were appointed at the EGM on 2 October 2008.    2 Remuneration for 2008 / 2009 is for six months only, as such members either stepped down or were appointed on 2 
October 2008.    3 Fees are paid 50% in cash and 50% in restricted UBS shares. However, independent BoD members can elect to have 100% of their remuneration paid in restricted UBS shares.    4 For 
2009, shares valued at CHF 14.57 (average price of UBS shares at SIX Swiss Exchange over the last 10 trading days of February 2010) included a price discount of 15%, for a new value of discount price 
CHF 12.38. These shares are blocked for four years. For 2008, shares valued at CHF 11.38 (average price of UBS shares at virt-x, now SIX Swiss Exchange, over the last 10 trading days of February 2009) 
included a price discount of 15%, discount price for a new value of CHF 9.67. These shares are blocked for four years.    5 Number of shares is reduced in case of the 100% election to deduct social 
security contribution. All remuneration payments are submitted to social security contribution / withholding tax.    6 This payment is associated with the Senior Independent Director function.

In addition, for 2008 / 2009 only, one-off cash payments were made to the Chairmen of the RC (CHF 500,000), the GNC (CHF 300,000) and the HRCC (CHF 200,000). These payments reflect the sub-
stantial workload of setting up the new RC, and expanding the mandate of the GNC and the HRCC.

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Total payments to all members of the BoD

CHF, except where indicated a
Aggregate of all members of the BoD

Aggregate of all members of the BoD

For the  
year ended

2009

2008

Total

7,895,579

10,267,240

Total compensation for all members of the GEB

CHF, except where indicated a

Name, function

For the  
year ended

Base salary

Annual 
incentive 
award CBP 
and cash b

Annual 
incentive 
award PEP c

Annual 
incentive 
award IPP c

Contributions 
to retirement 
benefits 
plans f

Benefits  
in kind e

Total

Carsten Kengeter, co-CEO Investment Bank 
(highest-paid)

Marcel Rohner, Group Chief Executive Officer 
(highest-paid)

Aggregate of all members of the GEB who 
were in office on 31 December 2009 1
Aggregate of all members of the GEB who 
were in office on 31 December 2008 1
Aggregate of all members of the GEB who 
stepped down during 2009 2
Aggregate of all members of the GEB who 
stepped down during 2008 2

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

669,092

5,003,470

6,155,869

1,349,336

0

12,545

13,190,312

1,500,000

0

0

0

161,768

152,934

1,814,702

12,000,055

25,734,711

13,453,424 3

15,696,333

270,971

1,551,068

68,706,562

7,815,943

0

2,447,544

38,443,097

1,614,871

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

457,652

817,315

9,090,911

215,151

171,122

41,276,914

234,838

258,423

2,108,132

1 Numbers and distribution of GEB members in 2009: 13 GEB members in office on 31 December. 2008: 12 GEB members in office on 31 December.    2 Number and distribution of GEB members in 
2009: includes two months in office as a GEB member for Marcel Rohner, three months in office for Walter H. Stürzinger and Raoul Weil, four months in office for Jerker Johansson, six months in office 
for Rory Tapner and ten for Marten Hoekstra. 2008: includes four months in office as a GEB member for Peter Kurer, eight months in office for Marco Suter and ten months for Joe Scoby.    3 Included in 
the share awards are SEEOP awards at a fair value of GBP 4,655,950 and EOP awards at a fair value of GBP 1,594,250.

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383

 
Financial information
UBS AG (Parent Bank)

Share and option ownership of members of the BoD on 31 December 2008 / 2009

Name, function 1
Kaspar Villiger, Chairman

Sergio Marchionne,  
Senior Independent Director, Vice Chairman

Ernesto Bertarelli, former member 4

Sally Bott, member

Michel Demaré, member

Rainer-Marc Frey, member

Bruno Gehrig, member

Ann F. Godbehere, member

Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler, former member 4

Peter Kurer, former Chairman 4

Axel P. Lehmann, member

Helmut Panke, member

William G. Parrett, member

David Sidwell, member

Peter R. Voser, member

Joerg Wolle, former member 4

For the 
year ended

Number of 
shares held

Voting rights  
in %

Number of 
options held

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

22,500

–

164,154

87,926

–

89,434

12,281

1

2,500

–

16,158

0

16,572

3,000

0

–

–

18,713

–

416,088

18,151

–

64,287

31,971

17,573

4,000

40,073

1

68,310

30,823

–

41,509

0.001

0.009

0.005

0.005

0.001

0.000

0.000

0.001

0.000

0.001

0.000

0.000

0.001

0

–

0

0

–

0

0

0

0

–

0

0

0

0

0

–

–

0

–

0.025

372,995

0.001

0.003

0.002

0.001

0.000

0.002

0.000

0.004

0.002

0.002

0

–

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

–

0

Potentially conferred 
voting rights in % 2
0.000

Type and quantity 
of options 3

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.022

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

xli: 
xlvii: 
lvi: 
lxiv: 

85,256
95,913
95,913
95,913

1 This table includes vested, unvested, blocked and unblocked shares and options held by members of the BoD including related parties.    2 No conversion rights are outstanding.    3 Refer to “Note 31 Equity 
participation and other compensation plans” in the “Financial information” section of this report for more information on stock option plans.    4 Members of the BoD who stepped down at the AGM 2009.

384

Compensation paid to former members of the BoD and GEB1

CHF, except where indicated a

Name, function

Georges Blum, former member of the BoD  
(Swiss Bank Corporation)

Franz Galliker, former member of the BoD  
(Swiss Bank Corporation)

Walter G. Frehner, former member of the BoD  
(Swiss Bank Corporation)

Hans (Liliane) Strasser, former member of the BoD  
(Swiss Bank Corporation)

Robert Studer, former member of the BoD  
(Union Bank of Switzerland)

Alberto Togni, former member of the BoD  
(UBS)

Philippe (Alix) de Weck, former member of the BoD  
(Union Bank of Switzerland)

Aggregate of all former members of the GEB 2

Aggregate of all former members of the BoD and GEB

For the  
year ended

Compensation

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

320,136

318,461

0

0

320,136

318,461

Benefits  
in kind

92,399

101,579

10,659

69,596

25,371

74,663

9,758

32,673

18,751

126,208

355,983

427,949

93,135

109,703

18,293

171,180

624,349

Total

92,399

101,579

10,659

69,596

25,371

74,663

9,758

32,673

18,751

126,208

676,119

746,410

93,135

109,703

18,293

171,180

944,485

1,113,551

1,432,012

1 Compensation or remuneration that is connected with the former members’ activity on the BoD or GEB, or that is not at market conditions.    2 Includes two former GEB members.

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Financial information
UBS AG (Parent Bank)

Share and option ownership of members of the GEB on 31 December 2008 / 2009

Name, function 1
Oswald J. Grübel,  
Group Chief Executive Officer

Marcel Rohner,  
former Group Chief Executive Officer 4

2009

2008

2009

2008

For the 
year ended

Number of 
shares held

Voting rights  
in %

Number of 
options held

Potentially conferred 
voting rights in % 2
0.217

Type and 
quantity of 
options 3
lxx:  4,000,000

0

–

–

0.000

4,000,000

–

–

711,366

0.042

1,055,043

0.063

John Cryan,  
Group Chief Financial Officer

2009

235,929

0.013

382,673

0.021

2008

235,929

0.014

382,673

0.023

Markus U. Diethelm,  
Group General Counsel

John A. Fraser,  
Chairman and CEO Global Asset Management

2009

2008

2009

112,245

112,245

480,464

0.006

0.007

0.027

0

0

1,088,795

0.000

0.000

0.059

386

31,971 
xxxii: 
xli: 
 213,140 
xlvii:  277,082 
lvi: 
319,710 
lxiv:  213,140

21,362 
iii: 
20,731 
iv: 
20,725 
vii: 
5,454 
xii: 
5,294 
xiii: 
5,292 
xvi: 
23,626 
xxi: 
23,620 
xxiii: 
23,612 
xxvi: 
5,526 
xxviii: 
5,524 
xxix: 
xxx: 
5,524 
xxxviii:  17,072 
17,068 
xl: 
17,063 
xlii: 
14,210 
xliv: 
14,210 
xlv: 
14,207 
xlvi: 
5,330 
liii: 
5,328 
liv: 
5,326 
lv: 
17,762 
lxi: 
17,762 
lxii: 
17,760 
lxiii: 
53,285
lxvi: 

iii: 
21,362 
iv: 
20,731 
vii: 
20,725 
xii: 
5,454 
xiii: 
5,294 
xvi: 
5,292 
xxi: 
23,626 
xxiii: 
23,620 
xxvi: 
23,612 
xxviii: 
5,526 
xxix: 
5,524 
5,524 
xxx: 
xxxviii:  17,072 
17,068 
xl: 
17,063 
xlii: 
14,210 
xliv: 
14,210 
xlv: 
14,207 
xlvi: 
5,330 
liii: 
5,328 
liv: 
5,326 
lv: 
17,762 
lxi: 
17,762 
lxii: 
17,760 
lxiii: 
53,285
lxvi: 

viii: 
76,380 
127,884 
xix: 
xxv:  127,884 
xliii:  170,512 
xlviii:  202,483 
lvi: 
213,140 
lxiv:  170,512

Share and option ownership of members of the GEB on 31 December 2008 / 2009 (continued)

Name, function 1
John A. Fraser,  
Chairman and CEO Global Asset Management

For the 
year ended

2008

Number of 
shares held

561,216

Voting rights  
in %

Number of 
options held

0.035

1,144,808

Potentially conferred 
voting rights in % 2
0.068

Marten Hoekstra,  
former CEO Wealth Management US 4

2009

2008

–

245,397

–

0.015

684,168

0.041

Type and 
quantity of 
options 3
56,013 
i: 
76,380 
viii: 
xix: 
127,884 
xxv:  127,884 
xliii:  170,512 
xlviii:  202,483 
lvi: 
213,140 
lxiv:  170,512

ii: 
8,679 
vi: 
8,421 
ix: 
8,421 
xi: 
8,823 
xiv: 
4,262 
xv: 
8,563 
8,561 
xviii: 
xxxiii:  42,628 
53,285 
xliii: 
53,285 
xlviii: 
lvi: 
85,256 
lxiv:  154,931 
lxvii:  239,053

Jerker Johansson,  
former Chairman and CEO Investment Bank 4

Carsten Kengeter,  
co-CEO Investment Bank

Ulrich Körner,  
Group Chief Operating Officer

Philip J. Lofts,  
Group Chief Risk Officer

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

–

521,544

516,909

–

0

–

0.031

0.028

0.000

–

753,410

905,000

–

0

–

179,234

0.010

577,723

0.045

lxviii:  745,990 
7,420
lxix: 

0.049

lxxi:  905,000

0.000

0.031

2008

186,434

0.011

577,723

0.034

11,445 
iii: 
11,104 
iv: 
11,098 
vii: 
1,240 
xii: 
5,464 
xiii: 
1,199 
xvi: 
9,985 
xxi: 
9,980 
xxiii: 
9,974 
xxvi: 
1,833 
xxviii: 
1,830 
xxix: 
xxx: 
1,830 
xxxviii:  35,524 
35,524 
xl: 
xlii: 
35,521 
xlvii:  117,090 
117,227 
lvi: 
85,256 
lxiv: 
74,599
lxvii: 

11,445 
iii: 
11,104 
iv: 
11,098 
vii: 
1,240 
xii: 
5,464 
xiii: 
1,199 
xvi: 
9,985 
xxi: 
9,980 
xxiii: 
9,974 
xxvi: 
1,833 
xxviii: 
1,830 
xxix: 
xxx: 
1,830 
xxxviii:  35,524 
35,524 
xl: 
xlii: 
35,521 
xlvii:  117,090 
117,227 
lvi: 
85,256 
lxiv: 
74,599
lxvii: 

387

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Financial information
UBS AG (Parent Bank)

Share and option ownership of members of the GEB on 31 December 2008 / 2009 (continued)

Name, function 1
Robert J. McCann,  
CEO Wealth Management Americas

Franco Morra,  
CEO UBS Switzerland

Walter H. Stürzinger,  
former Chief Operating Officer, Corporate Center 4

Rory Tapner,  
former Chairman and CEO Asia Pacific 4

Raoul Weil,  
former Chairman and CEO Global Wealth 
Management  & Business Banking 4

Alexander Wilmot-Sitwell,  
co-CEO Investment Bank

For the 
year ended

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

Number of 
shares held

602,481

–

153,860

Voting rights  
in %

Number of 
options held

0.033

0

–

Potentially conferred 
voting rights in % 2
0.000

0.008

325,086

0.018

–

–

–

–

296,886

0.018

372,995

0.022

–

827,809

–

315,698

–

0.049

1,379,533

0.082

–

0.019

432,409

0.026

2009

286,767

0.016

353,807

0.019

2008

304,655

0.018

353,807

0.021

Robert Wolf,  
Chairman and CEO, UBS Group Americas /  
President Investment Bank

2009

785,631

0.043

948,473

0.051

2008

827,307

0.049

948,473

0.056

Type and 
quantity of 
options 3

43,911 
lvi: 
lxiv: 
66,866 
lxvii:  114,309 
lxxii:  100,000

xx: 
xli: 
xlvii: 
lvi: 
lxiv: 

31,971 
63,942 
85,256 
95,913 
95,913

281,862 
vii: 
xix: 
213,140 
xxxi:  213,140 
xli: 
170,512 
xlvii:  159,855 
170,512 
lvi: 
lxiv:  170,512

xix: 
53,285 
xlvii:  102,281 
127,884 
lvi: 
lxiv:  148,959

xlvi: 
53,282 
xlix: 
2,130 
liii: 
35,524 
liv: 
35,524 
35,521 
lv: 
lxiv:  106,570 
85,256
lxvii: 

53,282 
xlvi: 
2,130 
xlix: 
35,524 
liii: 
35,524 
liv: 
lv: 
35,521 
lxiv:  106,570 
85,256
lxvii: 

xxv:  287,739 
xliii:  213,140 
xlviii:  127,884 
lvi: 
106,570 
lxiv:  106,570 
lxvii:  106,570

xxv:  287,739 
xliii:  213,140 
xlviii:  127,884 
lvi: 
106,570 
lxiv:  106,570 
lxvii:  106,570

388

Share and option ownership of members of the GEB on 31 December 2008 / 2009 (continued)

Name, function 1
Chi-Won Yoon,  
Chairman and CEO Asia Pacific

For the 
year ended

2009

Number of 
shares held

367,573

Voting rights  
in %

Number of 
options held

0.020

623,253

Potentially conferred 
voting rights in % 2
0.034

Jürg Zeltner,  
CEO Wealth Management

2008

2009

–

16,502

–

0.001

205,470

0.011

Type and 
quantity of 
options 3
11,577 
i: 
11,229 
v: 
11,227 
viii: 
2,252 
x: 
6,446 
xiv: 
2,184 
xvii: 
8,648 
xxii: 
8,642 
xxiv: 
8,635 
xxvii: 
4,262 
xxxiv: 
3,374 
xxxv: 
3,371 
xxxvi: 
xxxvii: 
3,371 
xxxviii:  6,200 
4,262 
xxxix: 
6,198 
xl: 
6,195 
xlii: 
10,659 
xliv: 
10,657 
xlv: 
10,654 
xlvi: 
21,316 
liii: 
21,314 
liv: 
21,311 
lv: 
8,881 
lxi: 
8,880 
lxii: 
8,880 
lxiii: 
lxvi: 
42,628 
lxxii:  350,000

iii: 
iv: 
vii: 
xlii: 
xliv: 
xlv: 
xlvi: 
xlix: 
l: 
li: 
lii: 
liii: 
liv: 
lv: 
lvii: 
lviii: 
lix: 
lx: 
lxi: 
lxii: 
lxiii: 
lxv: 
lxvii: 
lxxii: 

809 
784 
784 
4,972 
7,106  
7,103 
7,103 
93 
161 
149 
127 
7,106 
7,103 
7,103 
110 
242  
230 
221 
7,105 
7,105 
7,103 
223 
42,628 
90,000

1 This table includes vested and unvested shares and options held by members of the GEB, including related parties.    2 No conversion rights are outstanding.    3 Refer to “Note 31 Equity participation 
and other compensation plans“ in the “Financial information” section of this report for more information.    4 GEB members who stepped down during 2009.

2008

–

–

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389

 
Financial information
UBS AG (Parent Bank)

Vested and unvested options held by independent members of the BoD and  
by members of the GEB on 31 December 2008 / 2009

Type

Number of options

Year of grant

Vesting date

Expiry date

Subscription ratio

i

ii

iii

iv

v

vi

vii

viii

ix

x

xi

xii

xiii

xiv

xv

xvi

xvii

xviii

xix

xx

xxi

xxii

xxiii

xxiv

xxv

xxvi

xxvii

xxviii

xxix

xxx

xxxi

xxxii

xxxiii

xxxiv

xxxv

xxxvi

xxxvii

xxxviii

xxxix

xl

xli

xlii

xliii

xliv

xlv

xlvi

xlvii

xlviii

xlix

l

li

390

11,577

8,679

33,616

32,619

11,229

8,421

314,469

87,607

8,421

2,252

8,823

6,694

10,758

10,708

8,563

6,491

2,184

8,561

394,309

31,971

33,611

8,648

33,600

8,642

415,623

33,586

8,635

7,359

7,354

7,354

213,140

31,971

42,628

4,262

3,374

3,371

3,371

58,796

4,262

58,790

532,850

63,751

436,937

31,975

31,970

85,246

837,477

383,652

2,223

161

149

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2002

2003

2003

2003

2003

2003

2003

2003

2003

2003

2003

2003

2003

2003

2003

2003

2003

2003

2004

2004

2004

2004

2004

2004

2005

2005

2005

2005

2005

2005

2005

2005

31.01.2002

31.01.2002

31.01.2003

31.01.2004

31.01.2004

31.01.2004

31.01.2005

31.01.2005

31.01.2005

28.02.2002

28.02.2002

28.02.2003

28.02.2004

29.02.2004

29.02.2004

28.02.2005

28.02.2005

28.02.2005

28.06.2005

28.06.2005

01.03.2004

01.03.2004

01.03.2005

01.03.2005

31.01.2006

01.03.2006

01.03.2006

01.03.2004

01.03.2005

01.03.2006

31.01.2006

31.01.2006

31.01.2006

28.02.2005

01.03.2004

01.03.2005

01.03.2006

01.03.2005

27.02.2006

01.03.2006

28.02.2007

01.03.2007

01.03.2007

01.03.2006

01.03.2007

01.03.2008

01.03.2008

01.03.2008

04.03.2007

06.06.2007

09.09.2007

31.01.2012

31.07.2012

31.01.2012

31.01.2012

31.01.2012

31.07.2012

31.01.2012

31.01.2012

31.07.2012

28.02.2012

28.08.2012

28.02.2012

28.02.2012

28.02.2012

28.08.2012

28.02.2012

28.02.2012

28.08.2012

28.06.2012

28.12.2012

31.01.2013

31.01.2013

31.01.2013

31.01.2013

31.01.2013

31.01.2013

31.01.2013

28.02.2013

28.02.2013

28.02.2013

31.01.2013

31.07.2013

31.07.2013

28.02.2013

28.02.2013

28.02.2013

28.02.2013

27.02.2014

27.02.2014

27.02.2014

27.02.2014

27.02.2014

27.02.2014

28.02.2015

28.02.2015

28.02.2015

28.02.2015

28.02.2015

04.03.2015

06.06.2015

09.09.2015

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

Strike price

USD 21.24

USD 21.24

CHF 36.49

CHF 36.49

USD 21.24

USD 21.24

CHF 36.49

USD 21.24

USD 21.24

USD 21.70

USD 21.70

CHF 36.65

CHF 36.65

USD 21.70

USD 21.70

CHF 36.65

USD 21.70

USD 21.70

CHF 37.90

CHF 37.90

CHF 27.81

USD 20.49

CHF 27.81

USD 20.49

USD 22.53

CHF 27.81

USD 20.49

CHF 26.39

CHF 26.39

CHF 26.39

CHF 30.50

CHF 30.50

USD 22.53

USD 19.53

USD 19.53

USD 19.53

USD 19.53

CHF 44.32

CHF 44.32

CHF 44.32

CHF 48.69

CHF 44.32

USD 38.13

CHF 47.58

CHF 47.58

CHF 47.58

CHF 52.32

USD 44.81

CHF 47.89

CHF 45.97

CHF 50.47

Vested and unvested options held by independent members of the BoD and  
by members of the GEB on 31 December 2008 / 2009 (continued)

Type

lii

liii

liv

lv

lvi

lvii

lviii

lix

lx

lxi

lxii

lxiii

lxiv

lxv

lxvi

lxvii

lxviii

lxix

lxx

lxxi

lxxii

Number of options

Year of grant

Vesting date

Expiry date

Subscription ratio

Strike price

127

69,276

69,269

69,261

1,376,036

110

242

230

221

33,748

33,747

33,743

1,415,142

223

95,913

662,415

745,990

7,420

4,000,000

905,000

540,000

2005

2006

2006

2006

2006

2006

2006

2006

2006

2007

2007

2007

2007

2007

2008

2008

2008

2008

2009

2009

2009

05.12.2007

01.03.2007

01.03.2008

01.03.2009

01.03.2009

03.03.2008

09.06.2008

08.09.2008

08.12.2008

01.03.2008

01.03.2009

01.03.2010

01.03.2010

02.03.2009

01.03.2011

01.03.2011

01.03.2011

01.03.2011

26.02.2009

01.03.2012

01.03.2012

05.12.2015

28.02.2016

28.02.2016

28.02.2016

28.02.2016

03.03.2016

09.06.2016

08.09.2016

08.12.2016

28.02.2017

28.02.2017

28.02.2017

28.02.2017

02.03.2017

28.02.2018

28.02.2018

07.04.2018

06.06.2018

25.02.2014

27.12.2019

27.02.2019

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:1

CHF 59.03

CHF 65.97

CHF 65.97

CHF 65.97

CHF 72.57

CHF 65.91

CHF 61.84

CHF 65.76

CHF 67.63

CHF 67.00

CHF 67.00

CHF 67.00

CHF 73.67

CHF 67.08

CHF 32.45

CHF 35.66

CHF 36.46

CHF 28.10

CHF 10.10

CHF 40.00

CHF 11.35

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Financial information
UBS AG (Parent Bank)

Loans granted to members of the BoD on 31 December 2008 / 2009

CHF, except where indicated a

Name, function 1
Kaspar Villiger, Chairman

Sergio Marchionne, Senior Independent Director, Vice Chairman

Ernesto Bertarelli, former member 3

Sally Bott, member

Michel Demaré, member

Rainer-Marc Frey, member

Bruno Gehrig, member 2

Ann F. Godbehere, member

Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler, former member 3

Peter Kurer, former Chairman 2,3

Axel P. Lehmann, member

Helmut Panke, member

William G. Parrett, member 2

David Sidwell, member

Peter R. Voser, member

Joerg Wolle, former member 3

Aggregate of all members of the BoD

Aggregate of all members of the BoD

For the 
year ended

Secured loans

Other loans  
granted

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

0

0

0

0

–

0

0

0

850,000

0

0

0

798,000

798,000

0

0

–

0

–

1,261,000

0

0

0

0

1,260,731

1,167,659

0

0

0

0

–

0

2,908,731

3,226,659

0

0

0

0

–

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

–

0

–

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

–

0

0

0

Total

0

0

0

0

–

0

0

0

850,000

0

0

0

798,000

798,000

0

0

–

0

–

1,261,000

0

0

0

0

1,260,731

1,167,659

0

0

0

0

–

0

2,908,731

3,226,659

1 No loans have been granted to related parties of the members of the BoD at conditions not customary in the market.    2 Secured loans granted prior to their election to the BoD.    3 Including those 
members of the BoD who stepped down at the AGM 2009.

Loans granted to members of the GEB on 31 December 2008 / 2009

CHF, except where indicated a

Name, function 1
Jürg Zeltner, CEO Wealth Management

Markus U. Diethelm, Group General Counsel
Aggregate of all members of the GEB 3
Aggregate of all members of the GEB 4

For the 
year ended

2009

2008

2009

2008

Secured loans

5,800,202

3,900,000

15,356,483

7,740,562

Other loans  
granted 2
0

0

0

0

Total

5,800,202

3,900,000

15,356,483

7,740,562

1 No loans have been granted to related parties of the members of the GEB at conditions not customary in the market.    2 Guarantees.    3 Including those members of the GEB who stepped down 
during 2009.    4 Including those members of the GEB who stepped down during 2008.

392

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Financial information
UBS AG (Parent Bank)

394

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Financial information
UBS AG (Parent Bank)

396

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397

 
Additional disclosure required 
under SEC regulations

A – Introduction

The  following  pages  contain  additional  disclosures  about 
UBS Group which are required under SEC regulations.

UBS’s  consolidated  Financial  Statements  have  been  pre-
pared  in  accordance  with  International  Financial  Reporting 
Standards  (IFRS)  as  issued  by  the  International  Accounting 
Standards Board (IASB) and are denominated in Swiss francs 
(CHF), the reporting currency of the Group.

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399

 
Financial information 
Additional disclosure required under SEC regulations

B – Selected financial data

The  tables  below  set  forth,  for  the  periods  and  dates  indi-
cated, information concerning the noon buying rate for the 
Swiss franc, expressed in United States dollars, or USD, per 
one Swiss franc. The noon buying rate is the rate in New York 

City for cable transfers in foreign currencies as certified for 
customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
On 26 February 2010 the noon buying rate was 0.9336 USD 

per 1 CHF.

Year ended 31 December

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

Month

September 2009

October 2009

November 2009

December 2009

January 2010

February 2010

1 The average of the noon buying rates on the last business day of each full month during the relevant period.

Average rate 1
(USD per 1 CHF)

At period end

0.8010

0.8034

0.8381

0.9298

0.9260

0.7606

0.8200

0.8827

0.9369

0.9654

High

0.8721

0.8396

0.9087

1.0142

1.0016

High

0.9768

0.9936

0.9996

1.0016

0.9848

0.9472

Low

0.7544

0.7575

0.7978

0.8171

0.8408

Low

0.9387

0.9593

0.9703

0.9532

0.9472

0.9210

400

Key figures

CHF million, except where indicated

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.06

31.12.05

As of or for the year ended

Balance sheet data

Total assets

Equity attributable to UBS shareholders

Average equity to average assets (%)

Market capitalization

Shares

Registered ordinary shares

Treasury shares

BIS capital ratios

Tier 1 (%)

Total BIS (%)

Risk-weighted assets

Invested assets (CHF billion)

Personnel (full-time equivalents)

Switzerland

United Kingdom

Rest of Europe

Middle East / Africa

United States

Rest of Americas

Asia Pacific

Total
Long-term ratings 2
Fitch, London

Moody’s, New York

Standard & Poor’s, New York

1,340,538

2,014,815

2,274,891

2,348,733

2,001,099

41,013

1.9

57,108

32,531

1.5

43,519

36,875

1.8

108,654

51,037

2.0

154,222

45,633

1.9

131,949

3,558,112,753

2,932,580,549

2,073,547,344

2,105,273,286

2,177,265,044

37,553,872

61,903,121

158,105,524

164,475,699

208,519,748

15.4

19.8

206,525

2,233

24,050

6,204

4,145

134

22,702

1,132

6,865

65,233

A+

Aa3

A+

11.0

15.0

302,273

2,174

26,406

7,071

4,817

145

27,362

1,984

9,998

77,783

A+

Aa2

A+

9.1 1
12.2 1
374,421 1
3,189

27,884

8,813

4,776

139

29,921

2,054

9,973

83,560

AA

Aaa

AA

12.2 1
15.0 1
344,015 1
2,989

27,022

8,243

4,338

102

29,076

1,743

7,616

78,140

AA+

Aa2

AA+

13.3 1
14.5 1
312,532 1
2,652

26,029

7,135

3,759

112

25,999

1,137

5,398

69,569

AA+

Aa2

AA+

1 The calculation prior to 2008 is based on the Basel I approach.    2 Refer to the “Credit risk” section of this report for information about the nature of these ratings.

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401

 
Financial information 
Additional disclosure required under SEC regulations

Income statement data

CHF million, except where indicated

31.12.09

31.12.08

Interest income

Interest expense

Net interest income

Credit loss (expense) / recovery

Net interest income after credit loss (expense) / recovery

Net fee and commission income

Net trading income

Other income

Total operating income

Total operating expenses

Operating profit from continuing operations before tax

Tax expense

Net profit from continuing operations

Net profit from discontinued operations

Net profit

Net profit attributable to minority interests

Net profit attributable to UBS shareholders
Cost / income ratio (%) 1
Per share data (CHF)
Basic earnings per share 2
Diluted earnings per share 2
Operating profit before tax per share
Cash dividends declared per share (CHF) 3,4
Cash dividend declared per share (USD) 3,4
Dividend payout ratio (%) 3,4
Rates of return (%)
Return on equity attributable to UBS shareholders 5
Return on average equity

Return on average assets

23,461

(17,016)

6,446

(1,832)

4,614

17,712

(324)

599

22,601

25,162

(2,561)

(443)

(2,118)

(7)

(2,125)

610

(2,736)

103.0

(0.75)

(0.75)

(0.70)

N/A

N/A

N/A

(7.8)

(7.9)

(0.1)

65,679

(59,687)

5,992

(2,996)

2,996

22,929

(25,820)

692

796

28,555

(27,758)

(6,837)

(20,922)

198

(20,724)

568

(21,292)

753.0

(7.63)

(7.63)

(9.94)

N/A

N/A

N/A

(58.7)

(60.6)

(0.9)

For the year ended

31.12.07

109,112

(103,775)

31.12.06

87,401

(80,880)

31.12.05

59,286

(49,758)

5,337

(238)

5,099

30,634

(8,353)

4,341

31,721

35,463

(3,742)

1,369

(5,111)

403

(4,708)

539

(5,247)

111.0

(2.40)

(2.41)

(1.71)

N/A

N/A

N/A

(10.5)

(10.6)

(0.2)

6,521

156

6,677

25,456

13,743

1,608

47,484

33,365

14,119

2,998

11,121

899

12,020

493

11,527

70.5

5.15

4.95

6.30

2.20

1.83

42.7

23.8

24.0

0.5

9,528

375

9,903

21,184

8,248

1,135

40,470

28,533

11,937

2,270

9,667

4,526

14,193

661

13,532

71.2

5.93

5.70

5.23

1.60

1.26

27.0

34.0

34.4

0.7

1 Operating expenses / operating income before credit loss expense.    2 For EPS calculation, refer to Note 8 in the Financial Statements.    3 Additionally, in July 2006, a par value reduction of CHF 0.30 
(USD 0.24) per share was distributed. Dividends are normally declared and paid in the year subsequent to the reporting period.    4 For the business year 2007 a stock dividend was distributed for which 
98,698,754 new shares were issued on 19 May 2008 to UBS shareholders with an exchange ratio of 20:1.    5 Net profit attributable to UBS shareholders / average equity attributable to UBS shareholders. 
Calculation excludes expected deductions for dividend distributions.

402

Balance sheet data

CHF million

Assets

Total assets

Due from banks

Cash collateral on securities borrowed

Reverse repurchase agreements

Trading portfolio assets

Trading portfolio assets pledged as collateral

Positive replacement values

Loans

Liabilities

Due to banks

Cash collateral on securities lent

Repurchase agreements

Trading portfolio liabilities

Negative replacement values

Financial liabilities designated at fair value

Due to customers

Debt issued

Equity attributable to UBS shareholders

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.06

31.12.05

For the year ended

1,340,538

2,014,815

2,274,891

2,348,733

2,001,099

46,574

63,507

116,689

188,037

44,221

421,694

306,828

65,166

7,995

64,175

47,469

409,943

112,653

410,475

131,352

41,013

64,451

122,897

224,648

271,838

40,216

854,100

340,308

125,628

14,063

102,561

62,431

851,864

101,546

465,741

197,254

32,531

60,907

207,063

376,928

660,182

114,190

428,217

335,864

145,762

31,621

305,887

164,788

443,539

191,853

630,105

222,077

36,875

50,426

351,590

405,834

648,346

230,168

292,975

297,842

203,689

63,088

545,480

204,773

297,063

145,687

546,154

190,143

51,037

33,644

288,435

404,432

499,297

154,759

273,889

279,910

124,328

59,938

478,508

188,631

277,770

117,401

461,425

160,710

45,633

Ratio of earnings to fixed charges

The following table sets forth UBS’s ratio of earnings to fixed charges on an IFRS basis for the periods indicated. The ratios 
are calculated based on earnings from continuing operations. Ratios of earnings to combined fixed charges and preferred 
stock dividend requirements are not presented as there were no preferred share dividends in any of the periods indicated.

31.12.09

0.82

31.12.08

0.53

31.12.07

0.96

31.12.06

1.17

31.12.05

1.23

For the year ended

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Financial information 
Additional disclosure required under SEC regulations

C – Information on the company

Property, plant and equipment

At 31 December 2009, UBS operated about 973 business 
and  banking  locations  worldwide,  of  which  about  42% 
were in Switzerland, 41% in the Americas, 12% in the rest 
of Europe, Middle East and Africa and 5% in Asia-Pacific. 
Of the business and banking locations in Switzerland, 37% 
were  owned  directly  by  UBS,  with  the  remainder,  along 

with most of UBS’s offices outside Switzerland, being held 
under commercial leases.

These  premises  are  subject  to  continuous  maintenance 
and  upgrading  and  are  considered  suitable  and  adequate 
for current and anticipated operations.

404

D – Information required by industry guide 3

Selected statistical information

The tables below set forth selected statistical information re-
garding the Group’s banking operations extracted from the 
 Financial  Statements.  Unless  otherwise  indicated,  average 
balances for the years ended 31 December 2009, 31 Decem-
ber  2008  and  31  December  2007  are  calculated  from 

monthly data. The distinction between domestic and foreign 
is  generally  based  on  the  booking  location.  For  loans,  this 
method is not significantly different from an analysis based 
on the domicile of the borrower.

Average balances and interest rates

The following table sets forth average interest-earning assets and average interest-bearing liabilities, along with the average 
rates, for the years ended  31 December 2009, 2008 and 2007.

CHF million, except where indicated

Assets

Due from banks

Domestic

Foreign

Cash collateral on securities borrowed and 
reverse repurchase agreements

Domestic

Foreign

Trading portfolio assets

Domestic

Foreign taxable

Foreign non-taxable

Foreign total

Financial assets designated at fair value

Domestic

Foreign

Loans

Domestic

Foreign

Financial investments available-for-sale

Domestic

Foreign taxable

Foreign non-taxable

Foreign total

Total interest-earning assets

Net interest on swaps

Interest income and average 
 interest-earning assets

Non-interest-earning assets

Positive replacement values

Fixed assets

Other

Total average assets

Average
balance

31.12.09

Interest

Average
rate (%)

Average
balance

31.12.08

Interest

Average
rate (%)

Average
balance

31.12.07

Interest

Average
rate (%)

3,420

52,668

200

321

10,029

381,049

10,976

270,674

2,160

244

2,385

228

6,915

7

272,834

6,922

5.8

0.6

2.4

0.6

2.1

2.6

0.3

2.5

7,243

58,287

421

1,559

31,642

669,010

15,104

522,804

8,070

1,208

21,313

520

21,494

383

530,874

21,877

548

11,674

0

316

945

2.7

11,024

179,680

151,584

5,532

4,946

991

28,295

0

28,295

1,103,748

21

143

143

21,258

2,203

3.1

3.3

2.1

0.5

0.5

1.9

188,950

147,034

1,599

3,370

0

3,370

1,665,082

0

404

6,840

8,304

72

73

73

62,591

3,088

5.8

2.7

3.8

3.2

3.4

4.1

4.7

4.1

3.7

3.6

5.6

4.5

2.2

2.2

3.8

11,784

46,049

664

2,344

31,473

977,302

11,866

861,923

5,754

1,693

46,581

696

38,206

199

867,677

38,405

588

9,114

187,073

146,040

3,930

2,934

0

2,934

0

298

6,565

9,359

66

110

110

2,295,830

106,781

2,331

5.6

5.1

5.4

4.8

5.9

4.4

3.5

4.4

3.3

3.5

6.4

1.7

3.7

3.7

4.7

1,103,748

23,461

2.1

1,665,082

65,679

3.9

2,295,830

109,112

4.8

654,651

6,609

86,133

1,851,141

600,073

7,091

82,357

2,354,603

373,229

7,090

82,739

2,758,888

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Financial information 
Additional disclosure required under SEC regulations

Average balances and interest rates (continued)

CHF million, except where indicated

Liabilities and equity

Due to banks

Domestic

Foreign

Cash collateral on securities lent and 
 repurchase agreements

Domestic

Foreign

Trading portfolio liabilities

Domestic

Foreign

Financial liabilities designated at fair value

Domestic

Foreign

Due to customers

Domestic demand deposits

Domestic savings deposits

Domestic time deposits

Domestic total

Foreign

Short-term debt

Domestic

Foreign

Long-term debt

Domestic

Foreign

36,278

76,305

219

457

11,321

195,991

1,411

58,091

934

106,690

64,877

68,042

13,075

145,994

304,641

689

86,186

11,152

76,961

200

1,979

55

3,823

17

2,838

98

521

451

1,070

2,127

27

2,234

153

1,817

Total interest-bearing liabilities

1,112,644

17,016

Non-interest-bearing liabilities

Negative replacement values

Other

Total liabilities

Total equity

Total average liabilities and equity

Net interest income

Net yield on interest-earning assets

641,028

54,720

1,808,392

42,749

1,851,141

Average
balance

31.12.09

Interest

Average
rate (%)

Average
balance

31.12.08

Interest

Average
rate (%)

Average
balance

31.12.07

Interest

Average
rate (%)

0.6

0.6

1.8

1.0

3.9

6.6

1.8

2.7

0.2

0.8

3.4

0.7

0.7

3.9

2.6

1.4

2.4

1.5

51,027

88,798

1,503

3,423

31,269

397,453

1,026

15,097

5,525

132,901

1,444

151,324

56,730

65,073

35,575

157,378

394,151

1,735

134,920

5,766

74,531

256

8,906

69

7,229

495

604

1,081

2,180

11,044

63

6,216

148

2,527

1,628,222

59,687

605,990

77,476

2,311,688

42,915

2,354,603

2.9

3.9

3.3

3.8

4.6

6.7

4.8

4.8

0.9

0.9

3.0

1.4

2.8

3.6

4.6

2.6

3.4

3.7

60,858

146,286

2,477

8,008

47,041

752,616

1,902

38,680

5,561

328

214,326

15,484

1,503

173,162

64,568

75,587

41,056

181,211

418,558

2,228

144,546

4,235

70,079

79

7,580

736

502

1,206

2,444

16,388

98

8,643

115

1,549

2,222,210

103,775

382,115

98,951

2,703,276

55,612

2,758,888

4.1

5.5

4.0

5.1

5.9

7.2

5.3

4.4

1.1

0.7

2.9

1.3

3.9

4.4

6.0

2.7

2.2

4.7

6,446

5,992

5,337

0.6

0.4

0.2

The percentage of total average interest-earning assets at-
tributable to foreign activities was 81% for 2009 (85% for 
2008 and 89% for 2007). The percentage of total average 
interest-bearing  liabilities  attributable  to  foreign  activities 
was 81% for 2009 (84% for 2008 and 86% for 2007). All 
assets  and  liabilities  are  translated  into  CHF  at  uniform 
month-end rates. Interest income and interest expense are 
translated at monthly average rates.

Average rates earned and paid on assets and liabilities can 
change from period to period based on the changes in inter-
est rates in general, but are also affected by changes in the 
currency mix included in the assets and liabilities. This is espe-
cially true for foreign assets and liabilities. Tax-exempt income 
is not recorded on a tax-equivalent basis. For all three years 
presented, tax-exempt income is considered to be insignifi-
cant and the impact from such income is therefore negligible.

406

Analysis of changes in interest income and expense

The following tables allocate, by categories of interest-earn-
ing assets and interest-bearing liabilities, the changes in in-
terest  income  and  expense  due  to  changes  in  volume  and 
interest  rates  for  the  year  ended  31  December  2009  com-
pared with the year ended 31 December 2008, and for the 
year ended 31 December 2008 compared with the year end-

ed 31 December 2007. Volume and rate variances have been 
calculated on movements in average balances and changes 
in interest rates. Changes due to a combination of volume 
and  rates  have  been  allocated  proportionally.  Refer  to  the 
appropriate section of Industry Guide 3 for a discussion of 
the treatment of impaired and non-performing loans.

CHF million

Interest income from interest-earning assets

Due from banks

Domestic

Foreign

Cash collateral on securities borrowed and reverse repurchase agreements

Domestic

Foreign

Trading portfolio assets

Domestic

Foreign taxable

Foreign non-taxable

Foreign total

Financial assets designated at fair value

Domestic

Foreign

Loans

Domestic

Foreign

Financial investments available-for-sale

Domestic

Foreign taxable

Foreign non-taxable

Foreign total

Interest income

Domestic

Foreign

Total interest income from interest-earning assets

Net interest on swaps

Total interest income

2009 compared with 2008

2008 compared with 2007

Increase / (decrease) 
due to changes in

Increase / (decrease) 
due to changes in

Average 
volume

Average 
rate

Net 
change

Average 
volume

Average 
rate

Net 
change

(222)

(152)

1

(1,086)

(221)

(1,238)

(254)

624

11

(1,409)

(243)

(785)

(821)

(9,215)

(143)

(964)

9

(494)

(485)

(9,713)

(18,928)

(14,798)

(10,470)

(25,268)

(140)

(152)

(292)

191

(10,337)

(4,242)

(14,579)

(14,921)

(278)

(98)

(376)

81

(367)

(1,791)

103

(176)

(16,712)

184

(10,615)

(4,340)

(14,955)

(14,840)

(1,688)

(16,528)

0

24

(334)

255

(27)

548

0

548

0

(112)

0

(88)

(974)

(3,613)

(1,308)

(3,358)

(24)

(478)

0

(478)

(51)

70

0

70

(2,836)

(38,497)

(41,333)

(885)

(42,218)

(1,544)

(19,155)

(20,699)

(1,292)

(19,342)

(20,634)

0

63

66

64

(40)

16

0

16

(28)

(28,871)

(28,899)

0

43

0

106

209

(1,119)

275

(1,055)

46

(53)

0

(53)

(595)

(14,696)

(15,291)

6

(37)

0

(37)

(623)

(43,567)

(44,190)

757

(43,433)

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Financial information 
Additional disclosure required under SEC regulations

Analysis of changes in interest income and expense (continued)

2009 compared with 2008

2008 compared with 2007

Increase / (decrease) 
due to changes in

Increase / (decrease) 
due to changes in

Average 
volume

Average 
rate

Net 
change

Average 
volume

Average 
rate

Net 
change

(428)

(487)

(856)

(2,479)

(1,284)

(2,966)

(403)

(3,162)

(168)

(826)

(631)

(5,462)

(13,118)

(18,113)

(658)

(7,656)

(189)

(5,012)

(24)

(12)

(71)

(28)

(201)

(5,083)

(52)

(2,142)

(2,249)

(4,391)

73

27

(675)

(575)

(470)

(110)

45

(535)

(2,506)

(6,411)

(397)

(83)

(630)

(1,110)

(8,917)

(38)

2

(36)

(2,242)

(1,740)

(3,982)

140

83

(135)

(793)

5

(710)

(2)

(5,863)

(3)

(961)

(86)

(74)

(159)

(319)

(952)

(22)

(578)

41

98

(1,772)

(19,962)

(21,734)

(1,732)

(19,205)

(20,937)

(3,504)

(39,167)

(42,671)

(1,339)

(29,531)

(30,870)

(571)

(1,423)

(245)

(5,470)

(70)

(715)

(7)

610

(155)

176

34

55

(974)

(4,585)

(876)

(23,583)

(72)

(6,578)

(10)

(351)

(241)

102

(125)

(264)

(4,392)

(5,344)

(13)

(1,849)

(35)

(2,427)

(8)

880

(859)

(12,359)

(13,218)

33

978

(2,198)

(41,890)

(44,088)

CHF million

Interest expense on interest-bearing liabilities

Due to banks

Domestic

Foreign

Cash collateral on securities lent and repurchase agreements

Domestic

Foreign

Trading portfolio liabilities

Domestic

Foreign

Financial liabilities designated at fair value

Domestic

Foreign

Due to customers

Domestic demand deposits

Domestic savings deposits

Domestic time deposits

Domestic total

Foreign

Short-term debt

Domestic

Foreign

Long-term debt

Domestic

Foreign

Interest expense

Domestic

Foreign

Total interest expense

408

Deposits

The following table analyzes average deposits and the aver-
age rates on each deposit category listed below for the years 
ended 31 December 2009, 2008 and 2007. The geographic 
allocation  is  based  on  the  location  of  the  office  or  branch 

where the deposit is made. Deposits by foreign depositors in 
domestic offices were CHF 55,171 million, CHF 45,082 mil-
lion and CHF 72,849  million at 31 December 2009, 31 De-
cember 2008 and 31 December 2007, respectively.

CHF million, except where indicated

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

Average
deposit

Average
rate (%)

Average
deposit

Average
rate (%)

Average
deposit

Average
rate (%)

Banks

Domestic offices

Demand deposits

Time deposits

Total domestic offices

Foreign offices
Interest-bearing deposits 1
Total due to banks

Customer accounts

Domestic offices

Demand deposits

Savings deposits

Time deposits

Total domestic offices

Foreign offices

Demand deposits
Time and savings deposits 1
Total foreign offices

Total due to customers

1 Mainly time deposits.

1,154

2,266

3,420

52,668

56,088

64,877

68,042

13,075

145,994

93,520

211,121

304,641

450,635

0.1

0.9

0.6

0.6

0.6

0.2

0.8

3.4

0.7

0.4

0.8

0.7

0.7

2,341

4,902

7,243

58,287

65,530

56,730

65,073

35,575

157,378

111,168

282,983

394,151

551,529

0.5

3.8

2.7

3.9

3.7

0.9

0.9

3.0

1.4

2.4

2.9

2.8

2.4

2,474

9,310

11,784

46,049

57,833

64,568

75,587

41,056

181,211

110,839

307,719

418,558

599,769

0.6

5.1

4.2

5.5

5.2

1.1

0.7

2.9

1.3

1.1

4.9

3.9

3.1

At 31 December 2009, the maturity of time deposits exceeding CHF 150,000, or an equivalent amount in other currencies, 
was as follows:

CHF million

Within 3 months

Over 3 up to 6 months

Over 6 up to 12 months

Over 1 up to 5 years 

Over 5 years

Total time deposits

Domestic

27,398

773

655

358

160

Foreign

82,800

9,315

3,242

827

80

29,344

96,264

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409

 
Financial information 
Additional disclosure required under SEC regulations

Short-term borrowings

The following table presents the period-end, average and maximum month-end outstanding amounts for short-term borrow-
ings, along with the average rates and period-end rates at and for the years ended 31 December 2009, 2008 and 2007.

CHF million, except where indicated

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

Money market papers issued

Due to banks

Repurchase agreements 1
31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.09

Period-end balance

Average balance

Maximum month-end balance

Average interest rate during the period (%)

Average interest rate at period-end (%)

51,579

86,875

125,812

2.6

0.9

111,619

136,655

170,503

4.6

2.9

152,256

146,774

167,637

6.0

6.1

18,560

56,495

74,044

0.6

0.6

61,155

74,295

87,233

3.5

2.3

84,826

136,811

149,311

195,613

175,233

272,443

5.1

4.5

0.7

0.3

140,039

404,512

591,005

3.5

1.4

487,455

739,138

848,401

5.0

4.9

1 For the purpose of this disclosure, balances are presented on a gross basis.

Contractual maturities of debt investments available-for-sale 1,2

CHF million, except percentages

31 December 2009

Swiss national government and agencies

Swiss local governments

US Treasury and agencies

Foreign governments and official institutions
Corporate debt securities 3
Mortgage-backed securities

Other debt instruments

Total fair value

CHF million, except percentages

31 December 2008

Swiss national government and agencies

Swiss local governments

US Treasury and agencies

Foreign governments and official institutions

Corporate debt securities

Mortgage-backed securities

Other debt instruments

Total fair value

CHF million, except percentages

31 December 2007

Swiss national government and agencies

Swiss local governments

US Treasury and agencies

Foreign governments and official institutions

Corporate debt securities

Mortgage-backed securities

Other debt instruments

Total fair value

Within 1 year

Over 1 up to 5 years Over 5  up to 10 years

Over 10 years

Amount

Yield (%)

Amount

Yield (%)

Amount

Yield (%)

Amount

Yield (%)

209

0

3,475

2,861

5,227

27

98

11,898

0.47

0.00

0.05

0.98

0.11

0.00

2.80

16

0

1,831

96

5,021

3

3

6,970

2.27

0.00

0.02

2.75

0.10

4.87

1.21

1.11

0.00

0.00

1.88

21.80

3.75

0.00

6

0

0

25

0

25

0

56

4.00

0.00

0.00

3.66

21.80

0.43

0.00

1

0

0

18

3

752

0

774

Within 1 year

Over 1 up to 5 years

Over 5 up to 10 years

Over 10 years

Amount

Yield (%)

Amount

Yield (%)

Amount

Yield (%)

Amount

Yield (%)

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.31

23.35

0.00

9.06

0

0

0

33

3

0

188

224

3.46

0.00

0.00

0.00

3.38

0.00

13.47

2

0

0

0

88

0

3

93

0

0

0

33

38

42

0

113

0.00

0.00

0.00

2.81

3.12

4.00

0.00

1

0

0

34

12

455

37

539

4.00

0.00

0.00

5.22

1.74

5.28

7.42

Within 1 year

Over 1 up to 5 years

Over 5 up to 10 years

Over 10 years

Amount

Yield (%)

Amount

Yield (%)

Amount

Yield (%)

Amount

Yield (%)

0

0

0

50

50

0

14

114

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.87

5.66

0.00

4.20

2.02

0.00

0.00

2.54

4.11

0.00

12.41

2

0

0

2

44

0

216

264

0.00

0.00

0.00

4.48

0.00

4.48

0.00

0

0

0

75

0

3

0

78

1

0

0

0

0

561

0

562

4.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

5.28

0.00

1 Money market papers of CHF 60,317 million (2008: CHF 2,165 million) and debt instruments without fixed maturities are not disclosed in this table. Refer to Note 13.    2 Average yields are calculated 
on an amortized cost basis.    3 Absolute Return Bonds (ARBs) had been purchased below par and therefore generated a yield of 21.8% in maturities above 5 years.

410

Due from banks and loans (gross)

The Group’s lending portfolio is widely diversified across in-
dustry  sectors  with  no  significant  concentrations  of  credit 
risk. CHF 152.8 billion (42.4% of the total) consists of loans 
to thousands of private households, predominantly in Swit-
zerland, and mostly secured by mortgages, financial collat-
eral or other assets. Exposure to Banks and Financial institu-
tions amounted to CHF 132.6 billion (36.8% of the total). 
This includes cash posted as collateral by UBS against nega-
tive  replacement  values  on  derivatives  or  other  positions, 

which, from a risk perspective, is not considered lending but 
is a key component of the measurement of counterparty risk 
taken in connection with the underlying products. Exposure 
to Banks includes money market deposits with highly rated 
institutions.  Excluding  Banks  and  Financial  institutions,  the 
largest industry sector exposure as of December 2009 is CHF 
16.3 billion (4.5% of the total) to Public authorities. For fur-
ther discussion of the loan portfolio, refer to credit risk in the 
“Risk and treasury management” section.

CHF million

Domestic
Banks 1
Construction

Financial institutions

Hotels and restaurants

Manufacturing

Private households

Public authorities

Real estate and rentals

Retail and wholesale
Services 2
Other 3
Total domestic

Foreign
Banks 1
Chemicals

Construction

Electricity, gas and water supply

Financial institutions

Manufacturing

Mining

Private households

Public authorities

Real estate and rentals

Retail and wholesale

Services

Transport, storage and communication
Other 4
Total foreign

Total gross

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.06

31.12.05

819

1,381

7,458

1,882

3,374

119,432

3,785

11,745

4,299

5,702

3,520

1,734

1,377

8,113

1,811

4,020

119,285

4,042

12,097

4,818

6,172

3,329

1,237

1,393

5,525

1,824

3,887

121,536

4,734

11,691

5,138

6,170

3,300

561

1,535

5,542

1,957

3,643

117,852

4,972

11,356

4,569

6,758

4,345

1,407

1,816

4,213

2,044

4,134

111,549

5,494

11,792

4,808

8,088

3,119

163,397

166,798

166,435

163,090

158,464

46,452

2,403

741

1,024

77,838

3,606

3,177

33,392

12,472

1,305

1,772

8,629

3,085

797

196,693

360,090

63,708

2,816

448

2,995

100,779

5,026

4,394

33,242

11,094

4,240

2,515

9,816

3,894

1,073

246,040

412,838

60,333

635

624

1,888

96,370

4,678

4,509

42,828

4,172

5,056

2,239

9,294

1,752

1,105

50,124

1,321

522

951

67,676

3,006

3,177

35,031

2,175

4,360

1,815

16,436

1,528

564

32,287

2,716

295

1,637

62,344

3,784

3,431

38,283

1,686

2,707

1,257

5,593

1,419

272

235,483

401,918

188,686

351,776

157,711

316,175

1 Includes Due from banks and Loans from Industrial Holdings of CHF 27 million at 31 December 2007, CHF 93 million at 31 December 2006, CHF 728 million at 31 December 2005.    2 Includes com-
munication, health and social work, education and other social and personal service activities.    3 Includes chemicals, food and beverages, transportation, storage, mining, electricity, gas and water 
supply.    4 Includes food and beverages, hotels and restaurants.

The table above also includes loans designated at fair value.

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Financial information 
Additional disclosure required under SEC regulations

Due from banks and loans (gross) (continued)

The following table analyzes the Group’s mortgage portfolio 
by geographic origin of the client and type of mortgage at 
31 December 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005. Mortgag-

es are included in the industry categories mentioned on the 
 previous page.

CHF million

Mortgages

Domestic

Foreign

Total gross mortgages

Mortgages

Residential

Commercial

Total gross mortgages

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.06

31.12.05

136,029

4,972

141,001

121,031

19,970

141,001

134,700

8,381

143,081

121,811

21,270

143,081

135,341

8,152

143,493

122,435

21,058

143,493

134,468

10,069

144,537

124,548

19,989

144,537

130,880

15,619

146,499

127,990

18,509

146,499

Due from banks and loan maturities (gross) 1

CHF million

Domestic

Banks

Mortgages

Other loans

Total domestic

Foreign

Banks

Mortgages

Other loans

Total foreign

Total gross

Within 1 year

Over 1 up  
to 5 years

Over 5 years

Total

728

53,436

20,405

74,569

45,444

2,845

93,965

142,254

216,823

90

58,961

4,832

63,883

212

1,611

12,491

14,314

78,197

0

23,632

1,314

24,946

132

516

35,467

36,115

61,061

818

136,029

26,551

163,398

45,788

4,972
141,923 2
192,683

356,081

1 Loans designated at fair value are not included.    2 On 31 December 2009, includes reclassified US student loan auction rate securities (ARS) of CHF 7.8 billion (CHF 8.4 billion on 31 December 2008), 
other reclassified securities of CHF 11.5 billion (CHF 13.4 billion on 31 December 2008) and CHF 8.0 billion ARS acquired from clients (CHF 4.5 billion on 31 December 2008).

At 31 December 2009, the total amount of Due from banks and Loans due after one year granted at fixed and floating rates  
is as follows:

CHF million

Fixed-rate loans

Adjustable or floating-rate loans

Total

1 to 5 years

Over 5 years

75,064

3,132

78,196

27,623

33,439

61,062

Total

102,687

36,571

139,258

412

Impaired and non-performing loans

A loan (included in Due from banks or Loans) is classified as 
non-performing: 1) when the payment of interest, principal 
or fees is overdue by more than 90 days and there is no firm 
evidence that it will be made good by later payments or the 

liquidation  of  collateral;  2)  when  insolvency  proceedings 
have commenced; or 3) when obligations have been restruc-
tured on concessionary terms.

CHF million

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.06

31.12.05

Gross interest income that would have been recorded on non-performing loans:

Domestic

Foreign

Interest income included in net profit for non-performing loans:

Domestic

Foreign

13

9

41

9

16

3

32

4

39

4

40

2

50

10

56

8

81

8

72

9

The table below provides an analysis of the Group’s non-performing loans. For further information see credit risk in the “Risk 
and treasury management” section.

CHF million

Non-performing loans:

Domestic

Foreign

Total non-performing loans

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.06

31.12.05

1,462

3,940

5,402

1,431

3,272

4,703

1,349

132

1,481

1,744

174

1,918

2,106

257

2,363

UBS  does  not,  as  a  matter  of  policy,  typically  restructure 
loans  to  accrue  interest  at  rates  different  from  the  original 
contractual terms or reduce the principal amount of loans. 
For  more  information  see  the  “Credit  risk”  section  of  this 
report.  Instead,  specific  loan  allowances  are  established  as 
necessary.  Unrecognized  interest  related  to  restructured 
loans was not material to the results of operations in 2009, 
2008, 2007, 2006 or 2005.

In  addition  to  the  non-performing  loans  shown  above, 
the  Group  has  CHF  1,463  million,  CHF  4,442  million,  CHF 
911 million, CHF 710 million and CHF 1,071 million in “oth-
er impaired loans” for the years ended 31 December 2009, 

2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005, respectively.

Other impaired loans are loans where the Group’s credit 
officers have expressed doubts as to the ability of the bor-
rowers to repay the loans. For the years ended 31 Decem-
ber 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005, they are loans not 
considered  “non-performing”  in  accordance  with  Swiss 
regulatory guidelines. As of 31 December 2009, 31 Decem-
ber 2008, 31 December 2007, 31 December 2006 and 31 
December  2005,  specific  allowances  of  CHF  410  million, 
CHF  941  million,  CHF  124  million,  CHF  106  million,  CHF 
200  million,  respectively,  had  been  established  against 
these loans

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Financial information 
Additional disclosure required under SEC regulations

Cross-border outstandings

Cross-border outstandings consist of general banking prod-
ucts  such  as  loans  and  deposits  with  third  parties,  credit 
equivalents of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives and securi-
ties financing, and the market value of the inventory of debt 
securities. Outstandings are monitored and reported on an 
ongoing basis by the credit risk control organization with a 
dedicated country risk information system. With the excep-
tion of the 32 most developed economies, these exposures 
are  rigorously  limited.  The  following  analysis  excludes  Due 
from banks and Loans from Industrial Holdings.

Claims that are secured by third-party guarantees are re-
corded  against  the  guarantor’s  country  of  domicile.  Out-
standings that are secured by collateral are recorded against 

the country where the asset could be liquidated. This follows 
the  “Guidelines  for  the  Management  of  Country  Risk”, 
which are applicable to all banks that are supervised by the 
Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).

The following tables list those countries for which cross-
border  outstandings  exceeded  0.75%  of  total  assets  at  
31 December 2009, 2008 and 2007. At 31 December 2009, 
there  were  no  outstandings  that  exceeded  0.75%  of  total 
assets in any country currently facing liquidity problems that 
the Group expects would materially affect the country’s abil-
ity to service its obligations.

For more information on country exposure, see credit risk 

in the “Risk and treasury management” section.

Banks

Private sector

Public sector

Total % of total assets

31.12.09

14,915

14,612

625

9,672

4,700

4,425

1,694

3,950

Banks

13,869

2,093

19,098

11,469

9,599

2,883

Banks

13,110

1,761

21,384

6,624

173

10,620

52,305

9,114

4,280

5,672

9,293

7,023

2,296

8,509

62,224

12,648

22,888

10,848

7,310

2,940

8,729

20

31.12.08

129,444

36,374

27,793

26,192

21,303

14,388

12,719

12,479

9.7

2.7

2.1

2.0

1.6

1.1

0.9

0.9

Private sector

Public sector

Total % of total assets

71,584

13,159

10,418

7,048

8,608

17,586

14,234

38,922

6,010

6,807

2,625

0

31.12.07

99,687

54,174

35,526

25,324

20,832

20,469

4.9

2.7

1.8

1.3

1.0

1.0

Private sector

Public sector

Total % of total assets

192,049

12,883

12,354

14,647

27,715

7,075

16,545

36,717

2,249

8,552

74

4,605

221,704

51,361

35,988

29,823

27,963

22,300

9.8

2.3

1.6

1.3

1.2

1.0

CHF million

United States

Germany

Japan

France

United Kingdom

Netherlands

Italy

Luxembourg

CHF million

United States

Japan

Germany

France

United Kingdom

Luxembourg

CHF million

United States

Japan

Germany

United Kingdom

Cayman Islands

France

414

Summary of movements in allowances and provisions for credit losses

The following table provides an analysis of movements in al-
lowances and provisions for credit losses. 

UBS writes off loans against allowances only on final set-
tlement of bankruptcy proceedings, the sale of the underly-

ing assets and / or in case of debt forgiveness. Under Swiss 
law, a creditor can continue to collect from a debtor who has 
emerged from bankruptcy, unless the debt has been forgiv-
en through a formal agreement.

CHF million
Balance at beginning of year
Domestic
Write-offs
Banks
Construction
Financial institutions
Hotels and restaurants
Manufacturing 1
Private households
Public authorities
Real estate and rentals
Retail and wholesale
Services 2
Other 3
Total domestic write-offs
Foreign
Write-offs
Banks
Chemicals
Construction
Electricity, gas and water supply
Financial institutions
Manufacturing 4
Mining
Private households
Public authorities
Real estate and rentals
Retail and wholesale
Services
Transport, storage and communication
Other 5
Total foreign write-offs
Total write-offs
Recoveries
Domestic
Foreign
Total recoveries
Net write-offs
Increase / (decrease) in credit loss allowance and provision
Collective loan loss provisions
Other adjustments
Balance at end of year
Net foreign exchange
Other adjustments
Total adjustments

31.12.09
3,070

31.12.08
1,164

31.12.07
1,332

31.12.06
1,776

31.12.05
2,802

0
(16)
(2)
(2)
(21)
(61)
0
(19)
(41)
(3)
(12)
(177)

(8)
(111)
(10)
0
(685)
(138)
(5)
(40)
(25)
(196)
(121)
(413)
(37)
(80)
(1,869)
(2,046)

44
8
52
(1,994)
1,806
26
(88)
2,820
(37)
(51) 6
(88)

0
(6)
(37)
(3)
(31)
(112)
0
(10)
(4)
(7)
0
(210)

(13)
(1)
0
0
(623)
(6)
0
(5)
(2)
0
0
0
(7)
(1)
(658)
(868)

43
1
44
(824)
3,007
(11)
(266)
3,070
(43)
(223) 6
(266)

0
(9)
(8)
(7)
(45)
(68)
(1)
(27)
(62)
(20)
(21)
(268)

(1)
0
0
0
(15)
(21)
0
(14)
(2)
0
0
0
0
0
(53)
(321)

52
3
55
(266)
242
(4)
(140)
1,164
(9)
(131)
(140)

0
(14)
(11)
(16)
(40)
(89)
0
(44)
(20)
(47)
(2)
(283)

(3)
0
0
0
0
(11)
(1)
(7)
(58)
0
0
0
0
0
(80)
(363)

51
11
62
(301)
(108)
(48)
13
1,332
10
3
13

0
(16)
(14)
(26)
(39)
(131)
0
(56)
(25)
(35)
(4)
(346)

(164)
0
0
0
(50)
(8)
(23)
(21)
(22)
(3)
(9)
0
0
(5)
(305)
(651)

53
10
63
(588)
(298)
(76)
(64)
1,776
50
(114)
(64)

1 Until 2008 this position includes chemicals, food and beverages.    2 Includes communication, health and social work, education and other social and personal service activities and until 2008 trans-
portation.    3 Includes mining and electricity, gas and water supply and in 2009 additionally chemicals, food and beverages, transportation.    4 Until 2008 this position includes food and beverages.  
5 Includes hotels and restaurants and in 2009 additionally food and beverages.    6 In 2009 the other adjustments was due to the sale of UBS Pactual. In 2008 a loan was forgiven in exchange for the 
collateral.

415

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Financial information 
Additional disclosure required under SEC regulations

Allocation of the allowances and provisions for credit losses

The following table provides an analysis of the allocation of 
the allowances and provisions for credit loss by industry sec-
tor  and  geographic  location  at  31  December  2009,  2008, 

2007, 2006 and 2005. For a description of procedures with 
respect  to  allowances  and  provisions  for  credit  losses,  see 
credit risk in the “Risk and treasury management” section.

CHF million

Domestic

Banks

Construction

Financial institutions

Hotels and restaurants
Manufacturing 1
Private households

Public authorities

Real estate and rentals

Retail and wholesale
Services 2
Other 3
Total domestic

Foreign
Banks 4
Chemicals

Construction

Electricity, gas and water supply

Financial institutions
Manufacturing 5
Mining

Private households

Public authorities

Real estate and rentals

Retail and wholesale

Services

Transport, storage and communication
Other 6
Total foreign
Collective loan loss provisions 7
Total allowances and provisions for credit losses 8

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.06

31.12.05

1

27

126

6

104

119

20

21

221

99

43

787

31

1,037

1

0

414

83

0

171

87

36

17

100

7

0

1,984

49

2,820

16

39

18

8

71

121

1

50

262

78

92

756

6

960

8

2

542

25

4

233

19

208

80

19

185

0

2,291

23

3,070

10

43

52

10

113

190

1

57

247

112

76

911

18

1

1

3

112

20

0

15

20

8

4

4

1

12

219

34

1,164

10

72

61

27

155

187

3

99

311

113

107

10

91

75

49

174

262

8

168

330

196

61

1,145

1,424

20

4

2

8

9

37

0

26

21

4

4

7

1

6

35

5

2

16

8

57

1

30

72

3

1

27

0

8

149

38

1,332

265

86

1,775

1  Until  2008  this  position  includes  chemicals,  food  and  beverages.    2  Includes  communication,  health  and  social  work,  education  and  other  social  and  personal  service  activities  and  until  2008 
 transportation.    3 Includes mining, electricity, gas and water supply and in 2009 additionally chemicals, food and beverages, transportation.    4 Counterparty allowances and provisions only.    5 Until 
2008 this position includes food and beverages.    6 Includes hotels and restaurants and in 2009 additionally food and beverages.    7 The 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005 amounts include CHF 0 
million, CHF 0 million, CHF 0 million, CHF 0 million and CHF 48 million, respectively, of country provisions.    8 The 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005 amounts include CHF 90 million, CHF 31 million, 
CHF 63  million, CHF 76 million, CHF 109 million, respectively, of provisions for unused commitments and contingent liabilities.

416

Due from banks and loans by industry sector (gross)

The following table presents the percentage of loans in each 
industry sector and geographic location to total loans. This 
table  can  be  read  in  conjunction  with  the  preceding  table 

showing  the  breakdown  of  the  allowances  and  provisions 
for  credit  losses  by  industry  sectors  to  evaluate  the  credit 
risks in each of the categories.

In %

Domestic
Banks 1
Construction

Financial institutions

Hotels and restaurants

Manufacturing

Private households

Public authorities

Real estate and rentals

Retail and wholesale
Services 2
Other 3
Total domestic

Foreign
Banks 1
Chemicals

Construction

Electricity, gas and water supply

Financial institutions

Manufacturing

Mining

Private households

Public authorities

Real estate and rentals

Retail and wholesale

Services

Transport, storage and communication
Other 4
Total foreign

Total gross

31.12.09

31.12.08

31.12.07

31.12.06

31.12.05

0.2

0.4

2.1

0.5

0.9

33.2

1.0

3.3

1.2

1.6

1.0

45.4

12.9

0.7

0.2

0.3

21.6

1.0

0.9

9.3

3.4

0.4

0.5

2.4

0.8

0.2

0.4

0.3

2.0

0.4

1.0

28.9

1.0

2.9

1.2

1.5

0.8

40.4

15.4

0.7

0.1

0.7

24.4

1.2

1.1

8.1

2.7

1.0

0.6

2.4

0.9

0.3

0.3

0.3

1.4

0.5

1.0

30.2

1.2

2.9

1.3

1.5

0.8

41.4

15.0

0.2

0.2

0.5

24.0

1.2

1.1

10.7

1.0

1.3

0.6

2.3

0.4

0.1

0.2

0.4

1.6

0.6

1.0

33.5

1.4

3.2

1.3

1.9

1.3

46.4

14.2

0.4

0.1

0.3

19.2

0.9

0.9

10.0

0.6

1.2

0.5

4.7

0.4

0.2

0.4

0.6

1.3

0.6

1.3

35.3

1.7

3.7

1.5

2.6

1.1

50.1

10.2

0.9

0.1

0.5

19.7

1.2

1.1

12.1

0.5

0.9

0.4

1.8

0.4

0.1

54.6

100.0

59.6

100.0

58.6

100.0

53.6

100.0

49.9

100.0

1 Includes Due from banks and Loans from Industrial Holdings of CHF 27 million at 31 December 2007, CHF 93 million at 31 December 2006, and CHF 728 million at 31 December 2005.    2 Includes 
communication, health and social work, education and other social and personal service activities.    3 Includes chemicals, food and beverages, transportation, storage, mining, electricity, gas and water 
supply.    4 Includes food and beverages, hotels and restaurants.

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417

 
Financial information 
Additional disclosure required under SEC regulations

Loss history statistics

The following is a summary of the Group’s loan loss history (relating to Due from banks and Loans). The table below does 
not include loans designated at fair value.

CHF million, except where indicated
Gross loans 1
Impaired loans

Non-performing loans
Allowances and provisions for credit losses 2
Net write-offs

Credit loss (expense) / recovery

Ratios

Impaired loans as a percentage of gross loans

Non-performing loans as a percentage of gross loans

Allowances and provisions for credit losses as a percentage of:

Gross loans

Impaired loans

Non-performing loans

Allocated allowances as a percentage of impaired loans 3
Allocated allowances as a percentage of non-performing loans 4
Net write-offs as a percentage of:

Gross loans

Average loans outstanding during the period

Allowances and provisions for credit losses

Allowance and provisions for credit losses  
as a multiple of net write-offs

31.12.09

356,081

6,865

5,402

2,820

1,994

(1,832)

31.12.08

407,685

9,145

4,703

3,070

824

(2,996)

31.12.07

397,802

2,392

1,481

1,164

266

(238)

31.12.06

349,524

2,628

1,918

1,332

301

156

1.9

1.5

0.8

41.1

52.2

38.3

41.6

0.6

0.5

70.7

1.41

2.2

1.2

0.8

33.6

65.3

31.8

41.8

0.2

0.2

26.8

3.73

0.6

0.4

0.3

48.7

78.6

41.7

58.9

0.1

0.0

22.9

4.38

0.8

0.5

0.4

50.7

69.4

46.3

58.0

0.1

0.1

22.6

4.43

31.12.05

315,210

3,434

2,363

1,776

588

375

1.1

0.7

0.6

51.7

75.2

46.4

59.0

0.2

0.1

33.1

3.02

1 Includes Due from banks and Loans from Industrial Holdings in the amount of CHF 27 million for 2007, CHF 93 million for 2006 and CHF 728 million for 2005.    2 Includes collective loan loss provi-
sions.    3 Allowances relating to impaired loans only.    4 Allowances relating to non-performing loans only.

418

Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements | This report contains statements that constitute “forward-looking statements”, including but not limited 
to management’s outlook for UBS’s financial performance and statements relating to the anticipated effect of transactions and strategic initiatives on UBS’s business and future 
development. While these forward-looking statements represent UBS’s judgments and expectations concerning the matters described, a number of risks, uncertainties and other 
important factors could cause actual developments and results to differ materially from UBS’s expectations. These factors include, but are not limited to: (1) future develop-
ments in the markets in which UBS operates or to which it is exposed, including movements in securities markets, credit spreads, currency exchange rates and interest rates; (2) 
the effect of the current economic environment or other developments on the financial position or creditworthiness of UBS’s customers and counterparties; (3) changes in the 
availability of capital and funding, including any changes in UBS’s credit spreads and ratings; (4) the consequences of the recent Swiss court decision relating to the provision of 
certain UBS client data to the US Internal Revenue Service, including possible effects on UBS’s 2009 settlements with US authorities and on its businesses; (5) the outcome and 
possible consequences of pending or future actions or inquiries concerning UBS’s cross-border banking business by tax or regulatory authorities in various other jurisdictions; 
(6) the degree to which UBS is successful in effecting organizational changes and implementing strategic plans, and whether those changes and plans will have the effects 
intended; (7) UBS’s ability to retain and attract the employees that are necessary to generate revenues and to manage, support and control its businesses; (8) possible political, 
legal and regulatory developments, including the effect of more stringent capital and liquidity requirements, constraints on remuneration and the imposition of additional legal or 
regulatory constraints on UBS’s activities; (9) changes in accounting standards or policies, and accounting determinations affecting the recognition of gain or loss, the valuation 
of goodwill and other matters; (10) limitations on the effectiveness of UBS’s internal processes for risk management, risk control, measurement and modeling, and of financial 
models generally; (11) changes in the size, capabilities and effectiveness of UBS’s competitors; (12) the occurrence of operational failures, such as fraud, unauthorized trading and 
systems failures, either within UBS or within a counterparty; and (13) technological developments. In addition, actual results could depend on other factors that we have previ-
ously indicated could adversely affect our business and financial performance which are contained in our past and future filings and reports, including those filed with the SEC. 
More detailed information about those factors is set forth in documents furnished by UBS and filings made by UBS with the SEC, including UBS’s Annual Report on Form 20-F 
for the year ended 31 December 2009. UBS is not under any obligation to (and expressly disclaims any obligation to) update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as 
a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Rounding | Numbers presented throughout this report may not add up precisely to the totals provided in the tables and text. Percentages and percent changes are calculated based 
on rounded figures displayed in the tables and text and may not precisely reflect the percentages and percent changes that would be derived based on figures that are not rounded.

Imprint | Publisher: UBS AG, P.O. Box, CH-8098 Zurich, Switzerland; P.O. Box, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland; www.ubs.com | Language: English / German | SAP-No. 80531E-1001

© UBS 2010. The key symbol and UBS are among the registered and unregistered trademarks of UBS. All rights reserved.