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| UBS reports yet another big loss | UBS reports yet another big loss |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| UBS has reported a loss of 1.4bn Swiss francs ($1.32bn; £790m) for the April-to-June quarter, along with significant outflows of cash. | |
| The loss is a slight improvement on the 2bn Swiss franc loss the bank made in the first quarter of this year. | The loss is a slight improvement on the 2bn Swiss franc loss the bank made in the first quarter of this year. |
| The bank said results were "significantly affected" by charges totalling 2.3bn Swiss francs. | The bank said results were "significantly affected" by charges totalling 2.3bn Swiss francs. |
| In contrast, French bank BNP Paribas posted a profit of 1.6bn euros ($2.3bn; £1.36bn) for the second quarter. | In contrast, French bank BNP Paribas posted a profit of 1.6bn euros ($2.3bn; £1.36bn) for the second quarter. |
| The bank said it was "well placed to deal with the challenges of the current economic environment". | |
| Outflows | Outflows |
| The loss at UBS, Switzerland's biggest bank, was almost four times bigger than the loss of 358m francs it recorded for the same period last year. | |
| The bank said earnings had been hit by a credit charge of 1.2bn francs, restructuring charges of 582m francs and 492m francs incurred in relation to the sale of UBS Pactual, the bank's Brazilian financial services business. | |
| It also failed to stem outflows of money from its wealth management divisions in the three months to the end of June. | It also failed to stem outflows of money from its wealth management divisions in the three months to the end of June. |
| It reported outflows of 17.1bn Swiss francs from its Global Asset Management division and 16.5bn Swiss francs from its Wealth Management and Swiss Bank. | |
| Despite the large loss, the bank said it was heading in the right direction. | |
| "While our second-quarter results were clearly unsatisfactory, they show significant progress towards returning profitability and restoring client trust," the bank's bosses said. | |
| The bank also highlighted the fact that it had reduced the risk levels of its overall investments. | |
| However, it did issue a cautious outlook for the coming months, saying a "sustainable recovery is not yet visible". | |
| UBS's results contrast with those of Switzerland's second-biggest bank, Credit Suisse, which reported a second-quarter profit of 1.571bn francs, up 29% from a year earlier. | |
| Reputation | |
| UBS has been hit particularly hard by the credit crisis, suffering from big losses in the US sub-prime mortgage market. | |
| Its reputation has also been tarnished by a legal battle with US authorities over suspected tax evasion by its US customers. | |
| The US had accused UBS of violating US laws and insisted the Swiss bank reveal the names of US clients who had set up Swiss accounts to evade tax. | |
| But last Friday, the two parties reached an "agreement in principle" in their dispute, meaning the case may not go to court after all. | |
| Analysts say the deal may go some way towards stemming the outflows of cash the bank has experienced in recent months. |