UBS Virtual Museum

2000-2019

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2000

The young UBS is listed on the New York Stock Exchange

The integration costs arising from the merger, and the setback due to the collapse of the large Long-Term Capital Management hedge fund, resulted in a disappointing first financial year. However, by the end of 1999 the wind was already changing to a more positive direction, and UBS was able to look to the future with optimism. In 2000, UBS announced stable financial results for the first time. And on 16 May 2000, UBS had its global registered shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange, which paved the way, two months later, for the merger with the long-established US asset management company PaineWebber Group Inc.

  • Commemorative medal, Tuesday 16 May 2000
  • The reverse of the commemorative medal shows the New York Stock Exchange building at 11 Wall St., New York, USA
  • Marcel Ospel, right, CEO of UBS AG, gets a congratulatory handshake from New York Stock Exchange Chairman Richard Grasso as shares of the bank begin trading on exchange Tuesday May 16, 2000

Commemorative medal

Tuesday 16 May 2000 was a historic day for Switzerland’s leading bank, because the listing brought the firm closer to its strategic vision of being a global financial services provider.

Commemorative medal

The reverse of the commemorative medal shows the New York Stock Exchange building at 11 Wall St., New York, USA.

UBS shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange

When UBS listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange in May 2000, it emphasized that its aim was to accelerate the expansion of its business in the USA....

Photo: Marcel Ospel, right, CEO of UBS AG, gets a congratulatory handshake from New York Stock Exchange Chairman Richard Grasso as shares of the bank begin trading on exchange Tuesday May 16, 2000.

Keystone, photographer Richard Drew

2000

UBS takes over US asset manager PaineWebber

On 12 July 2000, UBS and the US’s fourth-largest asset management company, PaineWebber Group Inc., announced that they would be merging at the end of November. Because the two firms operated in complementary areas of business, the alliance was equally attractive to both parties. Firstly, taking over PaineWebber would open the door to the US investment market for UBS, and, secondly, it made UBS the world’s leading asset manager: in 1999 UBS was managing customer assets worth CHF 1,744 billion, while the assets managed by the American firm totaled CHF 794 billion. In return for their shares, Paine Webber shareholders could choose between cash and UBS shares, which were reissued for this deal and were quoted on the Swiss Stock Exchange on 3 November 2000. Following its integration in 2003, the UBS PaineWebber division was renamed UBS Wealth Management USA.

  • PaineWebber building entrance
  • UBS main office in New York at 1285 Avenue Of The Americas
  • Marcel Ospel (left) with Donald B. Marron (right), CEO of PaineWebber

Opening the door to the US investment market

At the time of the merger, PaineWebber had 385 branches with more than 20,000 employees and 8500 financial advisors. That made PaineWebber the fourth-largest securities trader and asset manager in the US.

A powerhouse with global potential

PaineWebber was very successful with its Internet investment portal, Edge, which had more than 208,300 subscribers and was used to manage deposits totaling over USD 165 billion....

firm was also regarded as being particularly strong on customer care, equity, investment banking and transaction services. For that reason, PaineWebber had been seen in the international financial world for some time as a good candidate for a takeover. UBS acquired Paine Webber for USD 10.8 billion.

Still at the same address as PaineWebber, today’s UBS main office in New York at 1285 Avenue Of The Americas.

A distinctive growth strategy

Unlike its rivals, who were increasing the number of their customer advisers in order to serve a broader investing public, UBS Paine Webber focused on gaining a foothold in the upper market segments....

That area was seeing the highest growth rates in the US and worldwide. Taking over PaineWebber gave UBS a strong on-shore presence. At the same time, the proportion of foreign assets in the balance sheet total of UBS as a Swiss universal bank increased.

Photo: Marcel Ospel (l.) with Donald B. Marron, CEO of PaineWebber.

Keystone, photographer Stan Honda

2003

Alinghi team wins the 31st America’s Cup with UBS sponsorship

Sunday 2 March 2003 saw an absolutely sensational event: not only did a sailing team from the Old Continent bring the America’s Cup to Europe for the first time in the 162-year history of the oldest trophy in international sport. Even more remarkably, the winning team came from the landlocked nation of Switzerland and achieved victory the first time it entered the race. This was the Alinghi team, founded in 1994 by Geneva-based entrepreneur, Ernesto Bertarelli. In 2001, UBS signed an exclusive sponsorship deal with Alinghi, and just two years later the Alinghi–UBS partnership entered the history books. In 2007, it repeated its success in Valencia, Spain, claiming the 32nd America’s Cup as its own and bringing the coveted ”Auld Mug” home.

  • America's Cup, Alinghi boat as it raced to victory
  • Postage stamp with Alinghi

A stroke of luck for a leading bank

With the historic victory in 2003, Alinghi-mania reached a peak all around the world....

The partnership between Alinghi and UBS became a textbook example of an effective sponsorship strategy: 2.9 billion people watching on TV saw the UBS logo on the sails of the Alinghi boat as it raced to victory.

Photo: Daniel Forster

Two logos unite Switzerland as a sailing nation

In the mid-2000s, the streets of Switzerland were dominated by baseball caps, rucksacks, lanyards and T-shirts bearing the logos of Alinghi and UBS.

Keystone, photographer Laurent Gillieron

Brand visibility redefined

In Switzerland, there was a wave of enthusiasm for the bank, and its logo on the Alinghi sails was seen again and again in newspapers and magazines and on TV broadcasts around the world....

By sponsoring Alinghi, UBS was able to add emotional appeal to its then core values of teamwork, motivation and commitment. This was emphasized in the slogan for its first global publicity campaign: You and us.

2007

UBS gets sucked into the global financial crisis

In the years following the takeover of PaineWebber, UBS rapidly strengthened its position on the world's biggest financial market and in emerging economies. In 2006, the Group achieved the best results in its history, but the boom would come to an abrupt end in the summer of 2007. After nine successful years, in October 2007 the firm suffered a pre-tax loss of CHF 726 million. The trigger was a drastic real estate crisis in the US, resulting in a deteriorating situation on the sub-prime mortgage market. UBS’s structured investment products, which were based on this kind of real estate loan, were particularly badly hit. In total, UBS had to write off about CHF 50 billion – its entire equity. Trading difficulties were also increasing at other financial institutions. On 15 September 2008, the US investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for insolvency. The collapse of this long-established bank triggered a domino effect.

  • Houses for sale
  • Our Times December 2008 - The staff magazine number 55

The real estate crisis in the US

The US real estate market was booming in the early 2000s, thanks to historically low interest rates and slack lending rules....

But in 2007 the real estate bubble burst because more and more homeowners could no longer service their mortgage payments and at the same time property prices started to slide.

Keystone, photographer Charlie Riedel

From crisis in the mortgage market to general financial crisis

The weakness in the mortgage market spread to the whole economy. Financial and insurance institutions worldwide were reporting losses because they had invested in securities that were based on sub-prime mortgages....

In the spring, the US Federal Reserve facilitated the takeover of the big US investment bank Bear Stearns by JP Morgan and so calmed the markets – temporarily. A few weeks later, the insurance giant AIG and the two big US mortgage providers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had to be nationalized in order to stabilize the real estate market.

On 15 September, the US investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for insolvency. The uncertainty in the financial sector brought the market for inter-bank loans practically to a standstill. Many countries launched extensive support programs to prop up the financial sector.

Our Times December 2008 – The staff magazine number 55, photo: Keystone

2008

Saving UBS

On 16 October 2008, UBS reached an agreement with the Swiss government and the Swiss National Bank that enabled it significantly to reduce the risks on its balance sheet. As part of the solution, a fund would be set up by the Swiss National Bank to buy up illiquid securities held by UBS to the value of up to USD 60 billion, to reduce the pressure on UBS’s balance sheet. During 2007 and 2008, UBS succeeded in raising, in a number of stages, capital amounting to CHF 42.5 billion and so was able to keep its core capital ratio at between 10% and 12%. The main cause of the huge losses was the involvement by the Investment Bank, spurred on by ambitious growth targets, in US mortgage-backed securities and asset-backed securities.

  • UBS headquarter, Bahnhofstrasse 45 in Zurich
  • Annual Report 2008
  • Our Times March 2008 - The staff magazine number 52

A plan of action...

On 12 August 2008, UBS presented a plan of action (known as a remediation plan) to the Federal Banking Commission. In the light of the weaknesses that had been identified, the plan included various measures relating to strategy, corporate governance, risk management and control, financing, balance-sheet management, and remuneration.

... with a restructured business model ...

The new structure envisaged three business divisions that were managed as independent entities and had both enhanced scope for operational decision-making and increased accountability, with the goal of creating sustainable added value....

The Investment Bank and the US private client business were repositioned, while other business activities, such as the commodities business, real estate and securitization, and proprietary trading, were scaled back or given up altogether.

Link Annual Reports of UBS

… and a new leadership structure

During the summer, UBS overhauled its leadership structure and corporate governance, and there were a number of changes of personnel on the Group Executive Board....

The fact that shareholders were invited to no fewer than four General Meetings during the 2008 financial year shows just what an intense time this was for UBS. A record 6,454 shareholders took part in the first Extraordinary General Meeting, which was held in February and lasted over seven hours.

Our Times March 2008 – The staff magazine number 52, photographer Martin Rütschi

2011

UBS launches the UBS Kids Cup, the most successful program for young talent in Swiss sport

In the 2022 season, the Swiss stars of athletics shone more brightly at international championships than ever before. UBS had laid the foundations for their unprecedented success on the medal table eleven years earlier, when, together with Swiss Athletics and the organizers of Weltklasse Zürich, it inaugurated the UBS Kids Cup, a program to encourage people all over Switzerland to get more exercise. Since the launch of this series of events, in which boys and girls compete in the disciplines of 60 m sprint, long jump and ball throwing, around 1.5 million children and young people have taken part. Many of them were spotted there as promising new talents and were supported from then on until they joined the ranks of potential medal winners. Click here to find out more about the program for young talent.

  • UBS Kids Cup - running competition
  • UBS Kids Cup - running competition
  • UBS Kids Cup - running competition

“UBS Kids Cup generation” celebrates its successes

Almost all the top Swiss athletes who won medals at the World Championships in the second half of the 2010’s had taken part at some time in the UBS Kids Cup series of events for young talent.

UBS Kids Cup, photographer Valeriano Di Domenico

Discovering talent and promoting sport for all

In order to get children and young people interested in sport in a fun way and at the same time discover new talent for the Swiss athletics squad, every year more than 1,000 UBS Kids Cup events are held all over the country, either as part of school sport or as competitions between clubs....

Many UBS employees are also involved at all the events as helpers.

UBS Kids Cup, photographer Valeriano Di Domenico

Just like the grown-ups

The children and young people who have got through the cantonal qualifying rounds are given the chance, two days after the “Weltklasse Zürich” athletics meeting, to test themselves in the Letzigrund stadium, just like their famous role models.

UBS Kids Cup, photographer Valeriano Di Domenico

2011

2011 UBS embarks on Formula One sponsorship

Following its recovery after the financial crisis and the resulting far-reaching culture change, UBS wanted to reposition itself with sponsorship deals that demonstrated its renewed confidence. During the 2010 Grand Prix season, UBS decided to make a careful start by becoming a global sponsor for Formula One motor racing. One year later, UBS committed itself to top-flight motorsport, giving it a global brand presence at all races. In addition to boosting brand recognition and enhancing its image in growth regions, UBS also benefited from the media presence, from a high-profile platform for offering hospitality and from an increase in new business.

  • Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team Principal & CEO, Toto Wolff, with driver Lewis Hamilton
  • F1 driver Lewis Hamilton
  • F1 racing car
  • Team Driver Nico Rosberg went on to achieve a breakthrough win at the UBS Chinese Grand Prix
  • First and second place in the Drivers Championship

Partnership with Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1

Encouraged by the positive boost to its image and increased level of recognition, in 2017 UBS extended its sponsorship commitment by entering into a partnership with the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team....

During the 2010s, the team won eight Constructors and seven Drivers world titles, making it the most successful Formula One team ever. Pictured is the Team Principal & CEO, Toto Wolff, with driver Lewis Hamilton.

Photo: Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One

Strong performances by the team

From 2013 onward, the British racing driver Lewis Hamilton, who had become the youngest world champion in Formula One history in 2008, won six championship titles for the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team.

Photo: Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One

Tradition and passion

Shared values: in 2011, UBS entered into a sponsorship partnership with the prestigious Automobile Club de Monaco, the national governing body for motorsport in Monaco.

Photo: Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One

Raising our profile in Asia, too

With an increasingly strong market presence in China, UBS decided in 2011 to become the exclusive title sponsor of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix....

In 2012, Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team Driver Nico Rosberg went on to achieve a breakthrough win at the UBS Chinese Grand Prix.

Photo: Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One

First and second place in the Drivers' Championship

Valtteri Bottas finishes the season in second place behind teammate and 2019 Formula 1 World Champion, Lewis Hamilton. Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One team wins the 2019 Constructors' Championship, with a total of 739 points.

2011

Lasting transformation at UBS

The first sign of the turnaround after the financial crisis came in the fourth quarter of 2009: UBS was in profit again and had reduced its balance sheet total and risk positions by 50% compared with 2007. With its stronger capital base, it satisfied the stricter regulatory requirements. When there was a further setback in September 2011, the new Group Executive Board reacted by speeding up the consistent implementation of the new strategy and organization structure, and this also marked the start of a far-reaching cultural change within the bank. At the center of the new business model were a globally focused wealth management business and a universal bank for Switzerland, which would be supported by global asset management capabilities and a less complex and less capital-intensive investment bank.

  • A man observes the horizon in the mountains
  • Three Keys UBS Logo on the building
  • Glass building reflects sunlight

Ambitious targets are exceeded

Only two years after announcing the new strategy, UBS had already exceeded its ambitious capital targets and the key measures of its financial strength had more than doubled.

Three keys to success

To accompany this far-reaching transformational step, the Three Keys to Success program was launched, which established the firm’s strategy, identity and culture, based on Pillars (what we are built on), Principles (what we stand for) and Behaviors (how we do it).

Changes to the legal structure

To keep up with changing times and to become simpler, more transparent, and more resilient, UBS continued to amend its legal structure....

This included improving the firm’s resolvability in response to too-big-to-fail requirements. With the strategic transformation complete, UBS was now able to concentrate all of its efforts on unlocking the firm’s full potential and enhancing its effectiveness and efficiency by means of extensive digitalization initiatives and innovative tools.

2017

UBS becomes the new presenting partner for SwissSkills

The SwissSkills foundation, which was established in 1953, at the international WorldSkills competition in Madrid, provided publicity about the dual vocational education system for which Switzerland is famous around the world. In 2017, in order to position vocational apprenticeships as an excellent career launchpad, and in partnership with the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation, the Swiss Employers’ Association, the Swiss Trade Association, UBS and the Ringier publishing house, it launched the SwissSkills initiative. UBS is one of the biggest providers of apprenticeships in Switzerland, and so it strongly supports the dual vocational education system. This is why UBS, the largest bank in Switzerland, serves as the presenting partner.

  • Swiss competitors enjoy international successes
  • Chef at a competition
  • Family play a boardgame

Fantastic international successes

Switzerland takes part in international vocational skills championships every year and regularly brings home numerous medals, making it one of the most successful nations in the world....

Among other things, UBS offers sponsorship for individual participants, enabling Switzerland to join in and compete with other countries at the highest level. UBS also supports the national SwissSkills team. In 2023, SwissSkills won no fewer than 15 medals at the EuroSkills competition.

Photo: SwissSkills

Attracting big audiences from the start

The second Swiss vocational skills championships were held in Bern in 2018 and were a huge success....

About 120,000 visitors came to see the young people representing 135 different occupations who were taking part. The outstanding performances were repeated in subsequent competitions in the years that followed.

In the first six years of the partnership, nearly 200,000 young people have had a profile of their personal strengths created at a SwissSkills event, with the help of a visual questionnaire.

Photo: SwissSkills

UBS and SwissSkills launch Mission Future

UBS and SwissSkills offer a fun voyage of discovery to help schools and families with children who are trying to decide on their future occupation....

This new service helps young people to recognize their potential and create a profile of their personal strengths.

Photo: SwissSkills

2019

Strategic partnerships

UBS’s continuing focus on exploring potential growth areas in Asia led it, in June 2019, to enter into a strategic wealth management partnership with Japan’s biggest trust banking group, the Sumitomo Mitsui Trust. The joint venture, in which UBS has a 51% holding, offers products, investment advice and services for high net worth and ultra high net worth private clients that the banks had not previously been providing separately. In the same year, UBS and Banco do Brasil signed an agreement to set up a leading investment bank in South America in which UBS would be the majority shareholder.

  • Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
  • Banco do Brasil - banks headquarters in Rio de Janeiro

UBS strengthens its presence in Japan

In Asian financial centers such as Hong Kong and Singapore, UBS is already among the best-positioned international financial institutions in terms of managed assets....

It has identified that there is still great potential for growth in Japan, which is why it set up a joint venture with Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings, in which UBS has a majority stake.

Keystone, photographer Kirsty Wigglesworth

Wide range of solutions for South America

The strategic partnership with the state-run Banco do Brasil is intended to make a wide range of investment banking and securities trading solutions and services available to institutional investors in Brazil and certain other South American countries.

Keystone, photographer Kirsty Wigglesworth