Swiss mess grows

The NY Post reports that UBS’s rogue trading scandal in London is likely to create a tsunami on US shores.

The Swiss mess allegedly sparked by rogue trader Kweku Adoboli has rung up $2.3 billion at last count in losses at one of Europe’s biggest banks and is likely to result in the cream of the crop at the bank jumping ship as it sorts through its problems.

Most of the firm’s bankers are facing the prospect of bonuses being slashed or eliminated, sources say. About 36 percent of the global firm’s roughly 66,000 employees, or 23,760, are located within the US. One source described morale as low at the firm, which has shown more adeptness for stepping on Wall Street land mines than for effectively managing risk.

The Swiss giant already has been laying off thousands of workers, with the majority of those cuts coming from its investment bank. Staffers could be poached by rivals, sources said. Although much of UBS’s talent left during the subprime mortgage crisis, many have remained, hoping their loyalty would be rewarded.


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